Background: I create my own multimodel pc image using ghost and sysprep. The image is XP SP3 and is very locked down. Software packages that may be relevant include WMP, QuickTime Player, Real Player, Roxio, and PowerDVD.
Problem: The issue occurs randomly, and I do mean randomly. When a user puts a DVD into one of the Dell OptiPlex (755 or 760) Ultra Small Form Factor systems, it will begin to read the disc (processing lights on front of drive and tower flicker) for about 3 seconds. Then the lights just go dim and nothing happens. When I open up the My Computer window, the CD/DVD drive icon is gone. When I try to manually eject the disc, the drive does not respond. It is like the system has ejected the drive.
Other Info:
-This only occurs on those machines that have ejectable CD/DVD drives. The rest of my full size towers (Optiplex 270 and 320) do not experience this issue.
-In order to see the drive again, the end user must reboot the PC; at which point the drive reappears.
-I have not been able to find a DVD that can reproduce this issue consistently.
-I attempted a fix which removes the upper and lower filters in the HKLM area of the registry. I thought this fixed the issue, however, this morning I ran into a disc that dumped the drive even after running the fix.
My feelings:
I am kind of at wits end here. Testing is difficult as I can reproduce the problem with any beneficial frequency. My next test will be to remove Roxio (as I have a feeling that program is some how related to this issue) and see if my users will still be able to open data cds/dvds. On that note, if anyone has any suggestions for free UDF readers that work (i.e. will open closed and unclosed data discs), please let me know.
I didn’t mean to write a book here, it is just a bit hard to explain the issue. Thanks for taking the time to go through this and for any helps you might be able to offer.
~Andrew
