OS INSTALL FAILS - Optical Drive Driver Missing! Huh?

[Cableaddict]

I'm doing a new OS install, using my the same Win7 64 install disk as before. I do have new drives, but they are just newer versions of my old drives (which died) - and they are pretty standard HP slim drives.

For some reason, the OS install will not complete. It's saying that an optical drive driver is missing, and wants me to install it manually.

these drives did NOT come with any driver cd, nor is there a driver available on the HP support site. They must be plug&play.

I'm dead in the water here. Any ideas?

-thanks.

 

[seavixen32]

Check this link for a possible solution:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/7943-install-windows-7-fast-without-dvd-usb-device.html

Another possibility here:

A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing. (Unable to - Microsoft Answers

It suggests changing your disk controller from AHCI to IDE or ATA mode.

 

[Cableaddict]

Thanks, Seavixen.

I think this is indeed it, the AHCI thing. - but this is horrible, as I NEED to run AHCI for my SSD boot drive. (otherwise, no trim.)

Come to think of it, my old optical drives (2 PC's) went "bad" just about the time I changed to AHCI mode, so they probably were OK. Ughhh, now I have four $100 drives that I can't use. Grrr ......

 

[stormy13]

There a setting in the bios that allows you to set each SATA port individually as either AHCI or IDE? If so set the port the DVD drive is connected to to IDE mode and leave the port the SSD is connected to as SATA/AHCI.

Another option if the above isn't present is use the install method seavixen32 linked to, or you can put the necessary SATA/AHCI driver on a USB key and when the Windows install asks for the driver, navigate to the driver on the USB key.

 

[Cableaddict]

Thanks, Stormy.

No bios control over individual drives. (That would be too easy!)

"Another option if the above isn't present is use the install method seavixen32 linked to, or you can put the necessary SATA/AHCI driver on a USB key and when the Windows install asks for the driver, navigate to the driver on the USB key."

- I can't use that link, as my pc is not connected to the internet.
I did find this driver simply by googling, but I DON'T GET IT:
This is a SCSI driver. How can that possibly help me with a non-scsi drive?

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

Also, & BTW- I now I realize that these optical drives just plain don't work under AHCI. You can't burn to them. (it's been a low-priority problem since my main computer is a Mac. These are just my "live music" pc's.)

Now I at least know why I couldn't do the OS install, using a full-sized drive got me through, but I can't believe I have to dump another two slim drives. The retailers don't bother to tell you that they don't work with AHCI when they sell them. Wow ....

Well, thanks guys, at least my OS is installed. Now if I could just get my slim optical drives to work.