Windows 7: DVD drive disappeared after Win 7 install

Hi all,

I am having this issue of a disappeared dvd drive after installing Windows 7 alongside Vista.

At the time, the drive was working fine in Vista.

Now, it has vanished.

I have done the upper / lower filters registry fix - note I only ever had the upper filters anyway, there weren't any lower filters, but the drive isn't there.

In the BIOS it shows up in the boot order. But on boot up, when it lists the HDD it doesn't list the DVD drive, I think it should....?

In Windows (Vista & 7), it isn't in device manager or disk management. I have scanned for hardware / disk changes. The folder options are not set to hide empty drives.

I have reseated the drive and I have checked that it seems connected properly to the motherboard. If I put a disc in the drive the light comes on and the disc spins round. This leads me to believe it must be ok physically...?

I have also tried another working DVD drive in this laptop but get the same story.

Laptop is a 2 year old HP dv6000 (or dv6500 as it says on the back). There are no drivers on the HP site for a dvd drive, but I don't think this is a simple driver issue.

Thanks in advance for any help.

<edit> I should also add that I reinstalled Vista yesterday in the hope of getting it back, but that didn't change anything.

I found this info in the registry: MAT****A DVD-RAM UJ-861H ATA Device



Have just run Everest and it didn't detect an optical drive.

Try this... go to your device manager, find the offending drive and disable it... now, power down and physically remove the IDE ribbon cable from the drive ... reboot... confirm that the drive is not listed in the device manager.. now power down again and reconnect your dvd drive.. when you power up again Windows should recognize it as new hardware and install it ... let us what happens...

Thanks for the reply, but it isn't showing in device manager, or disk management. Plus, it's a laptop, I can't remove any IDE cable.

It has totally vanished.

I will take out the whole drive and reboot.

thats ok... continue with the removal of the ribbon, etc ...

Its even more simple in case of a laptop. Just remove the screw which is holding the DVD drive. And then take the drive out. No cables, no hassle.

I've done that, I rebooted without the drive then shut down again.

Put the drive back in and rebooted again.

No sign of the drive anywhere.

All I can say is that it is lighting up and spinning a disc when I put one in.

Help!?

Good morning Barney, would you do us a favor and reboot to the bios and tell us what the dvd drive shows as a connection?
We are looking for SATA. AHCI or IDE connection for the drive.
Regards,
Adrian

Hi there,

There are no details in the BIOS at all for the dvd drive, but then it's not very informative for anything, doesn't even list the HDD either.

The only evidence of the dvd drive in the BIOS is in the boot order list.

Thank you Barney, I want you to go to the device manager and check and see if OS 7 recognizes the drive or if it shows a conflict.
Sorry Barney, I just woke up and did not read your initial post thouroughly.
Can you give us a picx of your bios?
When you see the bios and I'm referring to the boot priority what does it show?

No, it's not in device manager at all.