DVD drives is no longer in My computer or the Device manager

My 2 year old Win-7 64 bit, SP-1 PC no longer detects the DVD drives. Not sure when the trouble started, as I haven't used them very often. I'm guessing about 3 months ago was the last time I used them. At that time they both worked. Now they don't nor do they show up in Device Manager either. It only lists my Card Reader types. I couldn't find anything wrong, so I installed two new Asus drives, same thing! Tray opens, green light comes on as if they are working. Windows Fix-it, apparently don't recognize them either as no error was found.
I checked BIOS they aren't listed. Boot order has the HD and then the card reader (SD,SM MS etc) never seen that before? Not the way I set it up??
Note: old drives where Sony and ASUS. New ones are ASUS DVD DRW-24F1ST-49
MOBO is a ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0
CPU=AMD FX-6300 Six Core
Chipset = AMD 990X/SB950
MEMORY 4x DIMM 32GB
2TB Hard drive.
No viruses have been found.
I have not installed any new software, or hardware in the last 12 months. Fact is I'm in my 70s and have not been up to using the computer much in the past few months.
I would just re-install windows if i could. would need OS on a flash drive
thanks for any help

Hi,

Stage 1 : Please do all the below even if you have done some before as it is often the total
process which solves the issue.

Try this - Control Panel - Device Manager - CD/DVD - double click the device - Driver's Tab -
click Update Drivers (this will likely do nothing) - then RIGHT CLICK the drive - UNINSTALL -
REBOOT this will refresh the default driver stack. Even if drive is not shown continue
below.

Then work your way through these - remember the drive could be bad, could have a loose
cable or slight corrosion on the contacts (usually for a laptop) and other issues.

Your CD drive or DVD drive is missing or is not recognized by Windows or other programs
Your CD or DVD drive is not recognized by Windows or other programs - a Mr Fixit
Manually try this fix if the 314060 Fixit did not work
PC Hell: How to Fix Error Code 39 with DVD or CD-ROM drive in Windows XP/Vista
Your CD drive or DVD drive is missing or is not recognized by Windows or other programs -
a Mr Fixit
Your CD or DVD drive is not recognized by Windows or other programs

The CD drive or the DVD drive does not work as expected on a computer that you upgraded
to Windows Vista
The CD drive or the DVD drive does not work as expected on a computer that is running Windows Vista

When you insert a CD or a DVD, Windows Vista may not recognize the disc
When you insert a CD or a DVD, Windows Vista may not recognize the disc

Your CD or DVD drive cannot read or write media - A Mr Fixit
Fix problems with CD or DVD drives that can

CD/DVD drive does not appear in Windows Vista, or you receive this error during Windows
Vista setup after booting from the DVD (AHCI)
Error: A required CD/DVD device driver is missing - when you start Windows 7 or Windows Vista from the setup disk

CD-R drive or CD-RW drive is not recognized as a recordable device
CD-R drive or CD-RW drive is not recognized as a recordable device

Hardware devices not detected or not working - A Mr Fixit
Hardware devices are not working or are not detected in Windows

Another possibility is that the cables are loose. Remove ALL power, then check cables in both
ends. Remove and replace, do not just snug. For laptops you can often clean the power and
data contacts with a pencil eraser.

Some DVD drives do not use the Windows default drivers so check with the System maker and
device maker to see if there is firmware or drivers for you drive if needed.

===============================

Stage 2 : You could have drive issues as the CD/DVD is actually 4 drives in 1 case ( CD & DVD
burn and CD and DVD read). So it is not unusual for 1 or 2 parts to not function while the others
do so properly.

Did you complete the troubleshooter for the drive that still does not work? There are some
registry entries that the troubleshooter does not fix and those "might" be the cause.

Check with your System Maker and Device maker for both possible firmware updates and
the correct Registry entries for your drive.

These are the keys I think are the ones in question - for the CD/DVD drive sub-keys of course
as there will other sub-keys in these keys. Be sure to ask for specific keys involved as well as
the settings.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\IDE

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Hardware Profiles\0001\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\IDE

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

-----------------------------------------------------------------------


CD/DVD units
Solid State Drives (SSD), Hard Drives (HDD) and NAS - Club Myce
Use DevManView to locate CD/DVD in registry (be careful and make a Restore Point before
changing anything) - find the device in DevManView and then Right Click on it Open in RegEdit.
DevManView - Free - an alternative to the standard Device Manager of Windows, which displays all
devices and their properties in flat table, instead of tree viewer
Alternative to device manager of Windows

Hope this helps.

Not sure what fixed it but something did, tried everything listed and nothing helped.I had given up and was installing a better card reader. I checked device manager to see if it still listed the card readers as drives. You guessed it, there were the missing drive. Don't make any sense, must been one of the things you had me try. One down one to go. Thanks for all the help. I'll open a new thread to ask about the other, soon as I figure out how to explain so you can understand, not sure I know the right terms.
Again thanks!!