CD-ROM drive not functional

[chakri3]

My computer boots up fine but I am not able to use either of my cd drives. I have a HP pavillion xl754 pc which has 2 cd drives.One read-only & the other one write drive.

I attempted to run some utilities which said the IDE CD-ROM devide driver is not installed. How can I find out what is wrong & how to fix it.

 

[BadBigBen]

go to Device Manager, take a look if there is any listing of CD-ROM drives, are there any exclamation marks or red crosses next to them? if yes, deinstall them by right-click on them... reboot and have Windows reinstall them...

re-install the correct chipset drivers for your system and OS...

install ADAPTEC's ASPI layer/drivers...

check cables (both IDE and Power conns) if they are inserted correctly/firmly on the drives aswell as on the MOBO...

Ben

 

[chakri3]

Hi,
How do I re-install the correct chipset drivers for my system and OS ? As I said, I am not able to use any CD-ROM.

How do I do this ?install ADAPTEC's ASPI layer/drivers

I am little afraid of opening the tower to check cables .Is there an easier way to find out what the problem is , some thing like a diagnostic software ?

Thanks,
Satish

 

[BadBigBen]

You are on the Internet, correct? download the Chipset drivers and the ASPI Drivers and install them from the HD...

about checking the cables, well there is not DIAG software that will tell you the cable is loose... they just tell you that there is a problem, well you already know that... so I guess you will have to open the case, unplug the power cord first, then push the IDE cable into the drives, and the do the same for the power conn... then reassemble the case, plug in... that's it...

what OS are you using? Win98, WinME, W2K, XP, NT, LINUX, BeOS, OS/2, etc...

Ben

 

[iaresean]

Just a thought---->

When I was still new into computers I installed two cd roms (1 x cdrw 1 x cd rom). My pc wouldn't pick up the bloody things at all! I got so frustrated because I could only use one at a time...and then *boom*----it hit me. The jumpers!

Make sure your jumpers are set correctly. I.E one on master and other on slave.

Sometimes the simplest things can stump us the longest.

Sean.

 

[TekTippy4U]

Another thought;
Is your BIOS set to detect all IDE? set all to "Auto" under IDE section and to "Use Both Channels"...check under your main (not Pri or Sec) HD controller in Device Manger..Enable Both Channels under Settings Tab...

TT4U

Notification:
These are just "my" thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs..All involved shall be spared the grief.

 

[pararito]

I have a similar problem - only worse because I don't have Windows. I was going to install Linux, and erase the entire drive. I hit a snag on the install and had to abort. Somewhere I lost the drivers to the CDROM. Windows is gone. Now when I boot from the Windows floppy, it can't find the CDROM drivers and aborts installing them. How can I install the drivers if I have no access to C: ? I thought BIOS was supposed to pick up the CDROM anyway.

 

[TekTippy4U]

pararito;
It's possible the linux install messed with the MBR (Master Boot Record)..Use a Win98 Startup disc, it has Generic CDROM drivers(Oakcdrom.sys) and SCSI adapter drivers......(95 disc doesn't). Boot to a command prompt with Win98 disc and type
FDISK /MBR
This should fix your MBR....what version of Windows?? and Do you have OS Install CD??....is it OEM??

Startup floppy disc available from

http://www.bootdisk.com

if necessary....view the Read1st file too...

And if the CDROM is set as Sec Master, make sure your BIOS reflects that....and yes, you should see it recognized on the POST screen, along with the HDD, keyboard, mouse..(If you can't see much on POST, check BIOS for "Quick Boot" and/or "Silent Boot" and disable them...(Display System Messages)


TT4U

Notification:
These are just "my" thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs..All involved shall be spared the grief.

 

[pararito]

Thanks Tek... Changing the setting in BIOS to secondary master solved the problem of using the CDROM. Now I'm having another problem - the CD won't eject. I have re-installed Windows without incident and now the CD seems to be stuck. When I press the eject button on the CDROM, it begins to eject and seems to make an effort to, but it doesn't. I've tried ejecting from MyComputer->D also to no avail. What's up?

 

[franklin97355]

I think you have a defective CDROM drive.

 

[TekTippy4U]

Couple of quick thoughts...
Is the BIOS Secondary Master IDE set to "Auto"?, so it picks up the correct transfer rate info from device?
possible the cdrom is busy caching data and won't unmount, till it's done.

Possible the IDE cable connection inside PC is a bit askew, not seated correctly?

Are the jumpers on cdrom set for Master...possible it was originally a slave on second channel, through the ASPI driver layer?

Since it's a fresh install, you could try a
SYS C:
to see if it clears things up.
Make sure Startup disc is CLEAN and write protected (no virii).

Try updating the DirectX drivers and ASPI layer drivers..
Also SP1 for USB and 98

...all kinds of screwy things happen when not..

Using a Win98 CDROM that's stuck?
DirectX

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.aspx?url=/windows/directx/downloads/default.htm

ASPI

http://www.tburke.net/info/misc/aspi.htm

http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/su...s=no&cat=/Product/ASPI-4.70&prodkey=ASPI-4.70

MS Win98 SP1

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/support/servicepacks/Windows/98/default.asp

TT4U

Notification:
These are just "my" thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs..All involved shall be spared the grief.

 

[pararito]

Thanks Tek. I re-adjusted the data cable and got the CDROM to eject. It's very weak tho. I think I need a new CDROM. Thanks again.

 

[TekTippy4U]

Your welcome pararito;
Glad I could help

gee..i wonder how Chakri3 is making out.

TT4U

Notification:
These are just "my" thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs..All involved shall be spared the grief.

 

[chakri3]

Hi guys, this is chakri3 again. One of my CD-ROM devices is now working. Thanks to Bits, Bytes & More technicians. But, my CD-RW drive still does not work. It opens, takes the CD,appears to be reading(the green light blinks for a while). I 've checked the cables, jumpers & they look fine as per the manual.
The drive is TEAC CD-54WE & I am running Windows ME on a HP Pavilion XL754.

In the Windows Explorer, it says the Device is not ready.

Any thoughts on what could be the problem ?

Thanks,
Chakri3

 

[TekTippy4U]

One thing funny (oh yeh - hilarious ) about Compaq/HP is the "cables" are wired backwards sometimes.....try "Cable select" on the drive....try different CDs. Is this drive on Primary or Secondary ?-- as Master or Slave?....detail the setup again please......it's been awhile eh?

TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs

 

[chakri3]

TT4U thanks for your quick response.

Where & how do I select the Cable Select you mentioned ?

Here is the detail of the configuration.
HP Pavilion XL754 Pentium III
Seperate CD-R(SAMSUNG,working fine) & CD-RW(TEAC CD-54WE,not working) drives.

The CD-RW is the secondary master, CD-R drive is the secondary slave.

On the Device manager, the CD-RW drive says the device is working properly whereas in the Windows explorer,right click on properties says the Device is not ready.

I removed the drive from Device Manager, uninstalled the Adaptec software, restarted but no luck.

Any ideas ?

 

[BadBigBen]

Hola Chakri,

Cable Select (CS) jumpers are/is found on the back of the CD drives (markings such as MA - Master. SL - Slave, and CS -Cable select are found there)...

have you tried to switch the drives on the IDE channels? ergo moved it to Primary IDE Jumpered as Slave?

Ben


If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer...

 

[TekTippy4U]

As BigBadBen said for Cable Select;
but;
It'll say "device not ready" if there's no CD in the drive - couldn't be that simple.....could it?
Try other CDs
try Switch the devices on Secondary Channel (Mas to Sl -and- Sl to Mas).
try Make BOTH devices CS, possible the CDR needs jumpers changed too when a Slave is added.

TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs

 

[TekTippy4U]

One other thought;
Once you've tried everything else and all sorts of jumper settings and you can determine that the CDRW atleast "works" on it's own, then it's possible [1] you need a special Cable-Select cable from manu.

just occured to me is this
[2] you need an 80 conductor cable for use with that higher speed CDRW drive -- 80 conductor (still 40pins) are better anyway....so go buy one for yourself
for both above..check the manuals and or HP website and TEAC website

TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs

 

[chakri3]

I checked the cables, jumpers. The CD-RW is set to Master on the jumper & same on the IDE cable.