Read this for CD/DVD Drive with burning, missing drives, not seeing discs [ Edited ]

[RasterBlaster]

Seeing lots of the same posts with the same solutions being applied (mostly upper/lower control filters/MS Fixit)... so I thought I'd put this up for everyone.

*Update* If this helps, please click the kudos to the right as I'm trying to gauge how effective this is. If you have the time to help the community, please reply stating what did or did not work.

There are some helpful HP support articles that you may want to try before posting:

If your drive cannot burn discs... or you can burn CDs but not DVDs (or vise/versa)... read this...

Drive Cannot Write to Writable Discs (Windows 7)

Drive Cannot Write to Writable Discs (Windows Vista)

Drive Cannot Write to Writable Discs (Windows 98, ME, XP)

Summary:

1) Try different discs! Cheap discs can be hit or miss. Find a disc brand and type that works best.

2) Try burning at a slower speed (not the best option, but can often get the job done if the laser is fading).

3) Remove drive from Device Manager and remove upper/lower filters (see below).

4) Use MS System Restore to go back to a time when it was working.

5) Use PC-Doctor/HP Hardware Diagnostic software to check for a bad drive.

6) If the drive is not bad - save your files and use HP Recovery to put the system back to the beginning.

If your drive cannot read discs; CDs or DVDs or both...

Drive Cannot Read Discs in Windows 7

Drive Cannot Read Discs in Windows Vista

Drive Cannot Read Discs in Windows 98, ME, and XP  

Summary:

{restart the PC at least once to see if the drive shows up on boot}
 

1) See if the drive is listed in Device Manager (look for problems if it is).

2) Check autoplay (skip if you don't use).

3) Make sure a bad disc isn't knocking out the drive (an operating system mounts discs as drives and things can get screwed up).

4) Try reading the disc from a command prompt environment (outside of Windows).
5) Reinstall drive from Device Manager (if drive is listed). {I'd replace this with bigger process of remove upper/lower filters (see below)}.

6) Use MS System Restore to go back to a time when it was working.

7) Use PC-Doctor/HP Hardware Diagnostic software to check for a bad drive.

CD/DVD drive is missing (not in Windows Explorer or My Computer or in burning software)...

CD/DVD Drive is not Detected (Windows 7)

CD/DVD Drive is not Detected (Windows Vista)

CD or DVD Drive is not Detected (Windows 98, ME, or XP)

Summary:

1) See if the drive is listed in Device Manager (troubleshoot based on what you see).

2) Reset Power: Unplug power cord, press Power button for 10 seconds.

3) Check power and data cables attached to the drive and look in the BIOS for the drive name.

4) Remove upper/lower filters (see below).

5) Reinstall burning software

6) Get and CD/DVD drive firmware updates if available (to prevent missing drives in the future (I assume)).

7)  Use MS System Restore to go back to a time when it was working.

Stuck Drawer...

Opening a Stuck CD or DVD Drive Tray

Summary:

1) Press eject button on case, on drive, button on keyboard (if exists).

2) Right-click drive icon in Windows and select Eject.

3) Turn off PC and inert a straightened paper clip into the manual release hole on the drive.

4) Check the power cord on the back of the drive.

MS FIXit, Resetting Upper and lower Filters (XP, Vista and 7)

First... try to use the MS Fixit (for Vista) if you are on the computer having the problem)...

Microsoft Fix it Solution

Otherwise, here are the manual steps (overview):

1) Uninstall the CD/DVD drive in Device Manager and DO NOT RESTART the computer. 

2) Uninstall your CD burning software (make sure you have the installation disc or you can resinstall from Start, Programs, PC Help and Tools, Recovery Manager (or Driver/Application Recovery). If you don't have the installation discs, skip this step - it might still work).

3) Open the registry editor (Start -> Run -> enter Regedit) ... might want to make a backup of the registry at this point.

4) Open the following keys:

 + HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
 + SYSTEM
 + CurrentControlSet (or the current control set with lowest number if that is all that is listed)
 + Control
 + Class

5) Select 4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318. It has to be this exact key - make sure you can see the last numbers!!!

6) Delete the UpperFilter and or the LowerFilters value in the right window if either exists.

7) RESTART the computer - this step is important. Wait for Windows to find and install the CD/DVD drive you removed earlier.

8) Reinstall your burning software and restart the computer again.

Message Edited by GarenT on 10-07-2009 06:32 PM

Message Edited by RasterBlaster on 11-30-2009 03:51 PM

[janetalong]

my dvd does read them and will copy dvd's it's just when I go to copy the second side it tells me I need a blank dvd I am using a dvd-r shouldn't it just copy the second side of the dvd that I am trying to copy

[RasterBlaster]

No... unless you have some very special discs, you can only copy on one side of blank, writable discs. A lot of the inexpensive media will not have any sort labeling to let you easily know which side is the burnable side. For these types of discs, it is usually the side that is more shiny. The other side is for your Sharpie pen

[frejim]

What if i messed with the 4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318 key in the registry, i think i deleted the wrong values,

should i know delete the entire key and let windows fix that? or what can I do?

please help me

[RasterBlaster]

That's why you want to make a backup of the registry. If you didn't make a backup, use MS system restore to go back. The only values you should remove are UpperFilter or LowerFilter - one or both may be in there and can be removed. If neither value exists, then that is probably why you can't burn and Windows is not recognizing your drive as a writable drive.

[frejim]

Follow up,

I did the restore, but it wasnt working either way.

But it seems my problem was being caused by lots of dust inside my laptop, and also the motherboard was overheating. The guys from IT in my office took care of that, and then everything was perfect again.

But I'm considering switching to Win7 now, and after reading that drivers are easy to install.

[Chumpster]

Thanks for taking time to compile all these steps.

I'm trying to fix my HP DVD Writer 740b. OS is XP.

Windows does recognize the drive. It plays CDs, but it won't read known good DVDs.

It won't burn to CD or DVD. Every time I put an empty CD-R, DVD-R, or DVD-RW in the drive. The software does not recognize it. I tried using both Windows and Sonic DataNow.

I went through all the steps in your "cannot burn discs" section, including uninstalling the device and all the programs. Reinstalled Sonic. Same problem occurs.

I've also tried updating the drivers from the HP site.

I want to flash the BIOs, but I can't create a bootable CD because the writer isn't working and the program won't let you create a disc unless your system has a 740b.  The same progam won't allow me to make a bootable USB.

Any other ideas?

[xray44]

This  is  only  a  time  consuming  FIX  that  is  at  best,  temporary.   The code  gets  corrupted  again  and  again  and  every  time  this  ' breaks ', one  must  remove upper  and  lower  filters  in  the  registry.. . . . a g a i n.

HP  and  Microsoft  both  could  fix  this  code  problem,  but  I  guess  it   just  matters  nothing  at  all  to  them  how  we    customers can  waste  a  day  or  two  trying  to  get  their  Read/Write  writer  and  software  to  work  the  way  Hp  and  Microsoft  advertise  and  promise  they  will   work.

I  have  two  HP  computers  and  one  of  those  failed  massivley  with  grphics  display  two thirds  off  the  lower  monitor  screen.    I  bought  an  outboard  Hewlett  Packard   CD-DVD  R/W  and  it  will  play  music  cds  but  my  HP  SR1910NX  computer  will  not  permit  the  Nero  software  to  load..

Can  you  fathom  that?  Hp computer  and  HP   R/W  and  they  can  not  get  along  together.

Oh  yeah,  when  the  code  for  the  on board  R/W  gets  trampled,  both  inboard  and  external  drives  fail  to  work.

Computing  used  to  be  fun  when  things  worked  all  day.   The  fun  is gone  now.  Windows  and  HP  seem  to  be  the  worst  combination.

Linux, Linux, Linux  Ubuntu...  here I  come.  TG

PS;  We  all  have  this  problem,  HP,  when  are  HP  and  Microsoft  going  to  give  us  a  repair  or  a  refund??

[xray44]

Sorry,

            I  am  usually  a  very  cheerful  person.  But  this  is  so  depressing,  when  lazy  muti-million dollar corporations  like  HP  and  Microsoft  put  out  junk  in  the  comsumer  marketplace.

This  really  gives  the  U.S.A.  and  Canada  a  bad  name,  everywhere.  TG

[wcomputer1]

I have tried the online tech support but have had no success. followed al steps... filter etc... no filters listed .  Uninstalled/ Reinstalled numerous time but still will not read a DVD or recognize a USB driven external hard drive storage device.  System restore has never worked for the last two units that I have had but that may be me doing something wrong ( I have no idea what it may be) Reads and Plays CDs fine.  All this began after trying to install Nero and I have tried to uninstall but it tells me that uninstall was unsuccessful because "advrcnt4.dll" is missing. Last time I crashed and rebooted I lost all my saved data even with the external storage. So I do not wish to crash again but I need my computer fixed . Someone Help PLEASE!!