greeetingsss…
i have an interesting problem if anyONe is able to help me..id be most pleased..
and i hope answers are beyond just replacing my component..coz thats not wot im lookin for 😉
problem: cdrom has disappeared from both “my computer” and device manager, presumably unrelated to any hardware/software installations as ive not installed/uninstalled any burning software or external usb devices which may have caused a conflict (the ones i have used (ie usb hardrive) have all been in use previous to problem and the standard use was not clearly linked to the cdrom disappearage
pc profile: toshiba satellite a85-s1072 notebook; standard factory atapi cdrw/dvdrom, of very difficult to find manufacturer; windows xp home (blah); etc et
cdrwdvdrom status: device will open with the exterior button, upon placing a cd, led on exterior lights, u can hear the spinnage and reading, so obviously there is no power/reading problems
what has been attempted and results:
standard reboot: obv nothing
system restore (interesting what occured here: first attempted to restore to several months ago: january, when i assume the drive was
working..(its not been working for some months)..but restore wouldn’t allow this with no stated reason, just “system restore could not be completed, to start over, pick another restore point…i tried each month subsequently and the only restore it would let me do was to a few weeks ago, which obviously doesn’t help me…): no change
next! i tried tearing apart my laptop..which took me ages..to check my power/ide cables, connections etc.. pulled out all connections and reset just in case..cleaned out interior..pulled out cdrwdvdrom and placed back in etc: no change
installed norton/other standard windows fixing software to correct errors/problems: no change
installed registry cleaner/optimizer (registry mechanic) just in case something stupid happened here: no change
manually deleted upper and lower filter registry files (followed: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060/;
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320553/): no change
inspected device manager closely to ensure id not missed anything: cdrom/dvdrw still missing from main setupheadings, viewed hidden devices
which had one question mark on a device called “serial” under the heading “non plug and play devices”; i highly doubted that this was my cdrom drive (even though it is non plug and play and is a serial device) because standardly cdroms have their own section, any insight on what this device might have been would be very useful…the error code on it was 24..a windows search produced the following information: “error code 24: This device is not present, is not working properly, or does not have all its drivers installed. (Code 24) Recommended resolution: The device does not appear to be present. The problem could be bad hardware, or a new driver might be needed. Devices stay in this state if they have been prepared for removal. After you remove the device, this error disappears. On the General Properties tab of the device, click Troubleshoot to start the Troubleshooting Wizard.” obviously when clicking troubleshoot its going to say uninstall and reinstall the device however, since i don’t know what the device is and a cdrom is not p&p, and drivers are unattainable (i.e. atapi cdrom drivers= standard in windows and not nec apparently http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=8100000000220000000100006598000000E7/810000000C58000000010000659C00002C36) this is virtually impossible; also apparently this error code is common with thumb/usb drives and id had a serious error with one not too long ago, which the question mark could easily have been associated with. in other words: no change
attempted unsucessfully to find drivers at another location
moved on to a different method: uninstalled both the 2ndary IDE/and standard dual channel pci ide controller (even tho this one is obviously connected to the pci slot, but thats what id read to uninstall, so i did..)to force the bios to reinstall drivers for channel and recognize cdrom, it did rerecognize the channels, but cdrom did not appear in dm or my computer: no change
checked bios to see if it was recognizing drive: bios display of memory check/hd list had never standardly been on, so i turned it on, but it only shows memory check and then HD: 0 235340957235(serial # of hd), whether it used to show the listed primary and secondary ide channel assignment like on a normal pc, i’m not sure, but im inclined to think not
why i think it IS recognized by bios: there is still the option to change the boot sequence, in which the cdrom shows up on the list, and when i changed to read from the cdrom first, it attempted to do so (WHY do u ask then have i not simply reinstalled windows?? because i dont have my windows disk as i lent it to someone in the states and ive just moved to the uk..and if i reinstall the os i want to put xp pro back on and as we all know, it takes a few days to fenagle ur way to getting such a cd or making one off someone elses comp..and seeing that i have 23440598 projects due at uni i dont have time to find a cd and then backup and resinstall my os..that will be my last resort..there MUST be a solution…i could buy an external usb cdrom or floppy drive..but that = $$$$…) but seeing that there was nothing to boot from, it continued on its merry way to startup…any insight on whether im wrong on the bios recognition would be fabulous..
lastly i installed a diagnostic tool called checkit (from the norton suite), which said that the cdrom was N/A: no change
SO
i’ve run out of ideas (apart from the IDE cable being corrupt and im assuming wrong on the bios) and googling forums has not been helpful…if anyone has anymore useful ideas..do englighten my poor fried brain..
thanks!!