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"missing" CD-ROM

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14 replies

by brianbooher

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I am having a problem with a Windows 2000 SP4 computer.

Windows 2000 will not assign a drive letter to the CD-ROM.

I know it works as BIOS sees it and I can do a Windows 2000 boot disk.

Device Manager sees the CD-ROM.

Disk Management does not see it.

What is wrong here?

Thanks

14 replies

by brianbooher

Those articles are good, but they do not apply to my situation.

BIOS does see the CD-ROM drive as I can boot from the CD-ROM drive with a Windows CD.

Device Manager sees the drive and says there is nothing wrong.

It is in Disk Management that it will not see it there.

I know the CD-ROM works since it can read data. I know the computer works since I replaced it.

there is something on the hard drive that is preventing access to the CD-ROM.

by boxfiddler

it's not a hard drive. None of my CD/DVD-ROM drives have ever showed up in Disk Management.

If you "can boot from the CD-ROM", and you "know it works since it can read data", then "access to the CD-ROM" is not being prevented.

Disk Management is for managing your hard drives.

When you open 'My Computer', is the CD-ROM listed with a drive letter?

by nepenthe0

My optical drives appear in Disk Management (both BluRay and CD/DVD drives). That's how I changed the drive letters.

So I don't have an answer for [i]stormtropper18[/i]. He seems to have a real issue here. To resolve it, he may need to do a [i]repair[/i] installation of the OS.

Rick/Portland, OR

by boxfiddler

Computer Management. Right click on Disk Management. Choose View\Top\Disk List. Does your CD-ROM show now?

PS. Thanks nepenthe0, I've never paid much attention to that.

by nepenthe0

It's a small installment repayment for all the useful knowledge you have given me.

Rick/Portland, OR

by nepenthe0

With no disc in the optical drive, the drive will appear [i]greyed-out[/i] in Disk Management. Once a disc is placed in the optical drive, the drive becomes [i]active[/i] and one can change the drive letter or other attributes in Disk Management.

Rick/Portland, OR

by brianbooher

i have asked other people and they said it may be a virus that prevents access to the CD-ROM.
I know I can wipe the drive and reinstall Windows since I can use the drive out of Windows.
There's nothing with the hardware, it's a thing in Windows that is being stopped. Symantec has not found anything wrong. I get no errors coming up.

by bizzo

It might be that a network drive is mapping over the assigned CD drive letter?
Delete the network drives and reboot.

by brianbooher

We have two mapped drives that are put on as according to our group policy. They are the P and V drives. the hard drive is partitioned into the C and D drive. The CD-ROM is always assigned to E. It's the same way for all the other computers that have either 2000 or XP.

Deleting the drives will just have them put back on by group policy.

by rob miners

did you clear the upper an lower filters.

Disable and re-enable Plug and Play services:

1. Click "Start"->"Run", type "services.msc" (without quotation marks) in the open box and click "OK".

2. Double click the service "Plug and Play".

3. Click on the "General" tab; make sure the "Startup Type" is "Automatic".
4. - If the service is started, please click Stop to disable it and restart the computer. Then, re-start the Plug and Play service using the same method. Restart the computer again.

- If the service is stopped, please click Start and restart the computer to check the result.

If that does'nt work try this

Open Device Manager expand the + on DVD/CD-ROM drives, right click on the Drive and select uninstall.
Restart the PC

And as a last resort

Download Stinger. http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/stinger.htm

Download Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.5.2 and install it. Update it. http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

Restart the PC in Safe Mode and turn off System Restore and run Stinger and then run Spybot.
When you are clean restart System Restore.

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