No optical drives will work

[kenjmor2006]

I had a virus,I cleaned it with combo.fix and now I cannot get cd,or dvd to work,they wont spin,but they show ok in devise manager,I tried hooking a external floppy up to boot so I could reload winxp home,but that did not work, the computer is a sony pvc-rx550,60 gig hard drive,1gig ram,pentium 4 cpu at 1.5G, the cd rom is a HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE -8160B, The DVD is a
Pioneer DVD ROM DVD-117R. I ahve all the recovery disc,but no way of installing them,help me please.....Ken

 

[sheeepo]

I had a virus,I cleaned it with combo.fix and now I cannot get cd,or dvd to work,they wont spin,but they show ok in devise manager,I tried hooking a external floppy up to boot so I could reload winxp home,but that did not work, the computer is a sony pvc-rx550,60 gig hard drive,1gig ram,pentium 4 cpu at 1.5G, the cd rom is a HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE -8160B, The DVD is a
Pioneer DVD ROM DVD-117R. I ahve all the recovery disc,but no way of installing them,help me please.....Ken

Don't try to fix it, make a new PC. Considering your rig, it is really time to change it.

 

[aford10]

Try clearing the CMOS.

Make sure the cables to the drives are secure.

 

[kenjmor2006]

Don't try to fix it, make a new PC. Considering your rig, it is really time to change it.

That would be fine if I had the money,but I am on social security and have high rent to pay,thanks anyway...Ken

 

[MrLinux]

Try booting from a CD/DVD (original Windows install CD), this will tell if it's a drive or a Windows problem.

 

[aford10]

Try booting from a CD/DVD (original Windows install CD), this will tell if it's a drive or a Windows problem.

I believe the OP already tried this, as stated in the original post.

It sounds like dead optical drives if they wont spin at all (assuming they are hooked up correctly).

 

[jerreece]

When I used Windows XP (Pro 64bit) I had a very similar problem a couple times. My optical drives would disappear from the "My Computer" window. They'd show up in Device Manager, but would indicate they weren't installed properly. This problem would manifest itself after shutting down the PC and booting back up the next day.

I found there is a problem in Windows itself that causes some cache file to get messed up that creates this issue.

There's a resolution on the Microsoft website you can try. However, it requires editing your registry.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060/;

Your CD drive or DVD drive is missing or not recognized by Windows or other programs, so you cannot play or access a CD or DVD. This issue might have occurred after you installed, uninstalled, or updated a program or Windows Vista.

See the “More information” section for detailed information.

This article helps you fix the problem. To have us fix this problem for you, go to the "Fix it for me" section. If you would rather fix this problem yourself, go to the "Let me fix it myself" section.

Microsoft Windows XP

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. In the navigation pane, locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
4. In the right pane, click UpperFilters.

Note You may also see an UpperFilters.bak registry entry. You do not have to remove that entry. Click UpperFilters only. If you do not see the UpperFilters registry entry, you still might have to remove the LowerFilters registry entry. To do this, go to step 7.
5. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
6. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
7. In the right pane, click LowerFilters.

Note If you do not see the LowerFilters registry entry, unfortunately this content cannot help you any further. Go to the "Next Steps" section for information about how you can find more solutions or more help on the Microsoft Web site.
8. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
9. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
10. Exit Registry Editor.
11. Restart the computer.