# CD/DVD Drive not recognized



## jworld2 (Oct 3, 2007)

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but my recently my CD?DVD drive has not been recognized by my compaq laptop computer.

The drive letter does not appear in my computer, nor can I see it in the computer hardware profiles. Does anybody know if there is a way to fix this, or do you need more information?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Hi, welcome to TSF

If you could see the drive in Windows Explorer but not access it, then you could fix it in the registry, but if you can't see the drive's letter and it's not in Device Manager then it could be a loose connection. Is the drive recognised in BIOS?


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## speedster123 (Oct 18, 2006)

How old is the laptop?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

if you can see it listed in the bios remove the upper and lower filters
scroll down to how here
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;314060&x=12&y=13#


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## jworld2 (Oct 3, 2007)

The laptop is not very old. I only got it last Christmas. I don't believe that the drive is listed in the BIOS. I can't see it anyway.


How would I go about taking this apart to see if the drive is connected?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

doees the light flash on the drive when you boot up
if you only got it last christmas is it under warranty


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## jworld2 (Oct 3, 2007)

No, there is no light flash on boot up, but the light does blink when I open and close the drive.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

If you can open and close it then it is likely connected correctly because industry standard slim laptop optical drives use one single connector for power and interface. This does not rule out a faulty drive however.

Go into the System Configuration section by pressing the right arrow (or whatever key it lists in the BIOS) and take a picture of the info there.


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## tshap (Aug 20, 2009)

jworld2 said:


> I'm not quite sure how it happened, but my recently my CD?DVD drive has not been recognized by my compaq laptop computer.
> 
> The drive letter does not appear in my computer, nor can I see it in the computer hardware profiles. Does anybody know if there is a way to fix this, or do you need more information?


I fixed it myself, and you should learn how I did it!

1. I noticed that when I pressed the open button on the dvd drive tray with the power on, it would not open.

2. This is a question that your support people should ask.
If the tray does not open, it means the drive is NOT getting any power.

3. I removed the power and battery and unscrewed the mounting screw on the back that holds the drive in the laptop.

4. I pulled out the drive and saw that the bracket on the end of the drive was bent! The drive was not plugged in reliably!

5. I straightened the bracket and reinstalled the drive.

6. It now works perfectly!

Ted Shap


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