# "Device is Not Ready" CD-ROM



## Willpower (Jan 21, 2006)

I have indeed come in here before to ask virtually the same question, but I've learned something else about the problem so I thought I'd ask again.

I have a '98 Compaq Presario with a LITEON CD-ROM LTN382 cd drive. Ever since my dad gave the comp to me and I took it across country, the CD-ROM has been acting...oddly. When I first set up the computer I managed to get it to read and install the contents of 1 cd. Ever since then, it won't read any cds at all, and if I try to access the drive I get a message "The Device is Not Ready".
Try as I might, I just can't get a solid answer to the problem no matter how much googling I do about it. Is there any easy way to fix the problem, or should I just go ahead and buy a new computer?


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Hi,

Gosh Willpower, why would you want to buy a new computer when it is only a drive that is tanking on you? There could be several reasons for this to happen, but it seems more logical and more prudent to just buy a new CD drive if it has died. However, I would look at some other things before I would even pronounce it dead. Some questions need to be answered for us to help much:

Have you tried a new cable? They do go bad from time to time although they may look perfect.

I am assuming that it is just a CDRom and not a CD/RW unless I misread what you were saying, is that correct?

Tell us what is on that ribbon cable beside the drive and how each is jumpered. Otherwise, tell us how that drive is also jumpered plus the other drive on that cable. 

Where is it located on the ribbon cable, the end connector or the middle connector?

Post back and we can take a look at possible issues.


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## Willpower (Jan 21, 2006)

It is just a plain CD-Rom drive, and I actually haven't opened the computer up, so I couldn't tell you about the status of the IDE cables. I suppose I should get around to doing that, though.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Willpower said:


> It is just a plain CD-Rom drive, and I actually haven't opened the computer up, so I couldn't tell you about the status of the IDE cables. I suppose I should get around to doing that, though.


Hi,

Come on Willpower, you won't get your feet wet any earlier. Jump right in there and take a look, you may just have a loose cable or something very simple. If you need help when you get it open, send a message or reply and we will try to get right on it and get you going.


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## Willpower (Jan 21, 2006)

I opened it up, although I couldn't too much access to the thing. Anyway, the ribbon cable and the power cable were both correctly attached to the drive. Since I really couldn't do much more, I put it back together.
Something I had failed to notice before is, when I start the computer, the screen is at first black with some white text that says something about ATAPI and the cd-rom drive. Perhaps that has something to do with it?


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## whodat (Mar 13, 2005)

go to your device manager

control panel > system > hardware > device manager

are there any yellow conflict alerts showing?


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## Willpower (Jan 21, 2006)

There's only one alert thing, for the Iomega Parallel Port Zip Interface, which probably has something to do with the Zip drive my dad used to have. I'm not sure whether it's because of a conflict, though.


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## whodat (Mar 13, 2005)

uninstall that conflict and reboot


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## Willpower (Jan 21, 2006)

I removed it and rebooted, but it didn't help. And I can't seem to uninstall any of the Iomega stuff either.


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## TheKolkster (Oct 31, 2004)

Sounds like the laser in your CD-Rom drive is going south. It might not be reconizing that there is media in the drive. 

Like when you insert a floppy into a drive that can't read anymore. It will just tell you there's no disk in the drive.


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