[Niles]

I have a Dell Inspiron 1100 Laptop which is working ok apart from the cd drive has suddenly stopped working without warning and the system is saying that the drivers are missing or corrupted. I have looked at the Dell website but cannot find a driver for the cd drive which is listed as being in my machine.

Can anyone suggest anything I can try to resolve this problem?

Any advice will be appreciated.

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Hi Niles!

Let's have you uninstall the CD-Drive and then have you reboot and let windows reinstall the drivers for it. To do this, do the following:

• Go to START-->RUN and type devmgmt.msc
• In the new window that appears, click the + symbol next to CD/DVD-ROM Drives.
• Locate the drive in question and right-click it and choose UNINSTALL.
• Once it's finishing uninstalling, reboot your computer.

Once it's rebooted, try putting a CD in it again and see if it detects and reads the CD.

Fenor

[Fenor]

Hi Niles!

Let's have you uninstall the CD-Drive and then have you reboot and let windows reinstall the drivers for it. To do this, do the following:

• Go to START-->RUN and type devmgmt.msc
• In the new window that appears, click the + symbol next to CD/DVD-ROM Drives.
• Locate the drive in question and right-click it and choose UNINSTALL.
• Once it's finishing uninstalling, reboot your computer.

Once it's rebooted, try putting a CD in it again and see if it detects and reads the CD.

Fenor

[Niles]

Thanks for the reply. I will try that.

[Niles]

I have tried what you suggested but an error message says that the driver is missing or corrupted (code 39). I also see that the PMCIA controller is also on the list as having a missing driver. Would it be worth trying a system restore?

Any help greatly appreciated.

[Fenor]

I doubt a System Restore would help, it normally doesn't with a hardware issue. What I would like you to do is look at the Owner's manual for your Inspiron 1100, found HERE, and go to page 106 which tells you how to remove the CD-ROM drive from the computer. Of course do this with the laptop turned off.

Once you have the CD-ROM drive removed, turn the laptop back on and let Windows load. Once you are at the desktop, do the following:

Click Start then Run and type regedit...click "Ok"

In the left pane, expand (click +) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then SYSTEM, then CurrentControlSet, then Control, then Class, and click on {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

Right click on {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} and choose Export. Name this file "filters" and save it to your desktop. This file can be deleted when it is determined it is no longer needed.

In the right pane, if either UpperFilters or LowerFilters are present, right click on it and choose Delete...accept the deletion. Delete both if they are both present.

Close Registry Editor and shut down your computer.

Once it is powered off, reattach the CD-ROM drive back into your laptop. Once it's reattached, turn on your laptop and let Windows load. Once Windows is loaded and you are at your desktop, you should notice Windows find and install the CD-ROM drive again. Once it's done and says "Your hardware is installed and ready to use," reboot your computer again. Once it is rebooted and you are back at your desktop, try putting a CD-ROM in the drive, a normal one not a burned CD-ROM, and see if it now plays it.

Fenor

[Niles]

Thanks again for the reply. I will follow your advice when I get home from the office, fingers crossed.

[Niles]

I have now had the chance to follow the steps which you set out and everything is working ok!

Can't thank you enough, really good of you to take the trouble to help.

[Fenor]

Glad I could help and am happy everything is now working the way it should!

Fenor