[PhilClarke]

Hello

If anyone out there can help I'd be most grateful!

I have 'lost' my DVD and CD R/W drives in the sense that they do not appear in My Computer and I xan not access them. Device manager shows then as present, but with adjacent exclamation marks in yellow circles. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling them using the add hardware manager, but this results in an error Code 39 message. The drives do show in BIOS as Primary slave and Secondary master (or similar, from memory).

I've trawled help sites, but have no been able to solve the problem, which first ocurred after I'd tried to run downloaded CD burners (there is a problem with the installer in my XP Pro, and I have been unale to install some programs). I have checked the relevant registry entry (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE........../Class/4D36e965........10318), but there are no UpperFilter or LowerFilter entries there, so the fix that many people seem to have found is not available to me, alas!

The XP pro I have installed is, unfortuneately, illicit (it was installed last year in desperation to try to get the CD re-writer working for a very urgent task). I have bought a legal copy now, but of course can't use it until the drives become visible again.

Any help, please, much appreciated.

Cheers,
Phil

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did you try removing with device manager?

start>settings>control panel>system>device manager>+ next to cdrom
select the device, remove, ok
restart the pc, then look for red or yellow indicators for the cdrom using device manager.

what happens?

[bdlt]

did you try removing with device manager?

start>settings>control panel>system>device manager>+ next to cdrom
select the device, remove, ok
restart the pc, then look for red or yellow indicators for the cdrom using device manager.

what happens?

[PhilClarke]

I think so, but I'll retry

[bdlt]

the sequnce in the previous post was for win98. here's the sequence for xp:

start>control panel>system>hardware>device manager>+ next to DVD/CD-ROM drives
right click on device, uninstall

[PhilClarke]

Comes up with the exclamation marks again. Previous efforts have resulted in this Code 39 error (Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)). The Properties general tab in device Manager says under Device Status (Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)); if I askk Windows to find a replacement driver I am informed that a newer driver is not available.
Phil

[bdlt]

Was unable to use 'add reply' yesterday, had to use PM with Phil. Here's what didn't work:
removing the cdrom and dvd using device manager and restarting the pc.
disconnecting both devices and restarting with only one device connected.

We are retrying the add hardware wizard to see if the 'drviver not available' message or others are displayed. The new hardware is being found on restart.

Phil please add anything I left out.

[PhilClarke]

To update the topic, I replaced the cables to the drives and rebooted. In My Computer in the fnal stages of the startup sequence, both drives appeared, then disappeared one after another. In Device Manager, I uninstalled both drives and used the Add hardware wizard. Both drives appeared: initially, the DVD-ROM (primary slave) had a 'yellow excalamation' mark beside, the CD R/W drive (secondary master) looked ok - but then this also acquired a yellow EX mark.

bdlt said "this sounds more like a virus. the next step - submit a hijackthis log. ".

[rokano]

try this: http://support.micro...b/314060/EN-US/

worked for me on windows xp sp2. not sure if easy cd creator was ever installed on the system (i inherited this machine from the old IT guy and the drives weren't working when i got it), but i found the "upperfilters" key in my registry, deleted it, restarted, and my two cd/dvd drives were back. i then was able to burn a cd with nero without a hitch. thanks!

[PhilClarke]

Thanks Rokano. Unfortuneately the Upper and LowerFilters do not appear in the registry (see initial entry above). I have sublitted a HiJackThis log, but not had any response. I think I probably have no alternative but to reformat the hard drive. Glad this fix worked for you though.

[magusbuckley]

Strange Fix:

You may find this funny, but sometimes a burner likes to be isolated on an IDE cable. Before you format your Hard Drive, take the time to try this one last thing. Remove both drives from the device manager. Unplug the computer from the wall and press the power button to remove any leftover static electricity inside the case. Open the case and remove the IDE cable from the ROM drives. Put the burner on one IDE cable. Put the other ROM drive on an IDE cable with your HD (check jumpers if you have them) (some hardware devices are jumperless though). Put the cover back on your PC, plug the unit into the wall, cross your fingers, and press the power button. I've seen way too many times where isolating a burner has corrected this type of problem.

Good luck...I only hope you haven't formatted your drive...

[rokano]

apologies... i think when i read the first entry the first time i did not understand your comments on the registry entry, so later on i did not remember that you already tried that fix. good luck and if i find anything else i will post it here.

Thanks Rokano.  Unfortuneately the Upper and LowerFilters do not appear in the registry (see initial entry above).  I have sublitted a HiJackThis log, but not had any response.  I think I probably have no alternative but to reformat the hard drive.  Glad this fix worked for you though.