HP dv6810us notebook running XP sp3 lost track of the dvd/ dvr optical drive

[ch4r1ie1949]

Hello,
my HP dv6810us notebook running XP sp3 lost track of the dvd /dvr optical drive (E yesterday and doesn't show up in drive manager utility either. What can I do to recover it?

 

[aford10]

First, delete the upper and lower filters.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982116

If that doesn't fix it, run this Fixit scan.
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cd_dvd_drive_problems

 

[ch4r1ie1949]

OK, Thanks for the suggestions. I have applied them but I'm still without access to the optical drive. Any other ideas?

 

[aford10]

I'm not sure which 'manager utility' you're referring to, so...

Does it show up in the device manager, under DVD/CD ROM drives? Or are there yellow ! in there?
start-->control panel-->system-->hardware tab-->device manager

Does it show in disk management?
start-->right click on my computer-->manage-->disk management

 

[clong-toms]

I worked on a computer for two days doing everything I could find on the web and everythihng I could think of to recover the lost optical (CD/DVD-rewritable) drive on a Windows XP computer.
I tried the recommended REGEDIT changes deleting the Upper and Lower Filters and Microsoft Mr. Fixit but they didn't fix the problem. I put in a new optical drive with the same problem. I checked all hardware. Defragged. Did a complete CheckDisk. Nothing would fix the problem.
Every time I would install ANY optical drive, I got the nasty yellow ! on it with an Windows error Code 39 message saying the driver wouldn't load.
I finally fixed it!
It was a Virus.
The Virus had infected 6 files and was keeping Windows XP from properly loading the optical drive drivers.
AVG didn't keep the Virus off the PC or fix the problem when I did a complete scan. This was a big surprise to me.
Avast removed the Virus when I did a "Boot Scan". Avast detected and deleted 6 infected files that AVG didn't find.
After the Avast "Boot Scan", the optical drive still had the yellow ! on it and the Windows error Code 39 but after I Uninstalled the optical drive and scanned for hardware changes, it installed the driver with no problem!
Avast is a free antivirus program that can be downloaded from http://www.cnet.com Just search for Avast, download it, register for the Free version, Open the User Interface, click on the Scan Computer link, click on the "Boot-time scan" link, click on the "Schedule Now" link. Restart your computer and wait for it to scan every file. It should find several infected files.
Good Luck!