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Windows XP: CD-RW drive not showing up
CD-RW drive not showing up
by DA - 7/6/04 12:13 AMI have a Gateway computer running Windows XP, with what appears to be a generic CD-RW drive that came with it. Anyway, I have had this computer since about 2001. The drive has worked fine for years, but now its giving me problems. Sometimes it shows up in device manager, and other times it doesn't. Sometimes when I start up, Windows will automatically re-install it (even though I never uninstall it).
I don't know whether its the actual drive, or maybe the connectors. So I don't want to rush out and buy a new drive immediately. Gateway has little to no helpful documents on their site. The driver is native to Windows, and there's no updated driver available either there or on Microsoft's Windows Update site.
What's worse, is I only have one other drive (Creative CD-RW 8432) and I'm not completely sure if its compatible with XP. So I don't know if I can put it in, and test whether its the connectors... or the actual drive.
Re: CD-RW drive not showing up
by Cetin Denislam - 7/6/04 2:49 AM In reply to: CD-RW drive not showing up by DAMotto:
Gateway has little to no helpful documents on their site
I don't know, I'm not completely sure, I don't want …
Go ahed, open the cover and check the connectors to the actual drive and make sure that they're firmly inserted. Also, changing the drive with that spare model won't hurt and it'll give you clues.
Good Luck,
Cetin
Trying to unweave, unwind, unravel
And piece together the past and the future,
T. S. Eliot
Re: CD-RW drive not showing up
by Michael Geist - 7/6/04 5:15 AM In reply to: CD-RW drive not showing up by DAThis sounds like the beginning of the end for a few year old drive. A firmware update, if available, might be called for and then a swap to a known good drive.
Re: CD-RW drive not showing up
by Cursorcowboy - 7/6/04 5:29 AM In reply to: CD-RW drive not showing up by DAThe driver is native to Windows, and there's no updated driver available either there or on Microsoft's Windows Update site.
I agree, but do not be misled that you can rely on Microsoft for drivers. Get necessary drivers from the device manufacturer only whenever possible.
What CD-RW drive not showing up?
by R. Proffitt
- 7/6/04 7:28 AM
In reply to: CD-RW drive not showing up by DA
The others provided some good input, but at 3 years or more, it could have simply failed. Does it show in the BIOS? If not, check that the cables are secure, the drive opens and closes via the front button.
These are now 10 to 20 dollar devices onsale, so unless you fix a software issue, you replace the drive.
Bob
Re: CD-RW drive not showing up
by DA - 7/6/04 1:06 PM In reply to: CD-RW drive not showing up by DAI would love to find a firmware/driver update, but there doesn't seem to be one. I've searched Gateway's site, as well as Microsoft. Other then the native driver, I have no clue where to go to find an update, because Gateway doesn't provide any real information on the device, like a true manufacturer, nor does the device have a company name on it.
Thanks for all the suggestions though, guys. Apparantly now, even when I run the Add Hardware wizard, its not being sensed at all anymore, but it does show up in the BIOS.
I'm about to try putting in my older drive.
Update
by DA - 7/6/04 1:33 PM In reply to: Re: CD-RW drive not showing up by DAOK guys, well I'm guessing its the connector. I tried one last time to reconnect the drive to it, and XP wouldn't sense it at all anymore. Then I tried connecting the older drive to it, and XP wouldn't sense that either. I just connected the Slave part of the connector to the drive, and XP sensed it and automatically set it up.
So unless I can live with it like this, I'll probably have to buy new connectors soon.
One more problem...
by DA - 7/6/04 5:39 PM In reply to: CD-RW drive not showing up by DAWell, I replaced the connector cable and everything is working fine now, but there's a minor annoyance.
My computer hangs during bootup. Right after the Gateway logo, there's a 30 second wait with a blank screen before the Windows boot screens shows and the system loads up. It started happening once I replaced the CD-RW drive with the older one in order to run tests. I checked the BIOS settings, and everything is fine. But...
http://img30.photobucket.com/albums/v90/xionone/Clipboard01.jpg
I find it odd that two partitions are mentioned. Could this be the problem? And if so, how could I fix it?
Looked at the picture. Seems dandy.
by R. Proffitt - 7/6/04 6:03 PM
In reply to: One more problem... by DA
Can you explain in gritty detail what issue there is with that picture. I may have missed it.
As to longer boot times, XP does indeed get upset if all the hardware isn't working proper. Or you put a slave on a cable and there is no master. Lesson? Fix the problem proper.
Bob
Re: Looked at the picture. Seems dandy.
by DA - 7/6/04 6:22 PM In reply to: Looked at the picture. Seems dandy. by R. Proffitt
Disregard the pic... I thought two different partitions were loading and causing issues, but its the same one.
Anyway, I checked the cables again. Everything is connected as it should be now. Before, I tested using the slave in order to see if the master connector was the one having problems with the CD drive, which it was... so I replaced it. Now everything is as it should be, but there is still problems for some reason.
Re: One more problem...
by Cursorcowboy - 7/7/04 7:28 AM In reply to: One more problem... by DAUse the NTBTLOG.TXT file to potentially identify startup problems.
a. Enable Boot Logging to creates a text log file in the systemroot directory with this name and can be double-clicked for viewing. The log lists files that Windows attempts to load and precedes the path of each by identifying them as Loaded driver or Did not load driver. Restart the computer, and when prompted, press F8, and then select Enable Boot Logging on the Windows Advanced Options Menu. Else, the articles [Q833721] and [Q323427] discusses the procedure for editing the Boot.ini file to enable boot logging.
Note: If a critical system file is corrupted or missing, Windows might generate a STOP message or write an entry to the Event logs or both, which you may not even be aware of.
b. To check an item listed in the Did not load driver section:
(1) Check for zero byte files or files with date and time stamps that do not match the Windows installation date.
(2) Compare files in systemroot\System32 to the same files on the Windows CD or another computer running the same edition (and service pack(s)).
(3) Run the System File Checker (Sfc.exe) command-line tool to inspect system files, [Q310747].
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