[rmelone]

Here are my specs:

ASUS Motherboard A7V333; AMD Athlon 1900xp processor; nVidia GeForce FX 5600 Ultra 128mb AGP graphics; Sound Blaster Audigy2ZS Platinum PCI Audio Device; Windows XP SP2; RAM = 512mb;
DirectX 9.0c; CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive (Toshiba SD-R1002)’F’ drive;
DVD Recorder (Memorex DVD16+/-DL4RWnD2)’E’ drive;
Hard Drive(s) 'C' = 40gb; 'D' = 80gb.

Whenever I insert a CD or DVD in either of my drives it takes a long time - sometimes 10 minutes - before the CD or DVD that was inserted is recognized by the system.

I checked the cable connections coming from the mother board to make sure the CD/DVD drives were separate from the hard drives which they were and the CD/DVD drives are listed in the control panel/device manager with no errors.

I think, but could be wrong, that something is in conflict with both of these drives preventing the normal recognition time.

If anyone has any thoughts I would appreciate it.

Robert

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Have you checked for firmware updates

[Retired Tech]

Have you checked for firmware updates

[rmelone]

Could you please give me an example of what firmware updates you're referencing?

Robert

[Retired Tech]

For the CD / DVD Drives

[rmelone]

The Toshiba drive uses the Windows XP drivers and I just updated the Memorex to the latest driver with the same results.

Robert

[Retired Tech]

Drivers and firmware are different, check the manufacturer's site and it will show drivers and then firmware, though this may be in utilities

[rmelone]

Sorry about that, the update to the Memorex drive was the Firmware update and I couldn't find any for the Toshiba drive.

Robert

[Retired Tech]

See if this helps

http://www.softwarep...xp-autorun.html

[rmelone]

I downloaded the program you referenced and when I had the situation with the drives duplicated I tried to run the software but it wouldn't run until the drive recognized the CD I put in and by that time the problem was no longer there.

What I'm finding is if I leave a CD in a drive and eject it the recognition is there if I reload it; if I change the CD to something else the long recognition time comes into play. I don't know if that helps or not.

I believe the same long time for recogniton happens on initial insertion of a CD.

Robert

[Retired Tech]

How old is the drive and how much use has it had

[rmelone]

THe CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive (Toshiba SD-R1002) is between 2 and 3 years old and the DVD Recorder (Memorex DVD16+/-DL4RWnD2) drive is a little over a year old.

As far as usage they both probably get below average use compared to what some people might use - in my opinion.

The problem is the same on both.

Robert

[Retired Tech]

This covers most of the options before you start checking the hardware, although with both drives being affected, hardware is less likely to be the cause and hopefully an adjustment to the main settings will produce an improvement

Items in blue which are underlined are clickable to give more information about the process

Click start then run, type prefetch then press enter, click edit then select all, right click any file then click delete, confirm delete

Click start, all programmes, accessories, system tools to run disc clean up, then from system tools, run disc defragmenter.

Click start then run, type sfc /scannow then press enter, you need the XP CD and Windows File Protection will show a blue onscreen progress bar, when the bar goes, reboot

If you do not have an XP CD you can borrow a same version as was originally installed XP CD, if you downloaded SP2 then you need an SP1 XP CD

Click start then run, type chkdsk /f /r then press enter, type Y to confirm for next boot, press enter then reboot.

Windows will appear to load normally then either the monitor will show progress or the screen will go blank, do not disturb this.

This will take an hour or so before it gets to the desktop.

Download and install Tune Up 2006 Trial

Run Tune Up Disc Clean Up

Run Tune Up Registry Clean Up

Click Optimize and Improve to run Reg Defrag, which will take a few minutes and need a reboot. You should disable the antivirus programme to run this and check it is running after the reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to optimize the computer, select computer with an internet connection from the drop down menu, this also requires a reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to accelerate downloads, select the speed just above your actual connection speed, this requires a reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to run system advisor

[rmelone]

First of all, thanks for the help.

I did everything listed in your note but I had a problem with sfc / scannow in that when I entered the command and hit enter a DOS type screen popped up and then immediately closed; there was no blue on screen progress bar. I had my Windows XP Home edition in the drive at the time - which I think I was supposed to do. I'm not sure what Windows File Protection is as I never saw the progress bar.

Also I was wondering about the Tuneup 2006 program I used; I have Ashampoo WinOptimizer which is a similar program. Is Tuneup 2006 better in your opinion?

After doing all I could I still have the same problem.

Robert

[Retired Tech]

Right click the taskbar, click task manager, click file, new task, type sfc /scannow then press enter

If you click sfc /scannow in post 12 it looks at system file check

Tune Up may find something different, it shows any errors but you do not have to fix them, so you could run it and post the number of errors

[rmelone]

I did what was suggested in post 14 and when I hit enter I got the same DOS window that opened and closed immediately as I explained in post 13.

Robert