computer does not see "E" drive (my DVD)

Question

After installing about 11 updates last evening (MS auto updates for Vista and Office), all of a sudden today, my drive "E" is missing.  It's a combo CD/DVD burner.  The drive DOES open and close, and lights up at first.  The driver IS SEEN, and when I try to UPDATE it online, I get a message that my driver is CURRENT.  However, my computer will not recognize drive E, it's totally missing, and a cold boot does not help.

 

Here's the stats I've found on my drive and driver.

 

It's a:

TSST corp CD/DVDW TS-H552D ATA Device

 

Microsoft 6/21/06 driver version: 6/0/6000/16386

cvista_rtm.061101-2205

C;\\Windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys

C:\\Windows\system32\drivers\GEARA spi WDM.sys

C:\\Windows\system32\drivers\PxHelp20.sys

 

So, my computer shows drive C and then D as recovery drive, E is supposed to be the DVD drive, but is missing, and then it shows F,G, H as unassigned.

 

HELP....I cannot even re-install the driver from my driver disc....you guessed it, it needs the DVD drive to work!!!!!!

 

BTW...please, besides posting any help here, if you could PLEASE also post help via email to my yahoo address, I'd appreciate it:    [e-mail]

 

THANKS in advance to anyone who can help me.

Answer 1

Sounds to me like you need to open up system restore and go back to a previous restore point before the updates were installed

Answer 2

Well, thanks for the suggestion, but I ended up contacting Microsoft online support.  I had to let them take control of my computer.  First thing he went to was my registry file, and I guess what he suspected turned out to be the culprit.  He backed it up the file first, then made a couple changes, we rebooted, and all was fine!  I have NO IDEA what program or file made changes to my registry that caused this drive to disappear, but the drive worked a couple days earlier, and the only thing that changed since was the download of Vista and Office 2007 upgrades (there were 7, I think, most were critical, a couple were recommended).  I have my computer set to automatically download updates; however, I do not let the installations take place without my review of the files list first.  I've never had a problem before.  I find it very hard to believe that a Microsoft file made changes to my registry that would cause a drive to "disappear".  I guess I'll never really know what happened. I do keep my computer well-protected via certain security settings and virus  and firewalls and pop-up blockers, etc.

Answer 3

I have encountered same problem today. Is there a fee for this support?

Answer 4

All of sudden my drive D (dvd and cd drive) has disappeared. I don't know how to see my drive. It all happened like a black magic. I don't know where to go for help. I don't know how the code is so poor that it makes the change sto critical registery. MSFT folks have to write stable code. This is highly unaccpetable since I hae no idea where to go beyond this website. Any help is appreciated. If you have any clue, please write me an e-mail. I will post the outcome once my rpblem is solved for others.

Thanks,
kamal

Answer 5

Had the same thing happen today. My machine is over a year and a half old so no more free support. Do you know the cost? Is an online fix available?
Thanks.

Answer 6

 

hi guys,

 

i got  the same problem

 

like 1 month ago, i was using the driver well, someday later i downloaded some update from windows then i found out the driver is connected (the light on the drive works) but i just cant find the drive in my computer.

 

and what is pxhelp20.sys? the driver says that it is not digitally signed.

 

can any1 plz help me,

i have spent 2 hours looking for microsoft online support but could not find it, plz can some1 send me the link?

Answer 7

Guys,

 

the same thing here...

 

pxhelp20.sys driver not digitally signed

and the thing with the C:\Windows\system 32\DRIVERS\cdrom.sys...

 

my E: CD-DVD Drive is missing for 3 days now 

 

"Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupt or missing. (Code 39)"

 

And the restore computer option didn't work for that. Also, I can't insert any cd/dvd to reinstall anything

since my E:\ drive went to Mars...

 

Help us, please...

Answer 8

I'm having the same problem.  I just installed Vista Business 3 days ago and I have been installing software and suddenly my CD drive and my DVD drive both disappeared.

 

I did the registry thing described earlier.  But when I navigate to the key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

 

(using 11CE instead of the 11-CE in the instructions) I find 4 folders listed

 

1) 0000

2) 0001

3) 0002

4) Properties

 

The upper and lower filter parameters did not list on 0000, 0001, and 0002 and I got an "Access Denied" error on the properties and I'm running as the administrator.

 

Does any one else have any ideas what is happening here?  If someone has all the registry entries needed for this key I could try deleting the key and re-creating it.  I don't have a backup yet as I have been loading the basic software I wanted.  I have a backup of the registry but only after the CD and DVD disappered.

 

This is a pretty serious error to have your CD and DVD disappear.  Other things that go wrong are isolated but no CD or DVD just stops you in your tracks whether you are reinstalling software or into multimedia.

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Brian

Answer 9

 

Man, I restored it but it happened again and then I restored and it happened again!!! OMG!

 

Will I have to do it for ever? haha... NO way...

 

 

Answer 10

 

People... This is for Windows Vista Home Premium

BUT TRY TO DO IT ON YOUR WINDOWS VISTA VERSION, TOO.

EVERYONE, INCLUDING ME, HAS TO CREATE A RESTORE

POINT BEFORE DOING THIS, OKAY? So that if it does not work,

you will be able to restore your computer to an earlier date;

a date before doing this.

I called Microsoft and they guided me through a process as follows:

1) Click the WINDOWS START BUTTON

2) Click over the Windows START BUTTON, there is the SEARCH engine.

Click there and search for regedit

3) Click regedit and the Registry Editor folder will open

4) On the left menu, in order to make the folders drop down, click

the following folders with an arrow as follows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then,

SYSTEM, then,

Control, then,

Class, then look for {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

5) On the right side of this folder, you will see some files (probably

with a small "ab" on a little paper which is an icon). Look for

LowerFilter and right-click it and DELETE IT. Yes, delete the file!

Don't worry if you think it could damage your computer system

since, HOPEFULLY, you have already created a Restore Point

for your system.

6) After deleting the LowerFilter file from your system,

RESTART your computer.

7) Look for the CD/DVD drive and WOW, BACK TO NORMAL !

 

hehehe... I hope this helps you all!

Take care!

 

 

 

Answer 11

I found a workaround for my problem quoted.  If you can modify the upper and lower filter, do so.  I was not able to do this since the parameters were not present. 

 

I completely deleted the key except for the properties that seems to have been corrupted by what ever wiped out the CD and DVD.  I was hoping the computer would re-discover the CD and DVD.  It did but my corrupt registry entry stop the whole process. 

 

Plan B - I reinstalled Vista on top of the existing Vista which it upgraded from.  I didn't have to re-install any programs (except for the DVD writer software).  It took about an hour elapsed time and the only downside is that vista activated itself while I was trying to correct the error so the re-install wasted one activation.  Like the CAT I hope I have 8 more activation lives left.  With the stability of Vista suspect I may need those activations.

 

Anyway, something else to try, when all else fails.

Answer 12

Hi.....New here...and new to trying to fix my own computer.

I think I got a virus/worm or something...  Anyway, XP kept trying to start - over and over - and would just shut down...computer would stay on, but not respond to on/off switch or 'restart'.  I would have to unplug the computer and turn it back on...   Rarely XP would start up, but the monitor would go black and become unresponsive again after a few minutes.

 

I formatted and installed xp again - and again...and again.

Finally, I am up, have all the Windows updates, Windows Defender and Avast Virus Protection. 

 

Now Device Manager doesn't show my dvd/cd-rw/r or my cd.    The light on the cd drive stays on all the time, but won't read anything at all - data or music.  The dvd-rw-r is totally unresponsive.

 

Now I am even more stumped.  Any ideas for me?    I did do a registry check recommended by Windows - and all was as it should be.  I have no clue what to do next...can someone please help me out?

 

ps...I hope when/if I shut XP down it will start up again for me.   The good thing, for the last week, the computer screen would go black and become unresponsive after a few minutes....today (9/11/2007) is the first time (since all updates and protections) that the computer stayed on nine hours (so far) and is still working.  Charter is my internet provider....I could not get their Secutiry Suite to work for me....most likely because I did something wrong.  I was a Yahoo! girl for years before Charter and all was well. 

9/12/2007 - I am still up and running.... ), but cd or dvd drives showing yet. 

 

Thanks !!!!  Peggy

Answer 13

Mine doesn't aswell!! I have no idea what i need to do to get it back. Lights flashing, disc's rotating etc... but no drive or acknowledgement of there being a disc present. Please email me at [e-mail] with any help. Its desperately needed.

Answer 14

i had that problem so i clicked start run E:/ now it shows in my computer

Answer 15

 

Try this:

http://www.afterdawn.com/software/cdr_software/cdr_tools/aspi.cfm

 

or:

 

http://support.magix.net/magix_relaunch/php/page.php?page=faq&cat=1213&id=15470#content

 

and:

 

 

http://support.magix.net/magix_relaunch/php/page.php?page=download&cat=11593&id=9948

 

 

Answer 16

Problam is that when i try to open my computer c: d: e: drive. defaulty selected auto

Answer 17

Hi, I have Windows Vista Home Premium and have the exact same problem.  If you resolve your problem will you please post it.   Thanking you in advance.

 

PeanutbutterBrown

 

Answer 18

I have the same problem with the e driver missing or corrupt with the same code (code 39).  I did restore it the first time this happen and brought it back but now it's gone again and I can not restore it back.  I've read some of the message but some really don't say how they got their e-drive back.  Did you get yours back and if so how did you get it back?  

 

Thank you 

Answer 19

 

my problem is I have Data in my e drive (partition of the hard desk) and its whole size is 70.9GB its free space 67.4GB and the data size it was 3.44 GB. Now am going inside the e drive but there is nothingit is blank drive. but if I go to its properties it is shown this.

 

the used size is 3.44 GB

whole size is 70.9 GB

and free size is 67.4 GB

 

also I chosed to make backup and I chosed to make backup to the e drive at that step it is shown the subfolder under the e drive. please any one have solution to see the data again.

Answer 20

I am having the same problem as many of you with the disappearance "mysteriously" of my CDRW/DVD drive from my Vista Home Premium.  My drive still opens and spins and the light comes on...but the driver is 'corrupt'.  I unistall and restart to find my computer cannot reinstall the driver.  My VAIO is new so i contacted Sony and it is indeed related to an Autoupdate...the solution given is as follows....

 

The optical drive is missing from Computer and in Device Manager, the drive icon has a yellow exclamation mark.

Follow this procedure to resolve the error if the optical drive is missing from Computer in the Microsoft® Windows Vista™ operating system.

IMPORTANT: A utility is available that will automate the following procedure.

WARNING: There is a risk of data loss. This procedure involves editing the Registry. Using the Registry editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require the operating system to be reinstalled and can result in the potential loss of data.

NOTE: A backup of the registry can be created.

1. Click the Start button, and then in the search box, type regedit.
2. Press the Enter key.

   NOTE: If prompted for an administrator password or a User Account Control prompt is displayed, type the appropriate password or click Continue.

3. In the Registry Editor window, in the left pane, double-click the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder.
4. In the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder, double-click the System folder.
5. In the System folder, double-click the CurrentControlSet folder.
6. In the CurrentControlSet folder, double-click the Control folder.
7. In the Control folder, double-click the Class folder.
8. In the Class folder, click to select the {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} folder.
9. In the right pane, click to select the UpperFilters registry value.
10. On the menu bar, click Edit.
11. In the Edit menu, click Delete.
12. In the Confirm Value Delete dialog box, click the Yes button.
13. In the right pane, click to select the LowerFilters registry value.
14. On the menu bar, click Edit.
15. In the Edit menu, click Delete.
16. In the Confirm Value Delete dialog box, click the Yes button.

    NOTE: Do not delete the UpperFiltersBak or LowerFiltersBak registry values.

17. Close the Registry Editor window.
18. Restart the computer.

 

They were very confident in this being the solution to my problem.  I hope it works for all of you.  The link to the steps you see above is....

http://www.iq.sony.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE?New,Kb=CISCV3,Company={46BFA530-E01F-4F7C-B98B-69C2AA06051B},Case=Obj(501168),TS=externalv4,T=case.tem,VARSET_MODELNUM=,VARSET_OBJ=501168,VARSET_TOP=TRUE,workstage=all,question=ref(QC)rd(1),question=ref(QB)rd(1)

 

Good Luck...hoped this helped.

Answer 21

dvd on my cd writer and windows media 11 and windows xp

Answer 22

Thank you, that worked perfectly.  All I want to know now, though, is why it happened.  I ran XP for 4 years with no problms like this, so is this a peculiarity of Vista, or is it the DVD drive at fault?

 

Answer 23

Thanks! You solve my problems with DVD drive. My OS is X64.

Arnor

 

Answer 24

This FIX worked also on my XP problem in which thge DVD drive (SONY DRU-500A) was not in the My Computer file and yet was visible in the CMOS config and in the Device Mgr (with a yellow exclamation mark).  My own mach had 3 entries that had to be elliminated though, afterwards a reboot showed the drive in My Computer and it works normally.

Answer 25

I did this and it worked on Vista home basic. I found two class files, so I just opened the first one. I deleted the evil lower filters sile, and as soon as I restart the computer,..It was back to normal...I had my cd/dvd drive back! Try this fix, It will probably work for you, The instructions are for Vista home premium, and they still worked on home basic, so probably will work for you too. Good luck, and merry Christmas!

Answer 26

On XP my DVD disappeared after (I think) the application of 4 windows update security fixes. I have since recovered it twice (via registry fix mentioned and via system restore) and its disappeared twice more. Neither method works anymore.

 

I'm now almost stumped. I'm going to try all the fixes mentioned in this list and will report back - if anyone has any further suggestions please let me know.

Answer 27

Canadion your a legend, it didn't work when deleting the lower filters but I tried deleting the upper filters and bingo it worked! An answer to prayers, saved everything!

Answer 28

http://support.magix.net/magix_relaunch/php/page.php?page=faq&cat=1213&id=15470#content

 

this solved my problem but then the drive didn't appear the time after. Interestingly it reinstated the drive first time using the 'activation' key, didn't work the next time I ran it, but the deactivation did restore it?

 

There may be more than one problem at work here?

 

Some program in startup or shutdown is causing me a problem but I can't work out what.

 

 

Answer 29

Hi Canadion

Followed the instructions to the letter unfortunately no lowerfilters - any further ideas please!

Jimbo631

 

canadion wrote:

People... This is for Windows Vista Home Premium BUT TRY TO DO IT ON YOUR WINDOWS VISTA VERSION, TOO. EVERYONE, INCLUDING ME, HAS TO CREATE A RESTORE POINT BEFORE DOING THIS, OKAY? So that if it does not work, you will be able to restore your computer to an earlier date; a date before doing this. I called Microsoft and they guided me through a process as follows: 1) Click the WINDOWS START BUTTON 2) Click over the Windows START BUTTON, there is the SEARCH engine. Click there and search for regedit 3) Click regedit and the Registry Editor folder will open 4) On the left menu, in order to make the folders drop down, click the following folders with an arrow as follows: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then, SYSTEM, then, Control, then, Class, then look for {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} 5) On the right side of this folder, you will see some files (probably with a small "ab" on a little paper which is an icon). Look for LowerFilter and right-click it and DELETE IT. Yes, delete the file! Don't worry if you think it could damage your computer system since, HOPEFULLY, you have already created a Restore Point for your system. 6) After deleting the LowerFilter file from your system, RESTART your computer. 7) Look for the CD/DVD drive and WOW, BACK TO NORMAL !   hehehe... I hope this helps you all! Take care!

Answer 30

Thanks Again Canadion

I read on into the thread of messages

Assumed that I should delete the upperfilters and it worked.

Cheers

Jimbo

 

Answer 31

I followed the steps also, but it didn't work. I had no UpperFilter, but deleted the LowerFilter. Still not seeing CD/DVD drives (I have 2). Any other thoughts and ideas would be most appreciated!

Answer 32

Mine is doing the same thung and I seem to have the same cd-rom as you, So now what? Im pretty dumb when it comes to this kind of stuff, I cant even believe I found someone else having the same issue with the same hardware!   I can be reached also at [e-mail]

 

Answer 33

See reply by Simkin42 in October 2007.  This worked for me and I have had no problems since.

 

Answer 34

I am going to invite this guy to Thanksgiving at my house!!!!! I worked for approx 10 hours trying to fix it myself.....because that is how I roll (duh).....then I found this post.

It worked on my XP Media Center system. The only change is that instead of control there are 3 control folders...for those with XP media center the folder that you want is controlset0001, then the control folder...from there the instructions are by the book!

Thank you very much.

Also, just to reitterate...don't be an arse! Make a restore point BEFORE you do anything like this. It is TOO easy to "fat finger" the mouse and end up deleting something that may be critical, then you will wish the DVD drive was your only issue

Answer 35

I've had this problem for months. I've been on the phone to Toshiba numerous times. Anyway, I think I finally found a solution from Office Depot tech support.

 

I'm running Vista, but you can do this regardless of the system you have. Go to "Device Mgr."   Look for "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers."   Right-click on each  "IDE channel."   Click  "uninstall."  Do that with all the IDE channels you have.  Restart your computer.  When it restarts, the computer will install the necessary info.  They explained it to me that the controller is what sends the "mesages" to the driver. My driver was ok, but the information wasn't getting to the driver.

 

It worked for me.  Hope it works for you.
 

 

Answer 36

Sorry I didn't take the time to read all of the postings...but........

 

Have you tried changing the jumpers?

 

1. Set it to master on the drive and plug the IDE into the primary IDE drive? (Typically factory default)

2. Set the jumper to slave and piggy back off the hard drive? (Old method of burning in a board)

3. Set the jumper to cable select - Pull the jumper off entirely.

 

Reboot each step.

 

I would suggest #2 first. It is how we used to burn in boards that didn't recognize the cd-rom drivers on boot.

 

A.D.T.

 

Answer 37

The solution listed above in a couple of places worked where I deleted the lowerfilters on the registry . Thanks!

 

Answer 38

worked like a charm-thx for sharing!!

 

Answer 39

Divine_Solution wrote:

worked like a charm-thx for sharing!!

Which one worked? Solution #2 I'm assuming?

 

A.D.T.

Answer 40

Bepsy wrote:

I've had this problem for months. I've been on the phone to Toshiba numerous times. Anyway, I think I finally found a solution from Office Depot tech support.   I'm running Vista, but you can do this regardless of the system you have. Go to "Device Mgr."   Look for "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers."   Right-click on each  "IDE channel."   Click  "uninstall."  Do that with all the IDE channels you have.  Restart your computer.  When it restarts, the computer will install the necessary info.  They explained it to me that the controller is what sends the "mesages" to the driver. My driver was ok, but the information wasn't getting to the driver.   It worked for me.  Hope it works for you.

it did indeed work for me, thank you v much Bepsy


gone again.. damn

Answer 41

Yea, uhhh i didnt see the 4D36E965 thing and i sort of deleted upper and lower for all of the ones that ended in E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318 yea... my restore didnt work... so am i screwed?

Answer 42

 

I tried it up to System

And then the problem starts with CONTROL. There are four sub-folders with Control something. None of it has the numbers:

{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

 

I even tried to manually scroll and search through. I even looked at the right hand side for the "ab" and LowerFilter but all I keep seeing is "Kill..."

 

This is aggrevating! I'm trying to use my "E" CD-ROM drive to install a wireless network adaptor and I can't even run the disk! I was able to use it before but now it just magically disappeared like everyone is saying.

 

Much obliged for any help.

Answer 43

yo this might not fix it, but, my bro has a laptop connected wth my desktop on wireless, i just inserted the dvd on his comp and installed on mine, worked...um yea if u can do that if u need the adapter or anything else...

 

 

Hope it helps even a little

 

Answer 44

I can't believe all of us are having the same issue and still no fix.

My problem is exactly the same as yours Jez, and it also occured after the auto update downloads microsoft suggests as the best way to manage your security and systems.

I will not hold my breath waiting on a fix though as it is unlikely I will find out the solution. One forgets how much one depends on the E:/ drive until you need to either run or fix something.

good luck to all,

windu

Answer 45

canadion - THANKS MAN!!! YOU HELPED ME A LOT! THANK YOU.

Answer 46

  I am having the same problem. Device manager and my computer not showing my DVD drive or Floppy drive went to the registry found and deleted upperfilter but lowerfilter is nowhere to be found am not sure what to do now. DVD was working yesterday did a fresh install of XP and has not worked since.    

XP Sp2
NEC ND1100-A DVD drive

New Problem. i was downloading windows updates and had to reboot when i rebooted it said windows had encountered an error and needs to reboot and when i turn my pc on it stays at the windows loading screen and i cant reinstall windows cause my DVD drives arent working.

Does anyone know if there is any other way to fix this problem.

Answer 47

I am having the same problem as many of you with the disappearance "mysteriously" of my CDRW/DVD drive from my Vista Home Premium.  My drive still opens and spins and the light comes on...but the driver is 'corrupt'.  I unistall and restart to find my computer cannot reinstall the driver.  My VAIO is new so i contacted Sony and it is indeed related to an Autoupdate...the solution given is as follows....

 

 

The optical drive is missing from Computer and in Device Manager, the drive icon has a yellow exclamation mark.

Follow this procedure to resolve the error if the optical drive is missing from Computer in the Microsoft® Windows Vista™ operating system.

IMPORTANT: A utility is available that will automate the following procedure.

WARNING: There is a risk of data loss. This procedure involves editing the Registry. Using the Registry editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require the operating system to be reinstalled and can result in the potential loss of data.

NOTE: A backup of the registry can be created .

1. Click the Start button, and then in the search box, type regedit .
2. Press the Enter key.

   NOTE: If prompted for an administrator password or a User Account Control prompt is displayed, type the appropriate password or click Continue .

3. In the Registry Editor window, in the left pane , double-click the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder.
4. In the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder, double-click the System folder.
5. In the System folder, double-click the CurrentControlSet folder.
6. In the CurrentControlSet folder, double-click the Control folder.
7. In the Control folder, double-click the Class folder.
8. In the Class folder, click to select the {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} folder.
9. In the right pane , click to select the UpperFilters registry value.
10. On the menu bar , click Edit .
11. In the Edit menu, click Delete .
12. In the Confirm Value Delete dialog box, click the Yes button.
13. In the right pane , click to select the LowerFilters registry value.
14. On the menu bar , click Edit .
15. In the Edit menu, click Delete .
16. In the Confirm Value Delete dialog box, click the Yes button.

    NOTE: Do not delete the UpperFiltersBak or LowerFiltersBak registry values.

17. Close the Registry Editor window.
18. Restart the computer.

 

They were very confident in this being the solution to my problem.  I hope it works for all of you.  The link to the steps you see above is....

http://www.iq.sony.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE?New,Kb=CISCV3,Company={46BFA530-E01F-4F7C-B98B-69C2AA06051B},Case=Obj(501168),TS=externalv4,T=case.tem,VARSET_MODELNUM=,VARSET_OBJ=501168,VARSET_TOP=TRUE,workstage=all,question=ref(QC) rd(1),question=ref(QB) rd(1 )

 

Good Luck...hoped this helped.

Good work deleting the upper and lowerfilter was the fix thanks man. It was driving me nuts.......

Answer 48

Yes there is another way to fix this problem.  I tried the registry fix and it didn't work at all on my XP Media Edition.  You need to go to Administative tools and then computer management.  Go into disk management and click on view, then top and graphical.  Then you should see the cd drive.  Right click on the cd drive and the assign new letter to drive. Do this and it should work .  There is also an extensive help section.

Answer 49

Bepsy, thanks for the solution, it worked on my Vista Home Premium, you rock my world, i feel like kissing you! (muaaaaah...) thats a friendly gesture, dont take it in other sense.

take care

obamalovesbush

Answer 50

This was an easy fix for me and it worked great.  The computer basically told me what to do.  All the IDE icons didn't go

away though, but it said they would be deleted on restart.  On restart the computer detected all the controllers and all

the drives. The only thing you have to do is restart one more time and you are done.  I am running WindowsXP Prof Sp3

and have a Toshiba CD/DVDW SDR5372V drive.  Thank you everyone for all your help and answers!

 

Answer 51

I tried to employ this Registry solution, but was unsuccessful, because the "LowerFilters" and "UpperFilters" registry values do not exist in that registry path. Any other solutions ?

I'm using Windows Home Premium edition. This is an awful lot of trouble for something that ought to be so simple. Microsoft products perform very poorly. My computer will be 2 years old in May 2010. I'm considering switching to Linux.

If anyone has any suggestions or solutions, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

Answer 52

Yes Canadion you are a genius.  So are you dreamer228.  I also did not have a lower filter, so I deleted the upper filter and it worked.  I am not happy these programs can be so messed up for such important features as recognizing your CD/DVD player.  I am VERY happy people are sharing solutions and making things work.  Thank you. John

Answer 53

Thank you.

   This Helped me a lot.  It really worked.

Answer 54

Hello, I recently put in an old hard drive witch had a virus on it, but I formatted it with windows 7.  I put it in to have 2 hard drives in my computer.  But when I formatted it, it became my D:/ and E:/ drives.  Then I took the hard drive out because my computer could not read any discs that i put in.  So now I am stuck with no D:/ or E:/ drives and my computer doesn't even recognize my CD/DVD drives. I have a DVD burner and a DVD player in my computer, and it doesn't recognize either of them when I go to setup. Can someone plz help me :(


Can someone pleeeeaaaasssseee help me??

Answer 55

 I exactly have the same problem. this morning i opened my laptop and my dvd drive was missing.I can not even open it or do anything with it .I restore my computer but it did not work even i reinstalled my windows still its not working.I have windows 7 and my dvd is super multi Dl drive.Can any one plz helppppppppp.

Answer 56

 

People... This is for Windows Vista Home Premium

BUT TRY TO DO IT ON YOUR WINDOWS VISTA VERSION, TOO.

EVERYONE, INCLUDING ME, HAS TO CREATE A RESTORE

POINT BEFORE DOING THIS, OKAY? So that if it does not work,

you will be able to restore your computer to an earlier date;

a date before doing this.

I called Microsoft and they guided me through a process as follows:

1) Click the WINDOWS START BUTTON

2) Click over the Windows START BUTTON, there is the SEARCH engine.

Click there and search for regedit

3) Click regedit and the Registry Editor folder will open

4) On the left menu, in order to make the folders drop down, click

the following folders with an arrow as follows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then,

SYSTEM, then,

Control, then,

Class, then look for {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

5) On the right side of this folder, you will see some files (probably

with a small "ab" on a little paper which is an icon). Look for

LowerFilter and right-click it and DELETE IT. Yes, delete the file!

Don't worry if you think it could damage your computer system

since, HOPEFULLY, you have already created a Restore Point

for your system.

6) After deleting the LowerFilter file from your system,

RESTART your computer.

7) Look for the CD/DVD drive and WOW, BACK TO NORMAL !

 

hehehe... I hope this helps you all!

Take care!

 

 

 

THIS WORKED FOR ME .. THANKS FOR THE POST ...

I ACTUALLY BOUGHT AN EXTERNAL DVD DRIVE BECAUSE SOME "GEEK" OFF CRAIG'S LIST TOLD ME ON THE PHONE MY DRIVE WAS NOT WORKING AND IT WAS NOT THE SOFTWARE (ANYONE CAN CALL THEMSELVES COMPUTER TECHS/EXPERTS).

AT LEAST THE EXTERNAL DRIVE IS A SONY BLU-RAY DRIVE FROM E-BAY .. NOT A BAD LITTLE GADGET.

FOR THOSE WHO ARE REFORMATTING THEIR HARD DRIVES AND REINSTALLING VISTA .. FORGET ABOUT IT.
IT WILL NOT HELP.

THE BUGS ARE IN THE UPDATES ... WHY? WELL IT KINDA MAKES YOU WANT TO UPGRADE TO WINDOWS 7 ?
WONDER HOW LONG THIS POST WILL STAY UP ON A MICROSOFT BOARD .. HA HA.

THIS FIX WORKED BUT BILL GATES AND COMPANY ARE CAUSING END USERS PROBLEMS BY ALLOWING FAULTY UPDATES TO BE DOWNLOADED AND THEN HAVING THE BRASS YOU KNOW WHATS TO CHARGE FOR ASSISTANCE AND HEY .. YOU CAN ALWAYS SPEND $100 AND UPGRADE TO WINDOWS 7. 

MICROSOFT IS THE GEEKY LITTLE DWEEB LIKE IN THE APPLE COMMERCIALS .. BILL GATES IS THE ULTIMATE UBER-GEEK .. UGLY GREEDY LITTLE TROLL ....

Answer 57

I did the above (deleting the upper files in my registry) and my mouse and keyboard stopped working in Windows (would work during boot-up before OS loaded).  Restored from a prior save and all ok, but still have ! on my CD drives, they don't work.  Am speaking with my computer tech at the place I bought it today.  Hope to have a fix.

Answer 58

Wa-la!  The registry was XP above, and I needed the # to Vista.  The fix works!

Answer 59

If you don't mind you missed something.

there is currentcontrolset before control.

always make a backup of registery from file-export-file name.

http://computerstar.ca/

Answer 60

this worked great for me,last time my drives disappeared i did a complete reinstall of windows vista,this saved me alot of time and patience-thanks very much

Answer 61

This worked like a champ.... Thanks Canadion...

Answer 62

The first reports of this specific problem -- sudden and inexplicable disappearance of the CDROM/DVD -- date back at least to early 2006.  The problem occurs in XP, Vista, and (apparently) Win7.  I got the problem suddenly after the Tax Day [4/15/2010] Updates to Vista Home Premium on a HP laptop.

Neither the upper nor lower filter parameters occur in any of my CDROM current control sets.  Deleting the IDE channels accomplished nothing.  The driver and .inf files are intact; in desperation I rushed to Frys and got a cheap USB DVD-RW drive, which works perfectly well.  The BIOS sees the internal drive; it tries to boot from it first (the light comes on).  But Vista doesn't even acknowledge its existence.

This is utterly ridiculous.  After more than four years and three major Windows releases, Microsoft has not been able to resolve this problem.  I'm an old-timer; I wrote my first program in 1967 for an IBM 1401 (keypunch, etc.) and built my first home PC in 1985.  If I had ever let a bug like this remain unfixed for even a month, I would have been fired.

Where is Microsoft's quality control?  Where is Microsoft's professionalism?  Do they really believe that their market share and uselessly glitzy eye candy will let them get away with this kind of nonsense forever?

 

 

 

Answer 63

OK, let me tell you what seems to have solved the problem for me, anyway.

When I first got the laptop, I used Vista's disk manager to shrink the primary partition and installed Linux on the free space.

With the cheap USB DVDROM, I downloaded and burned the latest Knoppix live CD.  Booted Linux.  Inserted Knoppix CD into invisible drive and booted off it.  Rebooted with Knoppix CD removed.  Internal DVD was recognized by Vista and is now working jes' fine.

Amazingly, regedit shows no change in the Current Control Set entries, but NoInstallClass and SilentInstall are both zero -- which was the only change visible after installing the USB drive.  (Before, with the internal DVD lost, both were "1".)

Tentative conclusion:  Vista writes to some system area not normally accessible but which Linux also writes to; that's why I had to reboot twice (Linux and Knoppix) to recover the drive.  Weirder and weirder.

Microsoft, are you listening?

 

 

Answer 64

This fix also works on Vista Home Basic. I replaced my Hard Drive after a crash, then before I had half the stuff reloaded onto the new HD, I also lost the DVD/CD drive. Computer would not recognize the DVD/CD Drive but "Device Manager" did list it. Looking back, I found that the trouble occurred immediately after I had done a "Windows Update". After much work and irritation, I found the following fix on this website and it worked wonderfully. However, my Registry had no "lower filter" listed. I deleted the upper filter as some others had done and it works fine.

The file I deleted was: "Upper Filters  REG_MULTI_SZ    GEARAspi WDM "

 

 

 

People... This is for Windows Vista Home Premium

BUT TRY TO DO IT ON YOUR WINDOWS VISTA VERSION, TOO.

EVERYONE, INCLUDING ME, HAS TO CREATE A RESTORE

POINT BEFORE DOING THIS, OKAY? So that if it does not work,

you will be able to restore your computer to an earlier date;

a date before doing this.

I called Microsoft and they guided me through a process as follows:

1) Click the WINDOWS START BUTTON

2) Click over the Windows START BUTTON, there is the SEARCH engine.

Click there and search for regedit

3) Click regedit and the Registry Editor folder will open

4) On the left menu, in order to make the folders drop down, click

the following folders with an arrow as follows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then,

SYSTEM, then,

Control, then,

Class, then look for {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

5) On the right side of this folder, you will see some files (probably

with a small "ab" on a little paper which is an icon). Look for

LowerFilter and right-click it and DELETE IT. Yes, delete the file!

Don't worry if you think it could damage your computer system

since, HOPEFULLY, you have already created a Restore Point

for your system.

6) After deleting the LowerFilter file from your system,

RESTART your computer.

7) Look for the CD/DVD drive and WOW, BACK TO NORMAL !

 

hehehe... I hope this helps you all!

Take care!

 

 

 

Answer 65

id like to know the answer to that..ho much does it cost? i cant fina an answer! my compute says that i have no 'DVD-RW Drive'...and i am trying to get one from microsoft..they dont do that on other manufactures, machines?..they give up upgrades for the windows vista OS...isn't this part of it?..to fix what they messed up? i am so frustrated with this thing! i hace a family DVD that is made from old movies of family that has passed on..i need to make copies of it, for other family members...No luck!!is there another brand? or something i can make DVD's with?i up loaded it to my system...it is there..in my programs, but cant move it to media center to burn a new copy! ??? I am stumped !!

Answer 66

I also have this problem since a couple of month now. And the upper/lower filter solution does NOT work for Windows 7. The registry seem to be setup differently on Win7. If anyone have any more info on how to resolve this issue on Win7 machines it would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 67

This fix also works on Vista Home Basic. I replaced my Hard Drive after a crash, then before I had half the stuff reloaded onto the new HD, I also lost the DVD/CD drive. Computer would not recognize the DVD/CD Drive but "Device Manager" did list it. Looking back, I found that the trouble occurred immediately after I had done a "Windows Update". After much work and irritation, I found the following fix on this website and it worked wonderfully. However, my Registry had no "lower filter" listed. I deleted the upper filter as some others had done and it works fine.

The file I deleted was: "Upper Filters  REG_MULTI_SZ    GEARAspi WDM "

 

 

 

People... This is for Windows Vista Home Premium

BUT TRY TO DO IT ON YOUR WINDOWS VISTA VERSION, TOO.

EVERYONE, INCLUDING ME, HAS TO CREATE A RESTORE

POINT BEFORE DOING THIS, OKAY? So that if it does not work,

you will be able to restore your computer to an earlier date;

a date before doing this.

I called Microsoft and they guided me through a process as follows:

1) Click the WINDOWS START BUTTON

2) Click over the Windows START BUTTON, there is the SEARCH engine.

Click there and search for regedit

3) Click regedit and the Registry Editor folder will open

4) On the left menu, in order to make the folders drop down, click

the following folders with an arrow as follows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then,

SYSTEM, then,

Control, then,

Class, then look for {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

5) On the right side of this folder, you will see some files (probably

with a small "ab" on a little paper which is an icon). Look for

LowerFilter and right-click it and DELETE IT. Yes, delete the file!

Don't worry if you think it could damage your computer system

since, HOPEFULLY, you have already created a Restore Point

for your system.

6) After deleting the LowerFilter file from your system,

RESTART your computer.

7) Look for the CD/DVD drive and WOW, BACK TO NORMAL !

 

hehehe... I hope this helps you all!

Take care!

 

 

 

hi guys, my cd drive won't let me work my cd's and so i did these steps but in step 5 when i went on to [4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} folder, i did not have lowerfilter??

please help :)

Answer 68

I am having the same problem. any help?

ASAP

Answer 69

 

I have the same problem as everyone else.  I hate editing the registry but if I have to then I guess I will.

One thing I have been doing is going to the device manager when I see my DVD drive has vanished and just right click on your computer name at the top of the device chain and run the "scan for hardware changes" command.  Your DVD or CD drive should re-appear like magic lol.

The problem with this is it's not a permanent fix, it'll vanish again.  But doing this will force it to show up again...........for a time.

Regards;

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer 70

I fix my problem.

Take a look at this link!

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9645377

 

That program will Scan your Computer and fix your cd drive.

Good luck

the car flipper

Answer 71

And gise a restore point will not restore your Registry

backup the Registry Instead.

because I Tried that.

Answer 72

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cd_dvd_drive_problems

Answer 73

thanks for the tips. i tried it but there are 3 types of control. controlSet001, ControlSet002,and CurrentControlSet. ater opnneing all these control, i still can't fine the lowerfilter. 

please what could be the course of it.

if i try to insert a DVD, the icon would appear, and if i take out the DVD or CD it disappear after some time

 

Answer 74

Hey all

 

This seems to work for a lot of you guys....but what happens if you get to the folder and theres no upper or lower controls?

 

ANY IDEAS?

Answer 75

Thanks Canadion

                               I tried the lower  ... Nothing then I read on down to this entry and tried the Higher.... Voila!!  Thanks everyone

       It seems a gross invasion of my computer and privacy that some company can send up an update which virtually acts like a virus.

 

Thanks to you guys and Google every problem I get I find someone else has had that problem too and found the solution.

Answer 76

Same issue as everyone else

This fixed it for me:

http://support.microsoft.com/fixit#tab0

I downloaded from Microsoft an app and 'Matsrun.dvd.exe' and it diagosed and fixed the problem.

Hope it helps you.

 

 

Answer 77

Same issue as everyone for me too.

Just log on to.

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9645377 The downloaded programme will scan your computer and correct the corrupted drivers.

All was up and running within minuets.

I hope this works as well for you.

Answer 78

Hi,Richie Bee, I tried clicking on the link and got an error msg saying page was not found.

Here's my problem:  I found an old Dell P3 laptop and it is running, except I cannot get a wi fi signal as with my Gateway Laptop at home, so I cannot access the internet. I found a Linksys Wireless-G Notebook card but cannot locate my installation disk.

I then found the driver download online, and used this Gateway laptop to save it to a writeable cd rom.

When I insert the cd rom into my old Dell, it does not recognize the E drive, but only the D. So I followed the instructions on this forum to change the drive name to E, but it STILL won't recognize the E drive and I cannot get the cd rom to run--help!

Answer 79

Hi RoseMaybud

Try that link again it is now working for me.

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9645377

good luck!

RichieBee

Answer 80

i have the same problem as yours.  i do not found any upper or lower ..... as many of they saying.  Have any one got the solution for me?

Answer 81

Hi

 

Thanks for your Idea, I had a same issue and resolved the issue as per your mail. Thanks lot

 

R.Subramanian

Answer 82

i have the same problem as yours.  i do not found any upper or lower ..... as many of they saying.  Have any one got the solution for me?

 

 

Munshir

Answer 83

I fix my problem.

Take a look at this link!

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9645377

 

That program will Scan your Computer and fix your cd drive.

Good luck

the car flipper

I'm having that problem again ____!!!!!!. What is going on with this my other poast with that program it wont work on my cd drive. what the f... is wrong with this yesterday i install windows updates then it crashed. HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPP HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPP the car flipper.

---

Carlos Medrano

Answer 84

This forum is for writing Windows search-aware software. Try answers.microsoft.com instead if you need help in using Windows.

---

---

The following is signature, not part of post
Please mark the post answered your question as the answer, and mark other helpful posts as helpful, so they will appear differently to other users who are visiting your thread for the same problem.
Visual C++ MVP

Answer 85

I managed to fix this.  I have a HP and I did the following:

 

Start

Control Panel

Recovery Manager

Do not perform recovery, select other options

Reinstall hardware drivers (yes)

 

HP Personal Media Drive (I reinstalled this)

 

done.  Now working

 

 

Answer 86

Thank you!! Worked for me also, good job.

Answer 87

DELL LATITUDE E6410 - 500gb SATA - I7-640, 4GB, windows 7 professional, 2 partitions

This Worked for me


I have 2 partitions on my one hard drive. I installed Windows 7 professional on C drive. On first boot up, I could see my dvd drive.

 

After installing DELL chipset drivers, on reboot, i could no longer see my dvd drive however the light was working and BIOS was working. 2 days i pulled my hair out

 

Then in BIOS, i took the dvd drive out of the boot sequence and only had my hard drive in boot sequence.

 

Now my dvd drive is back and working fine

 

Cyril

p.s I tried the regedit however i didnt have the lower and upper filters option.

good luck

Answer 88

I had a similar problem. My DVD/CD rom was invisble to my system. I assumed it was because of a virtual cd/dvd rom drive that I had recently installed. I searched online for quick answers and there were none. Lot's of people with similar problems, some simple and some complex solutions.

I went the whole troubleshooting route first with no success.

After reading numerous online posts it was evident that i would need to bust into my registry and make changes.

I decided to crack open my tower first and see what was going on physically.

I had no more desire to crawl under my dark, wire riddled desk and fiddle with my tower, while worrying about static cling destroying my entire system than I had to crawl inside my registry and allow anonymous internet advice to take down my system.

The next 5 minutes prolly saved me an hour of registry editing, software troubleshooting and the frustration of having nothing work. Thankfully opening my tower is marginally less daunting to me then manually changing registry entries.

I examined my CD/DVD drive. There was one wire plugged from the cd/dvd rom drive to the mother board, which could have been power (and maybe is). There was also one suspicious looking group of wires connected to the cd/dvd rom drive and a matching available bundle of wires + receptacle protruding from the power supply. I plugged it in and rebooted my system, after resolving myself to the chance that this could be the end of my machine.

It wasn't.

It ends up that my cd/dvd rom drive power cable had wiggled loose and simply needed to be plugged back in.  I only mention this because in all the posts I read searching for an answer no one ever mentioned this. Obvious? Maybe.

Answer 89

I am experiencing the same problem. I just built a new system, formatted hard drive, installed XP Pro, then installed Office, and then AVG 9 and was happy as a clam. All this was done while offline from the internet using my DVD rom. Went online to the internet, updated AVG, then updated XP. Next thing I know, my DVD drive went *POOF*! So... Looking at the regedit, and I don't see the upper or lower that you are talking about. Is there another answer? I tried the other option of deleting the IDE channels. On reboot, it found the drive, installed it, I got my hopes up, and it is still not in my computer... Help! Thanks

Answer 90

Please help me. My Laptop will not recognize CD-Rum drive, it's totally missing, and a cold boot does not help. Even, I tried regedit – I couln’t find Higher/LowerFileter are not showing. Driver was updated. I can see CD-Rum in Device manager. I have Vista for OS.

Answer 91

http://support.microsoft.com/fixit/

Answer 92

http://support.microsoft.com/mats/cd_dvd_drive_problems/

Answer 93

Try a "System Restore."

I suddenly couldn't see my E Drive (slave drive) in "My Computer". I did a system restore point going back at least 2 months. Bingo. My E Drive was back, plus my volume control icon reappeared in my lower right task bar, and my modem stopped dropping my Internet connection randomly. I constantly scan for virus/trojans/etc., so I am suspecting a corrupted update of some sort caused the problem. Anyway, it is fixed. I hope this helps.