Windows 7: Lightscribe CD/DVD Drive Not Recognized in Windows 7

Hello:

I recently installed Windows 7 Professional 32 bit on my computer. I actually installed it clean, because I had Ultimate on it; unfortunately, the copy I obtained was not genuine, so I got a genuine Professional in its stead. This problem started initially when I first put Windows 7 on my computer, but I figured when I got a genuine copy of Windows, it would be fixed. No such luck.
My CD drive doesn't even open when the button is pressed; I have to stick a paperclip in the manual eject hole. The Device Manager doesn't even show that a CD Drive is installed, neither does any other program. I tried editing the registry myself and deleting the "upper filters" line, or whatever it is, but that didn't work. I have been attempting to find drivers, tools, or anything else that could help with this, but nothing seems to be working. I was wondering if anyone could offer a solution for me.



Here are the specs for my computer:
Product Specifications HP Pavilion dv2945se Entertainment Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

The tray should open, whether Windows 7 recognizes it or not. It sounds to me that it is either a dead drive, or the power cable to it is bad or loose.

I thought that might be an issue, but it was working fine when I had Vista on it. Also, I just tried opening it when the computer was booting up, and it opened fine; the light even turned on. I did this a couple of times before Windows started. Once Windows actually had started, though, I couldn't open it anymore.

I've never had a problem like you have described before, so I'm not sure what to make of it. If the drive operates during the BIOS run, but is dead in Windows, it is a puzzle that someone besides me will have to solve. It kind of sounds like that Windows is locking it up, while trying to detect it, but that is not what usually happens. I would suggest waiting for someone else to chime in, before making any decisions.

EDIT: An after thought...is the drive recognized properly in the BIOS? Not just on the initial BIOS run screens, but in the BIOS setup?

I feel that something could have gone amiss the way you had installed Windows7 first with a non-genuine copy and then with a genuine copy.

To confirm that there is indeed a problem, I would suggest

1. Disconnect your optical drive from the system - both the power cable and data cable.

2. Do a clean install with the genuine copy of Windows 7 from a USB pendrive. ( Do not activate at this point. You have 30 days to do it.) And do not forget to back up any data that you may not want to lose.

3. After install and you are sure that Windows is booting up without any problems, connect your optical drive and then start your PC. Check whether Windows recognises it and report whether you still have the problem.

In short, you will be starting off with a pristine Windows7 installation, without the optical drive and connect the optical drive afterwards.