My ENVY 15's hp DVDRAM GU90N DVD RW Drive Does Not Work

[masteryoda1041]

Probably on or around Wednesday, 03/24/2020, I was planning to play a game that is on a DVD-ROM disc. My plan evaporated, however, because nothing happened when I closed the drive after inserting the disc. AutoPlay was turned on for the device in question. Upon discovering the disc was not running, I took the DVD-ROM disc out and put in a music CD, only to get no response. This is the first time I recall having issues with the drive. When the drive works and has a disc in it, the drive's icon in "This PC" will get changed as a way of telling me what is in the drive. However, ever since I noticed the problem, whether there's a disc in the drive or not, the icon has not changed from the icon that appears when the drive is empty. When I put a disc in the drive, the drive will begin to make a sound as if it knows there's a disc but will then immediately stop. I do not recall the last time I used the drive to which I am referring.

My troubleshooting steps have been:

1. Inserting another disc;
2. Clicking "Update Driver" (on the drive's "Driver" tab within Device Manager);
3. Clicking "Disable Device" (on the drive's "Driver" tab within Device Manager);
4. Checking for Windows Updates;
5. Checking HP's site for drivers specific to my product (I found a whopping 0);
6. Running System Restore multiple times, and to different Restore Points (after which, I received a message saying the attempts were not successful); and
7. Running a "Component Test" on the optical drive within HP's UEFI tool at system startup (even if I had a disc in the drive, it would say "insert media," or something like that)

For some reason, the "Roll Back Driver" button is greyed-out. As far as I recall, I have not clicked "Uninstall Device" (on the drive's "Driver" tab within Device Manager), for fear of not being able to reinstall the device. Aside from installing the Xbox Accessories app in January, Xbox Adaptive Controller in January, and external (Logitech brand) devices to use with the Xbox Adaptive Controller in March, I have not made any major software or hardware changes to my system. While I generally use LAN for my Internet connection, I will sometimes use wireless. My laptop is currently running Windows 10 Home Edition, Version 1909, OS build 18363.752.

Before typing this, I did find two pages that appear to talk about the same drive I'm talking about (https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebooks-Archive-Read-Only/Problem-with-Hp-DVDRam-GU90N/m-p/5262754#M... and https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebooks-Archive-Read-Only/Help-for-my-HP-DVDRAM-GU90N/m-p/5097530). However, I have not clicked the links mentioned on either page.

What advice does the community have?

[Huffer]

First thing to do is determine if its a hardware problem with the drive or a problem with Windows. 

If you have a bootable DVD or CD of some sort like a Windows installation disk try to boot from it. If the laptop will boot from a CD or DVD then there is nothing wrong with the hardware. If it will not, your drive needs to be replaced. 

If its software, it is likely to be a problem with upper and lower filters which can be edited (removed) in the registry. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lIf7xUpc8I

Optical drives work in the operating system a different way than plug and play devices and do not use drivers in the way you are used to seeing. That's why you are not going to find a driver as such. The pages you linked above actually do have probable solutions you may want to try. There is a Microsoft Tool which does the registry edits for upper and lower filters for you automatically. The youtube I linked is a bit on the techhy side. Post back if you need more help. 

[masteryoda1041]

Huffer,

Hello. Thank you for your fast reply! I have a DVD+R disc that I put Windows 10 Version 1511 Build 10586.318 on back in 2016. I also have 5 other DVD+R discs, which I've labeled "HP Recovery Disc 1 of 5" (and so on). Are any of those what you mean by "bootable DVD or CD of some sort like a Windows installation disk?" If yes, which one (or ones)? Would I follow the steps mentioned here?

[Huffer]

Either the Windows 10 disk or Disk 1 of the recovery set will work. Tap esc as you power up then F9 to select boot source and then select the DVD burner as the boot option. Make sure the disk you use is clean with no fingerprints to keep it from reading. Don't do anything once the system boots to the disk the point is just to see if it works. 

[masteryoda1041]

Huffer,

I’ve made some interesting observations on my laptop:

1. There is no mention of a CD/DVD drive in the “Boot Option Menu”
   1. Upon noticing this, I navigated here;
2. “CD-ROM Boot” is set to <Enabled> in the “System Configuration” -> “Boot Options” menu (please refer to "Figure 3: Boot Options menu" in the link I mentioned above);
3. “Internal CD/DVD ROM Drive” is the second thing listed under both “UEFI Boot Order” and “Legacy Boot Order” in the “System Configuration” -> "Boot Options" menu;
4. "Secure Boot", in the "Boot Options" menu, is greyed-out and set to <Disabled>

I'm not sure how the information I've just shared changes things, but I thought I'd share what I've found so far.

[Huffer]

So what happens if you insert say the Windows disk and try to boot from it?

[masteryoda1041]

Huffer,

As far as I know, nothing. With the laptop on, I opened the disc tray, put the disc in, then closed the tray. When I press "f9" for "Boot Device Options" from the "Startup Menu," there doesn't appear to be any mention of a DVD (or CD) drive. As I mentioned previously, though, “Internal CD/DVD ROM Drive” is the second thing listed under both “UEFI Boot Order” and “Legacy Boot Order” in the “System Configuration” -> "Boot Options" menu. (I believe I accessed that screen by pressing "f10" for "BIOS Setup," but I'm not certain.

[masteryoda1041]

UPDATE: Last Tuesday, I ordered an HP External USB DVD RW drive. It's not scheduled to ship for two weeks, but hopefully it will be a resolution to my issue.

[masteryoda1041]

UPDATE: Although the drive I ordered was not even estimated to ship until Monday, 04/27, I received it yesterday, Wednesday, 04/15.

So far, I've only used it to play an audio CD. However, it seems to work. At first, I did have trouble getting my laptop to recognize the drive. While doing some searching in HP Support Forums for troubleshooting tips, I came across a discussion that suggested downloading and installing CyberLink Media Suite from a specific link. While I did end up downloading and installing CyberLink Media Suite 10 from the link that was mentioned, I'm not sure doing so is what helped solve the issue. (I'm sorry, but I can't seem to find the link in my Internet history.) After I installed and opened CyberLink Media Suite 10, my laptop still didn't recognize the drive. It wasn't until I disconnected, reconnected, and then wiggled both ends of the USB cable that came included with the drive that my laptop recognized the drive.

On Tuesday, 04/07, before I decided to buy the HP External USB DVD RW drive, I did chat with HP's Spare Parts department to see if they had any spare internal hp DVDRAM GU90N DVD RW drives. To my surprise, they did. Although I did get the external drive to work, I kind of wish I had taken HP up on the opportunity to buy one of their spare internal hp DVDRAM GU90N DVD RW drives.

My advice: if you (or someone you have easy access to) have the confidence to take hardware out of your laptop and put new hardware in it, check with HP's Spare Parts department to see if they have any spare internal hp DVDRAM GU90N DVD RW drives they could sell to you. Otherwise, if you do end up buying an HP External USB DVD RW drive (as seen here) (or another USB DVD RW drive), try disconnecting, reconnecting, and wiggling the USB cable.

I'm sorry if that was a bit wordy.