CD-ROM drive not recognized, error code 19

In addition, I am unable to complete a System Restore to an ealier point--Vista states that it encountered an error during the restore and then goes back to the current configuration. I considered editing out the reference to the drive from the registry, but I do not have much experience doing that.

Currently, my plan is to replace the CD-ROM/DVD drive.

I notice that your post was made a month ago. I'm interested in what you did to resolve this, or if you have found out more on what caused it.

Manually delete the registry entries
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
Log on to Windows by using an account that has administrator rights and permissions. Then, follow these steps.
Step 1: Start Registry Editor
Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK. Registry Editor starts.
Step 2: Delete the UpperFilters registry entry
1. In Registry Editor, expand My Computer, and then expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
2. Expand SYSTEM, and then expand CurrentControlSet.
3. Expand Control, and then expand Class.
4. Under Class, click {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}.
5. In the right pane (topic area), click UpperFilters.

Note An UpperFilters.bak registry entry may also appear. To delete the UpperFilters registry entry, you must click UpperFilters and not UpperFilters.bak.
6. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
7. When you receive the following message, click Yes to confirm the deletion of the UpperFilters registry entry:
Are you sure you want to delete this value?
The UpperFilters registry entry is removed from the {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} registry subkey.

Note Do not exit Registry Editor. You must have this program for the next step.
Step 3: Delete the LowerFilters registry entry
1. In Registry Editor, expand My Computer, and then expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
2. Expand SYSTEM, and then expand CurrentControlSet.
3. Expand Control, and then expand Class.
4. Under Class, click {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}.
5. In the right pane (topic area), click LowerFilters.

Note An LowerFilters.bak registry entry may also appear. To delete the LowerFilters registry entry, you must click LowerFilters and not LowerFilters.bak.
6. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
7. When you receive the following message, click Yes to confirm the deletion of the LowerFilters registry entry:
Are you sure you want to delete this value?
The LowerFilters registry entry is removed from the {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} registry subkey.
8. Exit Registry Editor.
Step 4: Restart the computer
If a CD recording program no longer works after you restart the computer, you must reinstall the CD recording program.

Please post back if you have any more problems or questions.
If this information is useful, please mark as helpful. Thanks.

Repair Install
If XP is corrupted to the point where none of the previous solutions get it to boot,
you can do a Repair Install that might work as well as keep the current settings.
Make sure you have your valid WindowsXP key.
The whole process takes about half an hour depending on your computer
If you are being prompted for the administrator's password, you need to choose the 2nd repair option, not the first.
1.Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD
2.At the second R=Repair option, press the R key
3.This will start the repair
4.Press F8 for I Agree at the Licensing Agreement
5.Press R when the directory where WindowsXP is installed is shown. Typically this is C:\WINDOWS
6.It will then check the C: drive and start copying files
7.It will automatically reboot when needed. Keep the CD in the drive.
8.You will then see the graphic part of the repair that is like during a normal install of XP (Collecting Information, Dynamic Update, Preparing Installation, Installing Windows, Finalizing Installation)
9.When prompted, click on the Next button
10.When prompted, enter your XP key
11.Normally you will want to keep the same Workgroup or Domain name
12.The computer will reboot
13.Then you will have the same screens as a normal XP Install
14.Activate if you want (usually a good idea)
15.Register if you want (but not necessary)
16.Finish
17.At this point you should be able to log in with any existing accounts.

Please post back if you have any more problems or questions.
If this information is useful, please mark as helpful. Thanks

did he respond to any of the suggestions presented and there are about 25 them.

go to "http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060"
and run the fixit from microsoft it will solve the problem.

thanks so much. I did this on my pc. Though on windows 7. I deleted upper filter but was not able to find lower filter in that folder. But then I deactivated my optical drive from device management, and activated it again. Then the big yello scary exclamation point was gone. Thank you

Thanks so much for that fix!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH - deleting the upper and lower filters worked - I can now use my DVD/CD drive again. You save me so much time and frustration (after spending about three hours trying to find a fix on the Dell site).
Best,
Santo