Question Can't get external CD/DVD drive to work

[davidacellphone]

The drive shows up in device manager, but not as a drive ( C,D,E etc )
this is drive https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLDNZF2P?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i5 14400F 30 °C
Raptor Lake 10nm Technology
RAM
32.0GB Unknown @ 2992MHz (38-38-38-78)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. B760M C (U3E1) 17 °C
Graphics
C32F391 (1920x1080@60Hz)
4091MB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (Gigabyte) 41 °C
Storage
1863GB ADATA LEGEND 800 (Unknown (SSD))
1863GB USB 3.1 Device HDD1 SCSI Disk Device (USB (SATA) ) 41 °C
3726GB USB 3.1 Device HDD2 SCSI Disk Device (USB (SATA) ) 46 °C
Optical Drives
Optiarc DVD RW AD-7740H USB Device
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

 

[rgd1101]

what does it show up as in device manager?

 

[davidacellphone]

what does it show up as in device manager?

CD/DVD- drives
and the device name
Optiarc DVD RW AD-7740H USB Device

 

[Paperdoc]

This sounds like a power supply issue. So do many of the user comments on some sellers' websites. Symptoms of insufficient power for such devices are that it appears to be "alive" and working, but it does NOT actually read or write, and sometimes fails to operate the sliding disk drawer.

Background: the older USB2 system had power available on its ports at 5 VDC up to 0.5 A. That was never enough for things like external hard drives with spinning disks. Those older types of drives almost always came with either their own power supply "brick" that had to plug into a socket on the drive, OR a special two-headed data cable that had to plug into TWO standard USB2 ports to get enough power. The new USB3 system (now all called USB 3.2 Genn ) raised that max current limit to 0.9 A. The new "Laptop Hard Drives for USB3" DO actually work in this environment because they have been designed with lower-performance components that CAN work within that current limit. One would assume that the same design approach has been used for this particular unit, a DVD RW external drive. However, it MAY be very close to the limit.

I can suggest a few things for this.
1. Ensure that where you plug this into your computer is only on a USB3 port (Type A or Type C does not matter) on the mobo's rear panel. Such a port will be fed from the mobo's USB3 chip which should be providing a reliable power supply according to the USB3 specs. Do NOT try to use it through a Hub or Splitter for USB.
2. Try using a different rear socket on that panel. Sometimes the internal details mean that two external sockets are sharing a common power supply from the mobo and using both of such a pair can result in insufficient power.
3. Make SURE you are using it with a USB3 port. The Type A USB2 older ports look at lot like them but will NOT provide the power needed.
3. Does the unit come with a small socket where you can plug in a separate external power supply? Did it come with such a power module? If yes, then connect that up.
4. Although this unit has a two-headed cable to plug into your computer's ports, I do NOT recommend that you plug in both of them. That cable is intended for use with only ONE of those two connectors plugged in, so you CAN use it with EITHER a Type A OR a Type C socket. Plugging in both at once would try to make full connections for BOTH power and data to TWO USB ports.

 

[davidacellphone]

This sounds like a power supply issue. So do many of the user comments on some sellers' websites. Symptoms of insufficient power for such devices are that it appears to be "alive" and working, but it does NOT actually read or write, and sometimes fails to operate the sliding disk drawer.

Background: the older USB2 system had power available on its ports at 5 VDC up to 0.5 A. That was never enough for things like external hard drives with spinning disks. Those older types of drives almost always came with either their own power supply "brick" that had to plug into a socket on the drive, OR a special two-headed data cable that had to plug into TWO standard USB2 ports to get enough power. The new USB3 system (now all called USB 3.2 Genn ) raised that max current limit to 0.9 A. The new "Laptop Hard Drives for USB3" DO actually work in this environment because they have been designed with lower-performance components that CAN work within that current limit. One would assume that the same design approach has been used for this particular unit, a DVD RW external drive. However, it MAY be very close to the limit.

I can suggest a few things for this.
1. Ensure that where you plug this into your computer is only on a USB3 port (Type A or Type C does not matter) on the mobo's rear panel. Such a port will be fed from the mobo's USB3 chip which should be providing a reliable power supply according to the USB3 specs. Do NOT try to use it through a Hub or Splitter for USB.
2. Try using a different rear socket on that panel. Sometimes the internal details mean that two external sockets are sharing a common power supply from the mobo and using both of such a pair can result in insufficient power.
3. Make SURE you are using it with a USB3 port. The Type A USB2 older ports look at lot like them but will NOT provide the power needed.
3. Does the unit come with a small socket where you can plug in a separate external power supply? Did it come with such a power module? If yes, then connect that up.
4. Although this unit has a two-headed cable to plug into your computer's ports, I do NOT recommend that you plug in both of them. That cable is intended for use with only ONE of those two connectors plugged in, so you CAN use it with EITHER a Type A OR a Type C socket. Plugging in both at once would try to make full connections for BOTH power and data to TWO USB ports.

i have tried on USB 3A and USB3.1 type c

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

Try this: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...-problem/146b23b9-6cec-4137-8319-71ce24e672b6

 

[Paperdoc]

Prompted by that last reply and link, it contained two tests to try.
(a) try several disks in case one or more is a DISK problem.
(b) try the drive unit with another computer in case your computer has a problem.

A comment. The link was from a user with a laptop, and some laptops are NOT good at supplying all the power for a standard USB3 port. You, OP, say you are using a desktop so I assumed that was not an issue.

 

[dwd999]

You still have not answered whether you have connected the unit's external power supply. As their instructions say: "We also considerately equipped with a power supply cable, so that some computers with insufficient power supply do not have to worry about not being able to use it."

 

[Paperdoc]

^ I agree with this sort of ....

You have not answered that question, and it IS pertinent. The missing piece is: Does that unit actually HAVE a power input socket and a power supply module included with it?

My "sort of ..." thing comes from this. The web page quote cited above does NOT say clearly that the unit HAS such features. It talks about a "power supply cable", which they MIGHT say to mean the normal two-headed cable it shows. MY concern is that such a cable APPEARANCE that was supplied with older-design units for USB2 connections WAS a way to get power from TWO USB2 sockets. But that cable had connections for POWER ONLY in the second cable head - it did NOT try to make a data connection to the second USB2 port. I have to assume that the two-headed cable included with THIS unit DOES make BOTH power and data connections at each port, because it is INTENDED to allow the user to plug into EITHER a USB3 Type A socket OR a USB3 Type C socket, but NOT both. If that is the case, I do not think that BOTH cable ends should be used at the same time. However, we have no information from the maker on this. MAYBE you can try it, OP, and see what happens.

The other alternative IF this is a problem of insufficient power would be to add a POWERED USB 3.2 Gen1 HUB between the drive unit and the computer USB3 socket. It is HIGHLY likely that such a Hub would ensure that the power it supplies DOES at least match the minimum spec of 0.9 A per port.

 

[dwd999]

^ I agree with this sort of ....

You have not answered that question, and it IS pertinent. The missing piece is: Does that unit actually HAVE a power input socket and a power supply module included with it?

My "sort of ..." thing comes from this. The web page quote cited above does NOT say clearly that the unit HAS such features. It talks about a "power supply cable", which they MIGHT say to mean the normal two-headed cable it shows. MY concern is that such a cable APPEARANCE that was supplied with older-design units for USB2 connections WAS a way to get power from TWO USB2 sockets. But that cable had connections for POWER ONLY in the second cable head - it did NOT try to make a data connection to the second USB2 port. I have to assume that the two-headed cable included with THIS unit DOES make BOTH power and data connections at each port, because it is INTENDED to allow the user to plug into EITHER a USB3 Type A socket OR a USB3 Type C socket, but NOT both. If that is the case, I do not think that BOTH cable ends should be used at the same time. However, we have no information from the maker on this. MAYBE you can try it, OP, and see what happens.

The other alternative IF this is a problem of insufficient power would be to add a POWERED USB 3.2 Gen1 HUB between the drive unit and the computer USB3 socket. It is HIGHLY likely that such a Hub would ensure that the power it supplies DOES at least match the minimum spec of 0.9 A per port.

The 6th picture on the amazon site has a label pointing to the middle of the back of the device that says: "Mini USB port, charging port not data port" which implies that its designed to provide additional power to the unit. But since there is no picture of the "power supply cable" that they claim is included we have no way of knowing what is at the other end of that cable. If there's no power brick included that may imply that the "power supply cable" is designed to be connected to another USB port on whatever computer or laptop the drive is connected to for additional power. (This is why I prefer and bought the LG BP60NB10 which does make it clear that you need 2 USB ports to power the device.)

 

[davidacellphone]

Thanks