A required CD\DVD driver is missing

[jpgilman]

While loading Windows 7 64 bit for a new install from DVD, I get a message "a required cd\dvd driver is missing. If you have a floppy, CD, DVD or USB flash Drive, please insert it now" 

What driver is it missing?

Do I need to load it on a USB device?

Are there BIOS settings that need to be changed to continue loading the WIndows 7 operating system?

Thanks.

[banhien]

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@jpgilman wrote:

.... Do I need to load it on a USB device?

---

Hi,

Probably that is a good idea, The following article tells you why and few options to get it going

    https://www.drivereasy.com/knowledge/how-to-fix-a-required-cddvd-drive-device-driver-is-missing-occu...

Regards.

[mdklassen]

> While loading Windows 7 64 bit for a new install from DVD, I get a message "a required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing. If you have a floppy, CD, DVD or USB flash Drive, please insert it now" 

Bad sentence-construction by Microsoft!

What they mean is that Windows needs some device-driver software, to continue with installing Windows.

If you have that software, stored on CD media, or on a floppy (or "stiffy") diskette, or on a USB flash-drive, please insert that media into the matching port.

> What driver is it missing?

That's a good question. 

Support for CD/DVD optical devices is included in Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista/7/8/10. So, that's not it.

Since the software is "required", not just "optional", it's probably the "full-function" device-driver software for your disk-drive, not just the "basic" device-driver software that is included.

So, what model-number of computer do you have?

What Operating System are you trying to install?

If it is a non-HP motherboard, what is the manufacturer, and model-number?

Does that Installation Media come from HP, or is it a "retail" copy of Windows, or something you downloaded?

Within "BIOS SETUP", is the motherboard configured for "native" mode of operation of the disk-drive, and for 'AHCI' (not 'IDE-emulation') mode?

What's the manufacturer and model-number of your disk-drive?

> Do I need to load it on a USB device?

No.  It's convenient to do so, because you can tell the Windows Installer to "look" into a specific folder on the USB's "file-system" structure for the necessary files.

Yes, you can download the software, and 'unzip' it (if necessary), and burn the "unzipped" files onto CD-recordable media.  Remove the Windows Installation DVD (as it tells you), and insert the "burnt" CD/DVD.

Yes, if your computer still has a floppy/stiffy disk-drive, and the files are small-enough to fit into 1.4Mbytes, the Windows Installer can read those files.

>  Are there BIOS settings that need to be changed to continue loading the WIndows 7 operating system?

Maybe.

Was Windows 7 pre-installed on your computer, or are you trying to "downgrade" from Windows 10?

Is this your computer: http://www8.hp.com/ca/en/products/workstations/product-detail.html?oid=5225033#!tab=features

It may have been shipped with Windows 8.1 pre-installed.

Internal drive: 300 GB up to 600 GB SAS (15000 rpm)
300 GB up to 1.2 TB SAS (10000 rpm)
500 GB up to 3 TB SATA (7200 rpm)
120 GB up to 512 GB SATA SSD
256 GB SATA SE SSD

Storage controller: Integrated SATA 6.0 Gb/s; Integrated SATA 3.0 Gb/s; LSI 9217-4i4e 8-port SAS 6.0 Gb/s RAID (optional); LSI MegaRAID® 9270-8i SAS 6.0 Gb/s ROC RAID Card and iBBU09 Battery Backup Unit (optional)

Do you have SAS or SATA disk-drives?  If the former, then the "missing" software is the device-driver for the 'LSI 9217' storage controller.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi, @jpgilman :

Normally when you get that message, it is because the DVD is defective. 

Most often that occurs if you burned the ISO file yourself to a DVD. 

You should burn the ISO file to a DVD at the slowest possible burn speed you can.

If you are installing from a Microsoft W7 DVD, then that is probably not the issue.

Another issue could that be W7 needs the storage controller drivers in order to proceed.

I have zipped up and attached the two possible storage controller drivers your PC needs, below.

I don't know which one is the right one, unfortunately, so try them both.

It would depend on what setting the BIOS's drive controller is set to.

The first one I would try is the iaStorS file.

If that doesn't work, then try the iaStorA file.

Here is how to proceed...

Download and unzip the file to its folder. 

Get a USB flash drive, and copy the files in the folder to your USB flash drive.

Just the files, not the folder.

Have your W7 DVD in the drive.

Restart the PC and boot from the W7 DVD.

After you select the install now option, select the Drive Options - Advanced menu, then select the Load Driver option.

You should now see the storage driver files listed.

If you check the box, it will only include the compatible driver.

Follow the prompts, and hopefully, W7 will install.

[jpgilman]

The driver you sent worked. It then brought me to the next hurdle to remove the master boot sector partition (MBS).

Once I got the network device drivers going, I was off to the races. This was not a smooth rebuild but I thank you immensely for your assistance. I would have never located those drivers.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.