[Daftasabrush]

Hi! I've had a second hand Dell GX-620 with Windows XP Pro OS for a couple of years, and the only small problem has been that the internal low profile TEAC CD-224E CD drive has never worked. It did appear in 'My Computer' and 'Device Manager' as if correctly installed, but inserting a CD would cause Windows to hang, forcing power disconnection to restart. I recently got an Optiarc AD-7530A DVD/RW drive from a laptop, and thought I'd upgrade and replace the faulty CD drive with this. After fitting it, Windows would start booting as normal, with the loading bar below the logo moving, but I'd say just before the login screen appeared, the loading bar stopped, and only power off would recover. I checked in the BIOS, and the AD-7530A was being recognised correctly. After various other checks I tried booting in Safe Mode, and found that the DVD/RW drive was recognised and worked (certainly reading disks). Out of interest I tried the original CD drive, and again in Safe Mode I was able to read CD's. However the problems remain with a normal boot, in that the CD drive is recognised but hangs when a disk is inserted, and the DVD/RW drive causes booting to hang. I've posted this in the OS section rather than peripherals, as I feel that the hardware is OK since it works in Safe Mode, so it's something in Windows XP which is blocking the correct operation of optical disk drives. The OS is Windows XP Professional Version 2002 SP3, and is fully up to date. I flashed the BIOS to version A11. There's only one PATA cable, so can only go to optical drive. I've also run MicrosoftFixit50027, and attempted to run MicrosoftFixit.dvd.RNP.231256925519572780.1.1.Run.exe (which hung on the read test). I'd really appreciate if anyone could suggest any other possible fixes for this - I'm spending far too much time getting nowhere! Many thanks in advance.

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Broni's canned speech:

One of these may help:
1. Uninstall the drive through Device Manager.
Restart computer. The drive will be automatically reinstalled.
or...
2. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060
Restart computer.
or...
3. Download, and run Restore Missing CD Drive patch
Double click on cdgone.zip to unzip it.
Right click on cdgone.reg, click Merge.
Accept registry merge.
Restart computer.
or...
4. Go to Device Manager, click a "+" sign next to IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers.
You'll see two items:
- ATA Channel0 (or Primary Channel)
- ATA Channel1 (or Secondary Channel)
Right click on each of them, and click Uninstall. Confirm.
Restart Windows. They'll be automatically reinstalled.
5. Go to Microsoft's site http://support.micro..._drive_problems and follow the steps.
6. Try the guide at this link http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982116

Thank's to Broni for the instructions

[rshaffer61]

Broni's canned speech:

One of these may help:
1. Uninstall the drive through Device Manager.
Restart computer. The drive will be automatically reinstalled.
or...
2. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060
Restart computer.
or...
3. Download, and run Restore Missing CD Drive patch
Double click on cdgone.zip to unzip it.
Right click on cdgone.reg, click Merge.
Accept registry merge.
Restart computer.
or...
4. Go to Device Manager, click a "+" sign next to IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers.
You'll see two items:
- ATA Channel0 (or Primary Channel)
- ATA Channel1 (or Secondary Channel)
Right click on each of them, and click Uninstall. Confirm.
Restart Windows. They'll be automatically reinstalled.
5. Go to Microsoft's site http://support.micro..._drive_problems and follow the steps.
6. Try the guide at this link http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982116

Thank's to Broni for the instructions

[Daftasabrush]

Hi! Thanks for the quick reply. Good news on one aspect of the problem anyway - the CD drive is now working. It started working correctly after the uninstall/reinstall of the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers. However, the DVD drive is still causing the progress bar to freeze during the Windows XP boot, but this may be a problem with that drive itself. I'd assumed that it was a common problem in XP since two different optical drives had problems, but that was maybe just coincidence. I'll have a closer look at what might be causing the problem with the Optiarc AD-7530A, and if neccessary re-post in the appropriate section. Many thanks for all your assistance to get this far!

[rshaffer61]

However, the DVD drive is still causing the progress bar to freeze during the Windows XP boot, but this may be a problem with that drive itself.

Can I ask how you determined it is the drive causing the freezing during bootup?

I'd assumed that it was a common problem in XP since two different optical drives had problems,

Unless the onboard IDE controller is having a issue I have never heard of the drive itself causing a issue like this.

I'll have a closer look at what might be causing the problem with the Optiarc AD-7530A, and if neccessary re-post in the appropriate section. Many thanks for all your assistance to get this far!

No problem as it would be related with this topic we can proceed here to continue looking for a resolution.
Since you stated it has happened with two different drives let me ask is the cdrom drive on it's own connector on the motherboard?
If so you may try to slave it to the main hard drive ( This will only work if you don't have a second drive already connected to the main drive) and then boot the system up with this configuration to see if it still happens. If the drives are both IDE then remember you have to set the main drive as Master and the cdrom drive as a Slave with the jumpers on the back of each drive.

[Daftasabrush]

Maybe it's worth mentioning that I've worked as a broadcast engineer for many years, so I'm used to logically working through a problem in flowchart-like manner.

Can I ask how you determined it is the drive causing the freezing during bootup?

I determined that it was the Optiarc AD-7530A DVD/RW drive causing the progress bar to freeze during boot since this only happens with the drive connected. In all other situations with the original CD drive connected, Safe Boot, or PATA drive disabled in BIOS, normal boot is completed fully.

I'd assumed that it was a common problem in XP since two different optical drives had problems

Maybe I wasn't clear about my initial feeling about it being a Win XP problem: I felt that since there were problems (albeit slightly different symptoms) with two different types of optical drive, the DVD/RW drive was know to be OK beforehand, and both devices apparently worked in Safe Boot mode, that the problem may be some with some OS driver or similar which was running during full boot. I believed that the fact that both drives worked in Safe Boot mode indicated that they were functional, the cable connection was working, and Win XP was loading appropriate drivers.

Since you stated it has happened with two different drives let me ask is the cdrom drive on it's own connector on the motherboard?
If so you may try to slave it to the main hard drive ( This will only work if you don't have a second drive already connected to the main drive) and then boot the system up with this configuration to see if it still happens. If the drives are both IDE then remember you have to set the main drive as Master and the cdrom drive as a Slave with the jumpers on the back of each drive.

In the Dell GX-620, the optical drive is a low profile laptop style drive, with its own dedicated connector on a ribbon cable. It appears in the BIOS as a PATA device, but there are no other PATA connectors on the motherboard (HD is SATA, one socket only). This means there are no replugging options, and no visible master/slave selection switches on the optical drives, although I wouldn't have thought that this would be a factor since there is only one PATA device present in the GX-620, on a dedicated connector. The fact that uninstalling/reinstalling the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers has now led to the TEAC CD drive working moved me on to considering that there may be separate problem with the Optiarc DVD/RW drive, and that was why I thought it might be better re-posted elsewhere. The Optiarc AD-7530A DVD/RW came from an Acer Aspire 9301 laptop which had an overheated graphics chip, but the drive was working before removal (and works in the GX-620 in Safe Boot mode). Thanks for sticking with this, and all the suggestions help!

[Daftasabrush]

Just another thought - it's not possible that Dell installed Windows XP Pro blocks any hardware upgrades other than Dell approved/sourced optical drives? This might make sense if this 'blocking' was bypassed in Safe Boot. Anyone sense possible clutching at straws?

[rshaffer61]

Safe mode loads generic drivers instead of any updated drivers that you may have done.
Now there is a way to do a Repair Installation but usually a branded OS disk will not contain the option to do this. You would need to borrow a OS installation disk of the same type you have installed. In your case that would be XP Pro with the correct SP on it.
Below I am including those instructions if you would like to try this. This will keep your data and programs safe and only change or replace corrupted files in the OS only.

What I would suggest you do is to Backup your Data Files.
For this I would suggest using a External Hard Drive Enclosure. This will allow you to keep your Important Data safe and Separated from the main system in case of problems. The cost for this kind of Backup System has come down a lot. I would suggest a 500 Gig capacity for your needs. Since you will only be Backing Up Data Files Only this should be sufficient to do that for you. Follow the next two links to see examples of the price you will be looking at.
• HERE
• HERE

I suggest going to Microsofts Backup Tutorial and follow the steps to do a Backup to a External Drive and also it will guide you on how to do a Scheduled Backup even at night.

Another way you can do a Backup is by using DVD’s. This method is just as effective and can be done using the same steps as above.


After the above is done then go on to the next step.



Repair Installation Instructions

· Insert your Windows XP CD in your CD-ROM and then Restart your computer.

· At the first post screen start tapping the Del key to enter System Bios
· Find the Advance Options or Boot Sequence screen.
· You will need to change the boot sequence so that the CDrom is first and the HD is second.
· Press F10 to Save and Exit and then press Enter to accept.
· The system will now reboot
· When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message is displayed on your screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.
· When you see the following message displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER
· To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
· At this point an option to press R to enter the Recovery Console is displayed. DO NOT SELECT THIS OPTION.

· On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.
· Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected and highlighted in the box, and then press the R key to repair Windows XP.
· Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Setup.

You can also go HERE
to read a step by step tutorial with screenshots.

[Daftasabrush]

Hi! Thanks for all the tips. Until I got the CD drive working I was stuck with not being able to put in the Windows XP Pro install disk, and attempt a repair. I'm currently backing up the system partition, and then I'll try the repair as you described. It'll obviously take a bit of time, but I'll keep you informed. Thanks again!

[Daftasabrush]

 Screen grabs.zip   342.33KB   182 downloadsHi again! I'll try to keep it short..... I backed up my system disk, and then proceeded to go through the Windows XP pro repair process by booting from a Dell XP Pro disk. It hung at the very end on the logo saying 'Please wait...', and after an hour I rebooted, and it then booted alright. Long and short of it was that although the CD drive worked as before, the Optiarc AD-7530A DVD/RW still caused the progress bar to freeze during XP boot. I did try some other tests since I now had a backup system image - First, I checked the drivers shown in Device Manager for the optical drives, and discovered that they seem to be identical for CD drive loaded in normal boot, and Optiarc DVD/RW loaded in Safe Boot (see attached screen grabs for details). Since the drivers appear to be the same, I wondered if any other services or drivers loading in full boot were causing a conflict. I tried (via msconfig) altering startup items, first deselecting all startup items, then choosing selective startup mode with 'Load System Services' and 'Load Startup Items' both deselected (see screen grab 'Startup selective.JPG'). Full boot still hung as before. For reference, see the screen grabs of SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI contents. I then restored the original disk image since Windows Update and some other services were not working. What I've just done (since it's after bed time!) is remove the DVD drive from my daughter's laptop, and tried it - exactly the same symptoms as the Optiarc (NG normal boot, OK in Safe Boot), and this is a Matshita DVD-RAM UJ-850S. It is definitely working OK, so again it's pointing to a software fault rather than an optical drive hardware problem. I don't know where to go from here in terms of how to disable other drivers or services from loading, to try to pin down the problem. Another thought is to try repair from a Microsoft XP Pro retail disk rather than a Dell XP Pro disk - is it worth it? Once again, any suggestions greatfully received!

[rshaffer61]

ok I need you to do the following and let me know what it says

Click the Start and then Right click My Computer
Select Manage and In the Computer Management window, select Device Manager
In the right pane, click to expand IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
The click on the + sign next to your CD/DVD drive controller which will most likely be the Secondary Controller
Right click on the drive and select Properties
Click the Advanced Settings tab
In the Transfer Mode box that represents your CD/DVD drive (typically Device 1); open the dropdown menu and select PIO Only
Click OK and exit all windows
Reboot to make sure all settings take affect and then try your cdrom drive. Reply back with your results

[Daftasabrush]

Hi! In the Dell GX-620 it only shows a Primary IDE channel, but I selected PIO only and re-booted. The original Teac CD drive worked, but same old story with the Optiarc DVD/RW drive causing progress bar to hang during boot. I booted in Safe Mode with the Optiarc DVD/RW drive connected, and checked that the Primary IDE channel was still showing PIO mode, which it was. I then put it to auto and re-booted, but still no joy with the Optiarc. Since the Matshita DVD ROM from my daughter's laptop had shown the same symptoms as the Optiarc drive, I looked in Device Manager in the Acer laptop for any driver differences, etc. I've attached screen grabs which show settings in both the Dell GX-620 and the Acer laptop. The one thing I notice in particular is that the Acer laptop shows Primary and Secondary IDE channels, whereas the GX-620 shows only a Primary channel. The GX-620 has a SATA hard drive, again only one connector so no other plugging options. The Acer laptop only has one hard drive and optical disk, but I see two different entries and settings for it. Is this any kind of clue? The only thing is that the Optiarc DVD/RW drive still works in the GX-620 in Safe Boot, even though Device Manager only shows the Primary IDE channel.

Attached Files

•  Screen grabs DELL and ACER.zip   396.55KB   189 downloads

[Daftasabrush]

More trials and thoughts.... I went to the Dell website and found a firmware update for the original TEAC CD drive. Perhaps stupidly I decided to update the firmware on it (although it was now working OK). When I flashed and re-booted, the CD drive appeared in Device Manager, but as originally, disks not recognised when inserted. I uninstalled the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers as before, and the CD drive now works again. However it got me thinking, and in Device Manager I uninstalled the TEAC CD optical drive and the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers. Rather than rebooting immediately I shut down, swapped the TEAC CD dive for the Optiarc DVD/RW drive, then attempted to boot normally. No, it didn't work! What I don't understand is that if the TEAC CD optical drive and the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers are uninstalled, it seems to be only when Windows is fully booted and logged on that you get the 'Found new hardware' notification, and it searches for and loads drivers then. But if they aren't loaded until then, it can't be the driver for the Optiarc DVD/RW drive which is causing the XP boot to hang, since it has yet to be loaded? If this is the case, it seems as if it is just the presence of the Optiarc (or Matshita) DVD drives which cause other drivers or services to hang at this point, as the BIOS has already recognised them. The progress bar stops moving during the black screen/XP logo part of the boot sequence, and I'd say it's just before the logo normally disappears and you briefly see a black screen with the mouse pointer only. Is it possible to narrow down what is loading at this point? Many thanks once again!

[rshaffer61]

Strangely enough the driver is loaded from the OS itself and has been since about Win98. The only program needed is your burning software to be honest.
Even with my XP I see a brief second or two of just the mouse pointer before the system boots up. How long ecactly is the bootup from turning the system on till you are at your desktop?
How long exactly does the system stop as you say with the mouse pointer?

[Daftasabrush]

Hi! I've maybe caused some confusion by speculating and trying to document too many things for completeness. I'll describe the boot sequence of the Dell GX-620 with its original TEAC CD drive installed: Start 0s. Power ON; 11s XP logo on black with progress bar appears; 31s XP logo disappears, black screen; 39s mouse pointer appears; 41s 'Windows is starting' screen appears; 43s user login screen appears. Now, with the Optiarc DVD/RW connected instead of the TEAC CD drive: Start 0s. Power ON; 11s XP logo on black with progress bar appears; 28s progress bar freezes, no indication of any hard drive activity, remains frozen indefinitely. Looking at the timings, what I'm wondering is what is loading at the point 28s after power on, or another way, 17s after the P logo on black with progress bar appears, or 3s before it disappears? This is the point where boot hangs with the a DVD optical drive connected, both the Optiarc or the Matshita. Since there was only ever a DVD-ROM optical drive previously, there was and is no disc burning software installed. I have never been able to complete a normal full boot with a DVD drive attached, and so have not been limited to any tests I can perform on them in Safe Boot mode (when the DVD drives work). Thanks!

[Daftasabrush]

Sorry, I meant '17s after the XP logo'