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Detecting + mounting cd rw drive

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RenoWV

RenoWV

Technical User
Mar 16, 2002
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I have a Sony "Spressa" cd rw drive that has worked for several years (running on Windows 98SE). For some reason today it is not being detected -- I've tried turning it on/off, plugging the USB in/out, using "Detect New Hardware" in the control panel, and rebooting, but to no avail.

Is there a way to detect and mount this drive from built-in Windows software? Or, is there a program that could do this? At one point for example there was a utility for Mac called "Mount Everything" that would work perfectly for this kind of situation, so am wondering if anything for Windows can do the same.

Thanks for any advice....

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With 98 did you have to install drivers to get it to recognize the cdrw? Maybe try reinstall?
 
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If i recall correctly, it should be recognized by win 98se, without drivers, as a cdrom. Then you add software to use its burning capabilities.
So you are really saying that win98se wont see the drive as a cdrom.
What about your bios, does it see or list the cdrom in the bios or is the cdrom mentioned in the bootup sequence at all?
If you have changed any of the ide situation at all, added or taken a drive off of the ide channel that your Sony cd burner is on then you may have to change the jumpers on the Sony cd burner to compensate for that.
Is the Sony cd burner on the primary or secondary channel?
Are there any markings at all, yellow or red, on the ide section in device manager?


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Thanks to both of you for the suggestions. I tried re-installing the software, sct77, that came with the Spressa, but it made no difference (and to be honest, garebo, I am not confident enough in my Windows knowledge to go into bios).

When I look under Control Panel > Settings > System > Device Manager, this external cd rw is not listed under CD-ROM (though there is a reference to Sony under CD-ROM Controllers).

I'm wondering if some conflict has developed with the external Iomega Zip, because if I turn the Spressa power on & off while looking at the various drives listed in the My Computer screen, the Zip 100[H:] will temporarily flash off the screen, then come back a few seconds later. The Spressa is drive G (not showing), so maybe they are competing?

The mystery continues....

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garebo,
The device is USB [wink]


Reno,
Unplug all USB devices. Go back into Device Manager and remove (uninstall) any references to the Iomega or Sony drives (make sure you have your driver CD's handy first). After removing both from Device Manager, shut the PC off completely and reboot.

When Windows is finished loading, attach the Sony USB drive first. It should either show up under My Computer, or prompt you to install the device. If it works and the drive shows up, then go ahead and do the same for the Iomega.

Let us know if and where you get stuck...
[thumbsup2]

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884
 
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Thanks very much cdogg for defining this procedure.

Just to clarify, when you say to "unplug all USB devices", does that literally mean ALL (as in the wireless Logitech mouse, the external Maxtor harddrive, the digital card reader, etc), or, should I unplug both the Sony & the Iomega Zip only.

If all as in ALL, then unpluging the USB hubs would do it I guess (?).

And regarding uninstalling "any references", would that include for example where the Sony is mentioned under the CD-ROM controllers (and where the Iomega is listed in "Hard Disk Controllers")?

Please let me know what you advise doctor, then I'll proceed with the surgery...

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My apology, musta been sleeping, didnt even notice it was a usb drive. Thanks, cdogg, for your graceful handling of this!

The only thing i will add is that i, personally, dont like to stress out either a powered or unpowered usb hub, they are only so good, in my opinion.
Are you running everything from a hub? I would try running the usb drives from usb connectors that are not on a hub. Do you have any usb connectors built into your motherboard?
If not i would advise you get a pci usb card. They come in usb1.1 and usb 2.0 flavors, i dont know if your usb drives are usb1.1 or usb2.0. Usb1.1 pci card would cost less than the usb2 but either will work, and if any of the items you have are usb2.0 then you really should get the usb2.0 pci card anyway.
The only thing i would run off a hub would be the keyboard, mouse and any thumb drives. This is just my opinion, and you may very well already have a few usb connectors on your motherboard. All im saying is that if you dont have a few usb connectors built into the motherboard, then you should get a pci card. But you likely already have them, so i am just checking to make sure.
At this point i seem to be awake, lol.


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Thanks garebo for the heads-up ... I was under the (perhaps false) impression that USB allowed multiple connections of many devices, without any concern.

This particular machine is one I bought several years over the web from a software engineer in Florida, who built it himself. It has 2 USB 1.1 ports in the back, so I've connected a Belkin hub into each of them (each hub has 4 slots). The wireless Logitech USB mouse came with an adaptor, so that is going into the regular mouse position, and the keyboard is not USB.

Hub #1 has an external 40 GB Maxtor harddrive; the Sony CD burner; the Zip 100; and a digital card reader.

Hub #2 has the Epson printer; a 2nd digital card reader (different size); a connection to the surge protector; and an empty slot.

While we await cdogg's reply to my questions, let me ask you this -- in your opinion would it make any difference for me to move the Sony USB to Hub #2, so it is not on the same hub as the Zip?

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I can really only go by what i think i have read and such as i simply DONT connect things like usb hard drives to hubs, period. Maybe you can succesfully do that, i dont know. I would have to try it out for myself.
I had read so much about hubs being underpowered that when i started using usb boxes and putting hard drives in them that i simply only used usb connections, either direct from the motherboard or a pci card. Now i have some firewire too, thats not what we are discussing but might as well because some have combo usb\firewire connectors. Since most motherboards dont have firewire i simply bought a pci firewire card and away i went.
To answer your question i would have to connect some of my usb drives to my usb2.0 hub and see if they work or not!
I simply dont depend on usb hubs for anything but thumb drives and keyboard\mouse, if needed. But i could be wrong in my thinking!
It could very well be that if the usb box (with hard drive or other optical drive in it) has its own power brick, then perhaps it can be plugged into a hub and work fine.
I think that may have something to do with it, wether the usb box has its own power brick or not. Same even with the hub, some are powered and some are not. I dont know if your hubs are powered by themselves or rely on the motherboard for power.
I think that i may very well be further mucking things up here, but i didnt start out to do so!


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Reno,
OK, I'm back!

Yeah, I should have clarified not to disconnect any major components. Just disconnect the USB devices that you can live without to use Windows!

Here's what I would do...

Shutdown the PC. Disconnect both hubs. Boot back up and proceed with the instructions in my last post.

If the Sony drive comes back to life, it'll be up to you to find the right configuration that will work with the hubs. Otherwise, you'll probably want to invest in a hub that has more ports, and just connect the Sony drive directly to the port on the PC. Or as garebo suggested, you could get yourself a PCI USB card for additional ports.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884
 
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Thank you both for taking the time to walk me through this. I really like the idea of simply getting a new 2.0 USB card for the computer, and moving the Maxtor HD, the Zip, and the Sony onto it, leaving the hubs for less important stuff like the surge protector, the printer, and the digital card readers. As soon as I submit this message I'm going to make the purchase, so you may not hear any more about this situation until it is delivered & installed. In the meantime, I am most grateful for your generous assistance... [thumbsup]

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You are certainly welcome, and, if i may, let me give you some help in finding the best deal on a pci usb 2.0 card.
You can go to ecost.com and newegg.com as they are 2 of the lowest priced, honest web dealers around. Also you can check prices with pricewatch.com as well.
And, one more method, there are many many forums similar to this forum but they have for sale\trade sections, and there you will find a great deal on a slightly used or used but working pci card and any other computer part you want. Its tricky in so far as you have to be careful who you are dealing with, so ask for help from any of the people with over, say, 200 or 300 posts. They will be glad to help and tell them nork sent you, thats me, lol. YOu can go to anandtech, tech imo, and that should be enuf, if not the people there will give you more forum names.


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Another thing, its your business, but i personally would stay away from the ali chipset.

There are different chipsets for these pci usb2.0 cards and i would not buy the ali.
I will find a better one, but i just thought you should know this. You can call or email the website and ask them what chipset the particular card has it its not stated, or just buy one that has the chipset stated, just not ali. I happen to have one with an ali chipset and its fine, its just that a lot of people have had problems, there is even a thread here about this very thing, if i recall.


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Heres one with a NEC chipset, much better, probably the preferred chipset for usb2.0 and only $2 more at $11. If win98se doesnt install the software,you can get the software for win98se by going to the NEC website, or you can get the software with the pci card. Some places, like this one, offer an oem with or without the software, so you can pay a bit more and get the software for win98se, not a bad idea, but again you can just download the software yourself as well!

Good advice + great people = tek-tips
 
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Even better, NEC chipset with 5 ports for $11

This one here says $11 for the card but its listed at pricewatch for $8 plus free shipping, so you have to let them know and they will change the price, maybe via email.


You will also see the via chipset for usb2.0 as well. I havent had or heard of any problems with the via chipset either.
So i would stay away from ALI, go with NEC or maybe VIA.
NEC would be my first choice.



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I had already ordered the card prior to reading your most recent postings. Here is what the specs said:

---------------------------

VIA 5-port USB 2.0 PCI Card

VIA VT6202 chipset (4+1 USB 2.0 ports)
32-bit 33MHz host interface compliant to PCI 2.2
Supports PCI power management interface 1.1
Supports up to 127 devices
Fully compliant with USB 1.1 and 2.0, Open Host 1.0a, and Enhanced Host 0.95
Host plugging and wake up compatible
Supports high-speed (480Mbps), full-speed (12Mbps,) and low-speed (1.5Mbps)
Supports Windows 98/ME/2000/XP (drivers included)

---------------------------

This should arrive by early next week (I'm glad to see it is not an ALI, given your experience!). Hopefully the VIA will do the trick -- I'll post the outcome when it's installed...

........
 
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Sorry about that, didnt know. Well, at least you got some info on the chipsets involved and you got a good chipset!
I had partly forgotten anyway, so it helped me remember, i had remembered about the ALI and the NEC but i have forgotten about the VIA, which, far as i know is a good chipset as well, pretty sure i have one of those as well.
Im sure it will work fine for you, but let us know.


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