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DVD drive not being recognized

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thatcrazydoglady:
Love your all-in-one program!  It has kept my dying hard drive going for a bit longer.  Newest problem is that my dvd drive wasn't reading dvds/cds.  Contacted Dell and they said it was faulty and they were going to replace it.  In the meantime, I ran your program again and this seemed to fix the drive and it was reading discs again!  Then, dummy me, let the Dell tech. install  the new drive anyway.  It worked, but had a loud clicking noise that didn't sound right, so the tech ordered another drive.  Came today to install it and then it wasn't being recognized by my computer!  In My Computer, didn't even show up.  So, after trying various things and talking with the Dell Service Desk, the telephone Dell guy says I need to reinstall my OS!  I said "No way!"  So, the clicking drive got reinstalled, but now the computer is not recognizing it either!  Another dvd drive has been ordered, but I just don't know what to do now.  I have tried your program again, but since there's no drive being recognized, I don't think it did any good.  The Dell website's PC diagnostic doesn't show the dvd drive as being there either.  Any suggestions?  I have tried the Registry where you can delete the upper and lower......., but my registry line doesn't have those line items.  I've tried System Restore, but I don't have any older than today restore points.  I'm at a loss.

Tomas_Sweden:
Do you have a laptop or a desktop computer and which Windows version do you have?

Is there is no CD/DVD drive listed in BIOS?

Did you check the master/slave jumpers?

Does the drive show up in Device Manager?

Tomas

thatcrazydoglady:
I have a laptop....Dell XPS M1330.  I am using Windows Ultimate 7.  There is no CD/DVD listed in BIOS.  What are the master/slave jumpers?  I assume the Dell tech. checked those when she did the installation(s).  The drive does not show up in Device Manager.  But prior to yesterday, the replaced drive was being recognized (just making the abnormal clicking sound), as did the original one before the replacement.  This began yesterday when the 2nd replacement was installed and then continued when the 1st replacement was reinstalled.  The Dell tech. that was here knew how to replacement hardware, but was not savvy in much else about computers (ie. software related problems that might be causing this, altho' I'm not sure this is software related, since the drive is not even showing as being in the computer).  If you press the eject button at the top of my computer, you can make the drive sound like it is trying to read the disc that is in it; but then it stops and won't eject the disc either.

Shane:
It may not be software related.

If you go into the bios and go to the boot order you should see the drive there. If it doesnt show up there then the motherboard isnt seeing the drive.

But if it happened to 3 different drives then it may be the motherboard itself that is bad and the port the cd plugs into.

You can also confirm that it is hardware and not software by getting your hands on a usb external cd drive. I keep one here to work on netbooks that dont have drives.

If the external cd drive shows up in Windows then you know it isnt Windows and a reinstall would have been pointless. How ever if Windows cant see the external either then we know to start looking in Windows :-)

Given how cheap they are it is worth getting one. Then you can use it on any system. This one is a dvd burner, so you can play dvds, burn dvds and cds and use it on any system. Not bad for $30 :-)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106382

Shane

thatcrazydoglady:
Thank you so much for this info', Shane!  I've just placed an order on Amazon for a dvd drive that will arrive by tomorrow.  I would like to know everything I can as my ammunition for dealing with Dell, before I contact them again.  It's my understanding that there is another drive coming by the first part of next week, so this weekend is my window of opportunity.  The BIOS is definitely not reading that there is a dvd drive.  So, as you say, if this external drive I've ordered works, then I will have my proof that it is hardware and not software.  Either way, I want to know.  If it turns out to be software, then I'll just get the hard drive replaced sooner rather than later (extended warranty will cover this), so I'll be dealing with the headaches of a reinstall of the OS at the same time as a transfer to the new hard drive.  I'm looking forward to seeing what this external dvd drive will show me tomorrow.  I will let you know! :tongue:

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