Computer (driver) question...

EatSleepFly

Well-Known Member
How do you "start" a driver?

My CD-ROM drive isn't working, to the extent that its not even showing up on my computer.

When I go into msinfo32.exe, and look at the system drivers, I see that the CD-ROM driver says: "Started: No" and "State: Stopped". Could this be why its not working? And if so, how do I "start" it again?

I need to get it working so I can blow Rausda27 out of the sky in CFS3!
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Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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(I'm using Windows XP Pro, by the way)
 
You could try....

..right click on My Computer, select Manage

Then select the Device Manager Section... look under the DVD/CDROM section, you should see the drive. If it is stopped / not enabled, right click and you should be able to enable it. If it is enabled, try disabling it and then enabling it.

Failing that, select Properties, and either the description or the troubleshoot section may be able to guide you to the problem....

err... I think that might do it... give it a go.
 
Thats part of my problem. The CD/DVD drives don't even show up in device manager.
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I believe this whole problem is a result of getting that Blaster worm back in August. They haven't worked since then.

Oh, and I've confirmed that its not a hardware problem. All the cables check out, and the drive works in a buddy's computer.
 
What kind of machine do you have? Is all of your data backed up? Every now and then, every machine needs a good restore. If you're all backed up, then it becomes a non-event and your machine runs like new. If you haven't backed anything up for a year, well...that could suck.

By the way, how did you get the blaster worm? Didn't you have an anti-virus program running? Darn it, it's people like you that keep herpes in the newspaper!
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OK, no more ranting...lol. Seriously, a restore could fix everything, but can sometimes be like burning down the house to get rid of the termites if it's not backed up.
 
Does the drive show up in the power up self test when you first boot the machine?

There should be a list of hard drives and CD/DVD drives when you first boot on most BIOS.

You could also check under the "other devices" section of the device manager to see if there is a problem with the device such that it cannot identify it.

Does the drive cycle (flash the read light on and off) during the startup cycle. Does it stay on permenently?

Another suggestion would be to remove the drive, allow XP to fully boot, and then shut down. Then reboot with XP and hope it notices the new hardware.

Have you tried running the add new hardware wizard to see if can identify the drive?

Also, have you checked that the jumpers on the back of the drive are correctly set (Slave, Master, CS) as necessary.

Just a list of ideas, sorry I haven't got anything more concrete
 
Ooo... good point MTSU.

ESF, if you can remember when your drive last worked, you can try a system restore in the Windows XP Control Panel.

Under the Performance and Maintenance section, you'll see System Restore listed in the top left. It should let you go back to the state that your machine was in on whatever date you select, it keeps a change log of the changes made on your machine.

Might be something else to try. Before you Restore, make sure you take a checkpoint of the current config, so that you can restore to the current state.
 
[ QUOTE ]

I need to get it working so I can blow Rausda27 out of the sky in CFS3!
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[/ QUOTE ]

Puhleeaasseee
 
I used to have a machine with this problem - the CD drive would not show up at all from time to time; most of the time it would be there fine.

It turned out to have a loose IDE cable. It would come and go and the only way to fix it would be to take the cover off and fiddle with the connector, but the problem never really went away, it was always intermittent... it was a computer i found in a dumpster (that actually worked) so I wasnt too upset. You'd be amazed at the things folks will throw away.
 
Well, thanks for the advice guys, but still no luck.

I've tried unhooking, booting up, shutting down, and rehooking the drives- no luck (just tried again).

I can't restore it back far enough (the last time they worked was Aug. '03)- doesn't matter...that was the very first thing that I tried when they stopped.

BIOS doesn't come up on my computer like it does on some. Is there any way to display it?

Also, one last possibility- the CD Burner IS broken. It doesn't open, the light doesn't come on, etc. Could that be affecting the CD-DVD drive, if its still hooked in with it? I guess that will be the next and probably last thing I try. If that doesn't work, I'm going to parts-out this computer and use whats left in a ballistics experiment off the edge of my balcony.

Again, thanks for the suggestions!
 
Huh...unhooking the bad drive worked. Wish I'd have thought of that six months ago...
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Alright Rausda, prepare for battle...
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A mechanically broken burner shouldn't effect a separate drive. It sounds like your system is slightly hosed. If you have tried reconnecting the cables and all that... hmm. I would try to find a Windows CDrom (doesn't matter what version) and boot off of that. If it boots to the setup then your drive is physically fine. So the next step would be try to get the cdrom drivers that came with your system originally and see if you can add new hardware and reinstall the drive. Goodluck.

edit:nevermind then... glad that work... but sort of strange.

Ethan
 
Are your jumpers set to the right positions? I think my friend's DVD-ROM stopped working once and it turned out to be a misplaced jumper.
 
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Are your jumpers set to the right positions?

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With the info given it could be one of two things. 1)Either your system is going on the fritz or 2)Those jumpers are set incorrectly.

But since it's doing what you want it to do.....it's working fine LOL!!!
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