Computer cant find either disk drive

[pungen]

Hi,
I've got a 2002 Alienware M51 laptop.

I tried to burn a CD today only to discover neither of my CD/DVD drives were showing up in "My Computer". I restarted several times which didn't help. They don't show up in explorer either and when I go to device manager, the DVD/CD-ROM Drives list option is missing altogether.

I can't think what could have caused this. I've been using a tablet lately to draw with and for whatever reason it makes my computer freeze frequently so I don't know if that sudden shutting down might have hurt my computer or something.

Does anyone have a clue? Thanks.

 

[G0AOZ]

Presumably you can hear if the drive spins up when a CD is inserted.

Check in the BIOS. Does it list the CD/DVD drive? It's possible CMOS might have become corrupted - not usually easy to completely clear without taking the laptop apart. You could, however, try invoking the Default Setup settings in the BIOS.

Not familiar with your make of laptop, but usually the CD/DVD drive can be removed from the chassis either with a spring loaded clip or just one or two easy-to-reach screws. Withdrawing and reinserting the drive would help towards "cleaning" any dirty data connections on the back of it.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[edfair]

What is the status of the IDE controller in the mangler.
Some bridge chip drivers get corrupted and the secondary becomes unavailable. If this is your problem you probably will see some indication.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.