Hardware ID Missing fault with DVD drive, even when replaced DVD.

Assuming ATA refers to PATA, parallel ATA (IDE) and not SATA serial ATA. In a desktop PC, IDE drives connect via a ribbon cable that can handle two drives, one master and one slave. In a laptop they usually use a custom connector on an optical drive. To be honest I would expect the optical drive to be jumpered from the factory as slave, as that is all it ever will be. can't hurt to double check, but don't be surprised if you can't find the jumper. The hard drive on the other hand, even in a laptop, will still have the master slave jumper on it. Its been my experience that if you had two masters or two slaves the PC will not boot up to the OS. You will get a BIOS error message until you fix it and set the jumpers correctly. It sounds like a motherboard fault. Bent or broken connector or pin on the optical drives motherboard connector or loose cable or connection. It may sound like grasping for straws but I would reset the BIOS to failsafe defaults. Its easy to do and you never know, you might get lucky. Other than that pull the drive out and have a good look inside the empty slot with a flashlight for dust bunnies or anything that may be blocking a good connection. Good luck. :)

Gents, many thanks for your advice. I shall carry out the instructions provided and post back with the results, again many thanks!!...

**UPDATE**

Reset the BIOS and the fault remains. The DVD drives I am using have SATA connections on them and there are no jumper pins anywhere on any of the drives..........

SATA drives don't have jumpers, as there is only one device per cable/channel and no need for master slave like IED drives. If you can and haven't already swap out that SATA cable.

The Drive just plugs in via the SATA connection to the MOBO directly, there is no ribbon on the Laptop. But the plot thickens!! I found a DVD drive off an old Toshiba SA60, XP Laptop. After cutting the trim a little to fit it into the P200-D it now recognises this drive! Alas, when I insert any Discs I get the error " The Disk file structure is corrupt and unusable", I have tried various discs and they are all new. So I then tried to install the driver, but it is not compatible with Vista. Very frustrating!!......In device manager it says the hardware is working correctly.......Any suggestions?!.....Rgds

in addition, in the BIOS the drive is now listed as TOSHIBA DVD-ROM SD-R6112-(PM) I have since re-tried the other DVD drives again, but they still come up with the ATA 0 error.......

I was thinking you were going to tell me no cable, just a connector. I think most laptops are like that even if they use an IDE drive. My best guess is motherboard fault. Laptops are PITA to work on troubleshoot. You've tried two original drives and another model and none work. Windows should have any drivers needed for an optical drive built in. The only way to prove its the laptop and not the drive(s) is to put your drive in another identical, or almost identical laptop and see if it works. That might be doable for a repair shop but not so easy for you at home.

Yes, but the old drive from an old XP Toshiba Laptop is visible when installed, it just won't read discs, but it did in the old laptop........strange!!!!

Thats what makes me think its a motherboard SATA interface fault. Like I said though, laptops are a PITA to work on. Desktop hardware for the most part is interchangeable, laptops? good luck.

alphanumeric said:

Thats what makes me think its a motherboard SATA interface fault. Like I said though, laptops are a PITA to work on. Desktop hardware for the most part is interchangeable, laptops? good luck.

This is why I said: if it were me, I would just get an external disc drive and be done with the mess as repairing the laptop will cost you 5-10 times the cost of an external drive that connects via USB. If you desire portability, then you might consider whether the cost of repairs is worth it.

writhziden said:

alphanumeric said:

Thats what makes me think its a motherboard SATA interface fault. Like I said though, laptops are a PITA to work on. Desktop hardware for the most part is interchangeable, laptops? good luck.

This is why I said: if it were me, I would just get an external disc drive and be done with the mess as repairing the laptop will cost you 5-10 times the cost of an external drive that connects via USB. If you desire portability, then you might consider whether the cost of repairs is worth it.

You can get slim drives now that are easier to fit in a laptop bag. If you hunt around you can also find enclosures that will let you convert a laptop optical drive into an external USB drive.