# PC not recognizing CD-ROM drive



## jamie_in_nj (Sep 13, 2008)

I was just trying to use my drive and realized that my PC was not recognizing the drive. At some point the computer recognized the drive, and the drive worked OK, but now I don't see the drive at all in Windows Explorer. The drive does open and close. I put my Windows XP disk in there, and re-booted, but it did not try to boot off the CD. Can anyone help? I can open up the case tomorrow and see if all my connections are ok, but any advice in the meantime is appreciated. 

It's a Windows XP SP 3 machine. I can get info on the drive if necessary.

Thanks!


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Boot into BIOS to see if the drive is listed. If it is, boot back into Windows and follow the instructions below.

Go to Start > Run > *regedit* and remove the Upperfilters and Lowerfilters values from this registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Class \ {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
Then reboot and look in Windows Explorer again.

If it's not listed in BIOS, check the data cable between the back of the drive and the motherboard.

To boot from the Windows CD, you need to change the boot order in BIOS to 'CD first', but this will only work if the data cable is connected properly and is not faulty.


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## jamie_in_nj (Sep 13, 2008)

I think I was able to boot up into BIOS; it took a few tries as the screen does not stay up too long to show me which key to hit. Would it be the screen that says "CMOS Setup Utility"? If so, which menu item would I choose to see if the drive is listed?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Yes, "CMOS Setup Utility" is the BIOS. To enter it, turn the computer on and keep tapping the appropriate key (usually F1, F2, Del or Esc) until it appears.

When you get into BIOS, the location of the boot order options will depend on which motherboard you have. Each is different, so use the cursor keys to look around. See *here* for some examples. If you make any changes, make sure you save them before exiting BIOS, otherwise they won't work.


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## jamie_in_nj (Sep 13, 2008)

My Del key got me in there. Thanks for that link, it was helpful. I looked at the Advanced BIOS Features, and it shows my First Boot Device is [CDROM] and Second Boot Device is [Hard Disk]. When I put my Windows XP CD in before and booted up, it did not seem to boot up from the CD though. Does that mean the PC is not seeing the drive? I have not opened up the case yet; if that is the next step, I will wait til the morning when I have better light.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

check the disk is bootable in another computer

where the bios lists the hard drives check it also lists the cd drive there also


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## jamie_in_nj (Sep 13, 2008)

Where does the BIOS lists the hard drives? Is it in Integrated Peripherals? I see several items in there starting with the word Onboard (plus other items starting with the words SATA and USB). There is one called Onboard SATA/IDE Device listed as [Enabled]. If that is where the CD drive should be, I do not see anything that appears to be it.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

usually on the first page when the bios comes up


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## jamie_in_nj (Sep 13, 2008)

When BIOS first comes up, it has a menu of items, like Standard CMOS Features, Advanced Bios Features, Integrated Peripherals, etc., but nothing that looks like listing drives. When I look at the items in the Standard CMOS Features, it does have lines saying:
Drive A [1.44m, 3.5"]
Floppy 3 Mode Support [Disabled]

but nothing for Drive D for my CDROM drive. (I don't have a floppy drive.)

Does the lack of info on my CDROM drive in Standard CMOS Feature indicate it does not recognize it, or would it be somewhere else?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

It should look similar to the pictures below.


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## jamie_in_nj (Sep 13, 2008)

OK, that's helpful. My screen shows 
IDE Channel 0 Master
IDE Channel 0 Slave
IDE Channel 1 Master
IDE Channel 1 Slave
...
IDE Channel 5 Master
IDE Channel 5 Slave

IDE Channel 1 Slave has [ST3120811AS] next to it. Everything else has [None]


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

ST3120811AS is your 120gb Seagate hard drive, but I would have expected to see it shown as Master, not Slave, if it's the only drive listed.

Have you checked the data cable connection yet?

Is the CD drive on the same IDE ribbon cable as the hard drive?


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## jamie_in_nj (Sep 13, 2008)

I just checked inside. The CD drive has a ribbon cable going right into the motherboard, the side of it. the hard drive has a cable (bright orange, not a ribbon cable) that goes into the motherboard as well.

I disconnected and reconnected the CD drive ribbon cable at both ends, and re-booted, but it still does not see it.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

The orange cable for the hard drive is SATA, not IDE.










1. Check the jumper position at the back of the CD drive. If this is the only drive on the cable, set the jumper to Master. (Use a pair of tweezers to move the small piece of plastic to the correct position, see pic below)

2. If that doesn't fix it, try another IDE cable, try plugging it into another IDE port on the motherboard, or test the CD drive in another computer with a known-good IDE cable (making sure the jumper is set correctly).


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## jamie_in_nj (Sep 13, 2008)

I made some progress. I changed the jumper on the drive to Master, per your instructions, and then started it up, but it still did not recognize the drive. Then I took an IDE cable from another computer, and plugged that one in. Upon restarting, now it did recognize the CD drive. At first it did not seem to read the CD from it, but I booted into BIOS and it was there, and I did something which seemed to make it recognize it; I forget what now, but can go back in to refresh my memory if necessary. Once I did that, it works fine, and I was able to read some drivers off a CD. So it's working. However, I had to put the good cable back in the other PC.

Sounds like I just need to buy a new IDE cable? The original was only two years old, but I guess they can fail.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Well done! :smile: You can test the old IDE cable in your other computer to confirm it's faulty, but it definitely looks like a new cable should fix your problem.

*http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=484579&CatId=68* - $5


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

ide cables are cheap


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## jamie_in_nj (Sep 13, 2008)

You guys are awesome. Thanks so much for the help on this.

A (maybe) final question. The reference above to the orange cable for the hard drive being SATA, but the BIOS showing the hard drive as IDE. Is that something I should worry about? I've had no hard drive issues in two years, so I am happy to leave it alone, but I'm just curious.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

I'm not sure why BIOS is saying the drive is a slave on IDE1 when it's a SATA drive, but as long as everything's working, I wouldn't worry about it.


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