CD drive doesn't work

[The Monkey]

My CD drive is unable to read CDs. It must note their presence, though, as the icon on "My Computer" change when a CD is inserted, but when clicking on it it states that the CD drive is empty, and automatically opens it. I discovered the problem today, but I'm not sure how long the problem has existed as I'm not sure when I last tried to play a CD. Will I need to turn the computer in for repairs or is there a way to fix it yourself?

 

[Raziaar]

When you go into the device manager(control panel, system > hardware tab > device manager), under the dvd/cd-rom drives area does it show your drive?and if so, is there a warning sign indicator or anything beside it?

have you tried reinstalling the device drivers?

 

[Hectic Glenn]

It isn't a DVD drive? Old skool CD drive might have had it's day.

Check the device manager as Raz suggested, I assume you've tried a few different CDs? If it is broken, replacing and installing an new drive is so easy! Even if you haven't done it before, we could walk you through it really easily. Drives are really cheap too, probably better and more convenient rather than sending it away.

 

[PJ]

It isn't a DVD drive? Old skool CD drive might have had it's day.

Check the device manager as Raz suggested, I assume you've tried a few different CDs? If it is broken, replacing and installing an new drive is so easy! Even if you haven't done it before, we could walk you through it really easily. Drives are really cheap too, probably better and more convenient rather than sending it away.

this.

they are cheap and easy to intall. you may also want to consider a blu-ray drive, although they are much more expensive and probably not worth it if you dont buy blu-rays.

this looks okay, correct me if im wrong - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/149639

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Not sure how old his system is, need to work out if his drive is IDE or SATA first.

 

[The Monkey]

Thanks for all your help.

Yes, it's a DVD driver, sorry. It's about seven months old, it's the one that came with the computer. I've tried multiple CDs and DVDs, but none works.

When you go into the device manager(control panel, system > hardware tab > device manager), under the dvd/cd-rom drives area does it show your drive?and if so, is there a warning sign indicator or anything beside it?

Checked it, it detects the driver, and there's no warning anywhere.

have you tried reinstalling the device drivers?

I haven't, I'm afraid I'll **** something up.

 

[PJ]

is it SATA or IDE?

EDIT: yeah didn't read you post glenn.

still which is it?

if you don't know, go in your case, and see whether it is connected with either of these:

sata

ide

 

[Raziaar]

I haven't, I'm afraid I'll **** something up.

As long as you get the driver for your dvd drive from your manufacturer's website, there shouldn't be much of a chance at all of messing something up.

The driver is the software part.

 

[The Monkey]

is it SATA or IDE?

EDIT: yeah didn't read you post glenn.

still which is it?

if you don't know, go in your case, and see whether it is connected with either of these:

sata


ide

There's no way to find out without picking apart the computer?

As long as you get the driver for your dvd drive from your manufacturer's website, there shouldn't be much of a chance at all of messing something up.

The driver is the software part.

So how do I do when I've uninstalled it and want to get it back on?

 

[Raziaar]

There's no way to find out without picking apart the computer?


So how do I do when I've uninstalled it and want to get it back on?

Your computer should auto detect it with plug & play. And then you can install the drivers from your dvd manufacturers website for your model.

 

[Hectic Glenn]

There's no way to find out without picking apart the computer?

Look at getting the drivers fixed first, using Raz's help, if we can deduce it's a hardware failure then we can talk about buying and installing a new one.

I'd highly recommend doing it (if it's broken) it's very easy and I'd happily guide you through on the forums or on Skype or something.

 

[bodhi]

hit your windows key+R, then type "regedit" - and hit enter

hkey_local_machine\system\currentcontrolset\control\class\4d36e965....

theres a few more numbers and letters after the "965..." bit but that should be enough to help you identify where you should be after all that.

anyway, in the right window pane, click once on 'upperfilters' and hit your delete key, and then once on 'lowerfilters' and hit the delete key.

i use that at work for a number of different cd/dvd drive not reading/detecting disk problems with great success, the main one it solves though is when the drive seems to disapear completely from My Computer.

 

[The Monkey]

I disabled the current the drivers and downloaded some up-to-date from their homepage like Raz told me to. I had to look for quite a bit, but I found one and installed it, and now the drive is working properly.

Thanks for all the help. I still have no idea how this happened, though.