CD Drive not working right

My computer has been acting up. My cd drive doesnt seem to detect the cds i put into it. I dont really remember when it happened, I think it was November. But When I place a CD in there, it spins and lights up for a second and then stops. When I click on it, it says insert CD. I do remember it seemed to happen right after I burned a CD. I did try a different cd drive which also did the exact same thing. The second one I tried was pretty old, but was working last time it was actually used. On a unrelated thing, my A: drive also stopped working just recently. Its pretty much the same issue. I put a floppy in and it lights up when I click on it, but then says insert disk into drive a. I have windows xp. Any ideas?

What detection for Floppy and for Optical do you have set in your BIOS/CMOS? What do you see in Device Manager? Any yellow or Red warnings?

My device manager is fine, it detects both of them, and my bios, i believe are set correctly. Ive never missed with them since I built the computer, and especially not any time recently.

Let's cover the Hard Drive and Windows software basics first. Please run CHECKDISK with (/r parameter) – CHKDSK /r after CHKDSK /r is competed with no errors or identification proceed to Please run SFC /scannow __________________________ Next step will be to inspect the ribbon cables to assure that there is no damage and that the connectors are firmly seated at both ends. __________________________ There are some Registry settings with regard to upper and lower filters that may lead to beneficial change, but please do the above first and then post back. Best Regards

When I run system file checker, it wants me to insert a cd. It says "Files that are required for Windows to run properly must be copied to the dll cache. Insert Windows XP Professional CD ROM now." Is there a way to do that without inserting a disk?

Hi BigMatt,

In one way, this is a good sign, in that Windows is possibly identifying some of the files responsible for your machine's problem and is prompting to have them replaced. There could still be other problems but this is a good first step.

If you don't have an XP CD, have a look here:
http://www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc.html

Keep us posted with your progress.

Best Regards

I do have the cd, but since my drive doesnt work, i cant insert it. I am copying the i386 files now from my laptop and sending them to my desktop (the one with the problem), and then will do the registry edit. Ill get back to you as soon as I get it all done.

Sorry. OK you're on the right track.

Ok, so I did the scans and checked the connections, and everything seems ok on that end. The drives still dont work. When I go to access the A drive, i hear it accessing it, and spinning, but still no disk found. Actually, now that Im paying attention to the drives moving, I only see the light turn on with the cd drive, but I dont hear it spin.

Below I will include a link to a MS article that addresses problems similar to yours.

Before you launch into the Registry portion of the fix, be sure to back-up your registry
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/
or
use ERUNT
http://forums.whatthetech.com/Backup_your_…try_t92988.html


Also before you start, please give us a list of the CD Burning software that you may have installed over time.
____________________________________

Here's the link that will possibly help:

http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb%3Ben…;x=12&y=13#

Keep us posted with your progress.

Lets see, I got Nero (installed initially with computer), I guess Itunes, Jetaudio, and infrarecorder

Ok so I did that,but when I ran the automatic helper, it said no entries found. I did previously delete a filter before though.

Hey BigMatt, Thanks for posting what you've tried and completed so far. It "may" be that various of the CD player and burner softwares are conflicting with each other. Have you "recently" installed one or more of them (at about the same time the problem started?) If so, you may have found your culprit. If not, you may benefit from "uninstalling" all of them (CD Player/Burners), and then adding them back one at a time until the problem re-occurs. At this point of investigation, you have completed the "general and known" steps. There are others who have had similar difficulties, and hopefully have found solutions. You may "stumble upon" the solution by uninstalling and reinstalling your CD player/burners. (It is not possible to uninstall all of MediaPlayer (to the best of my knowledge, or at least not easily so don't worry about it) It may be possible to discover a solutions reading others problems solving using Google. Or perhaps a Tech will drop by the thread with more specific problem familiarity to offer. I'll ask for consultation. Hope you get it resolved quickly. Doug

Hi Bigmatt. You have to eliminate if this is really a hardware issue or a software issue first. You said you have a windows XP CD. So, the very first thing you do is put the disc in and see if you can boot with it. If you can boot the disc then you know it is a software issue with Windows. If you can not boot the disc then you know it is a hardware issue. Be advised that BIOS settings must be set to boot from CD first or it will not even attempt to. Please post back if you do not know what I am talking about. EDIT: Using an "old" drive with unknown status, and associating your tests with obsolete technology such as a floppy drive is not a good test to eliminate a hardware problem. The majority of floppy drives still left on computers now a days don't work. Ok, so maybe I'm exagerating a little.