Intermittent DVD drive in Compaq Presario v6000 [ Edited ]

[leighahall]

Hi there,

I am having problems with my DVD drive on my laptop.  This has been happening for the last 3 days.

Problem:

DVD drive does not show up in Windows Explorer

DVD drive does not show up in Device Manager

DVD/CDROM section does not show up in Device Manager

edit2: The DVD drives still spins up at boot and when a disc is inserted.

edit2: Occasionally using a bootable DVD will work, but occasionally it just ignores it. 

Failed Fixes:

I have updated the BIOS to the latest version, but this has not fixed the problem.

I have attempted to install new drivers for the DVD drive, but this has not fixed the problem.

I have attempted a registry hack (with full backup in case of problems) and this has not fixed the problem (hack details here: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/itprovistadeployment/thread/610ccaf5-b39e-4545-bc28...

edit: I have also tried physically re-seating the drive, with no luck

edit: I have also trried replacing the drive with another compatible drive, with no luck.

Partial Fix:

I have gone into the BIOS on startup (F10) and reset to the original settings (F9).

When this boots up, *occasionally* the DVD drive shows.

On the occasions that it does show up, I can use it but only for a few minutes.  For example, if I run some software that uses the drive, it will crash part way through and when I check the system the drive has disappeared again.

Further Considerations:

When I boot into my linux o/s, after having done the BIOS reset, the drive shows up and works.  It also seems to continue to work even while I use it (unlike Windows).

This leads me to think that there is some kind of problem with Windows interfering with the drive?

I am using Windows Vista Home Premium.

The laptop is an AMD 64 processor.

The drive is a mat**bleep**a (can't get the details at the minute because it has disappeared again).

I have had the laptop for about 18months now without problems (and Linux has been installed on it from the start, so this is not the problem before someone goes there!)

P/N for laptop is gt406ea

Full HP updates have been installed through the HP Update and HP Health Check applications. 

I would appreciate any help that you could offer, as I have tried everything that I have been able to find through google. 

Thanks,

Leigh 

edit: Updates to Failed Fixes section. 

edit2: Updates to Problem section. 

Message Edited by leighahall on 05-09-2009 04:12 AM

Message Edited by leighahall on 05-09-2009 04:22 AM

[Huffer]

The registry tweak link you gave is not working for me but I assume it is the upper and lower filter thing. I would tell you to reinstall Windows but that is going to be a problem if the drive disappears from the BIOS. I would just say it is a bad drive but for the fact it works in Linux. Linux is much more independent of the BIOS than Windows so I am leaning toward a BIOS issue which I am afraid is not good news.