CD drive error: application not found. New error, used to work.

[Julie949]

I bought a game cd that caused problems with my computer, so I returned the cd. Now when I attempt to run a cd, the drive reads "application not found." I read online that I should put in the previous cd, open, close and eject. However, I no longer have that cd. So now what do I do to fix this problem. Thank you very much for any help you can give me.

 

[coastie65]

Is the CD/DVD player showing in the device Manager?

 

[Julie949]

Yes, but when I click on it, I receive a message application not found

 

[coastie65]

In the device manager, Right click on the CD/DVD drive and then click to uninstall. Once you have done that, go back to the desktop and restart the computer, this should reinstall things and hopefully it will work, if not then we'll have to check something in the registry.

 

[Julie949]

When I click on computer it shows as a device with removable storage. However, when I right click, there is no uninstall in the menu. I did uninstall the previous game before I returned it, however it still shows up in my game folder, in a subfolder entitele "unspecified" and when I right or left click on it nothing happens.

 

[coastie65]

You need to go to the Control panel, then click on Device manager. Once that opens, click on the CD/DVD drive to open it. You will get a drop down menu with the device listed. Right click on it then click to uninstall.

 

[Julie949]

Ok, I found it. I'm scared. I just want to make sure that if I click unistall and then restart the computer, it will not adversely affect anything other than the possibly the cd drive. It will automatically reinstall?

 

[coastie65]

No worry, it will reinstall stuff. Done it quite often.

 

[Julie949]

Boo hoo, it didn't resolve the problem. It uninstalled successfully and then successfully reinstalled when I restarted the computer. But I got the same message when I tried to open a cd. The game is still showing in the unspecified subfolder in my games folder. Also, I can tell it isn't working right because it doesn't make a whirring sound when access the drive.

 

[coastie65]

You said a Game CD caused problems with your computer. What kind of problems?

 

[Julie949]

It was a few months ago and I don't exactly remember what problems I was experiencing. I uninstalled the game program and restored my computer to a previous point, but unfortunately I don't remember what point. I didn't experience any further problems. Except I noticed the game listed in the unspecified folder, and could not access it to delete it. But since I wasn't have any more problems I didn't worry about it. However I didn't used the cd drive again so only realized the cd drive issue when I went to put in the set up disk to install a wi-fi router. As you can likely tell, I am not very computer literate. I hate to have to pay $100 to have some one come out and resolve this problem.

 

[coastie65]

Ok. First, I think it would bee a good idea to see if we can remove that game. One thing to try is to do a search in Windows Explorer for that game. If it comes up in the serch, you should be able to right click on it and the Delete. Barring that, then you can try this ( it is free and nice to have installed ): http://dw.cbsi.com/redir?edId=3&tag=sem_dlnow&lop=google_sem&pid=13211079&mfgId=6294459&merId=6294459&ctype=dm%3Blanguage&cval=CBSI%3Ben&destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffiles5.open-serve.info%2Fdlcom%3Fc%3DSEMYAHOO%26s%3Dfivemill%26pid%3Ddlcom_sem%26aid%3DFree%2520Revo%2520Uninstaller-b%26dlc%3Dn%26part%3Dfivemill%26psetid%3D10687648%26geo&oid=3028-2096_4-10687648&ontId=2096_4&siteId=4&pguid=0d3f1b5a80b9ceaea7c2a0b4

 

[Julie949]

It is searching for scrabble but not finding it. When I search just in the game folder, it finds the icon in the unspecified folder but right or left clicking does nothing. My virus software didn't like the link you provided, so I am hesitant about using it. Thanks a lot for trying to help me, but I guess I am going to have to take it in somewhere.

 

[coastie65]

That link was to Cnet and trusted. I use it often. I am also a member of their forums. What I am trying to do is eliminate things, then hopefully from there we can get a handle on things. You have to be a bit patient, as sometimes the fix doesn't come quickly. You have to eliminate things in order to rule things in as it isn't always a textbook cut & dried thing. It would also help to know the make and model of your computer.

 

[coastie65]

Ok. I was looking around some on the internet. If you are running Windows 7, you can try removing and reinstalling Windows Media Player. That seems to have worked in one case with that message. I saw something else, where someone removed and reinstaled the CD/DVD drive, but don't know why that would have fixed it, except for maybe the Data cable was loose and not completely plugged in.

 

[Julie949]

Thanks, I will try these and see what happens

 

[Julie949]

Well I removed and reinstalled Windows Media Player. Didn't solve the problem. However, I noticed Games in the list of features. So I removed it and restarted my computer. VOILA!!!! It worked. Problem resolved. I haven't reinstalled games, so not sure what will happen. But now I know what to do if I have the problem again. Thank you much for your help and thanks to your persistance and advising me of the Windows Media Player, which caused me to notice the Games feature, I was able to solve the problem. YEA!!!