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CD Drive Messing up on laptop - help!

Elrohir

RELATIONAL VALORIZATION
Joined
Nov 22, 2004
Messages
12,507
OK, so I recently got a new laptop. It's an Acer Aspire 3680 - nothing fancy, but so long as it can get the job done and hold out for a year or two, that's all I was out for. The problem is, for some random reason it doesn't seem to want to last that long.

Basically, right now I can't run any CD's or DVD's or anything on my laptop. My brother discovered this trying to play a game on it - the autorun didn't appear, and when I went to my computer, the D drive icon wasn't there. I found the driver in the Device Manager, and it had a yellow icon with a question mark on it, showing that something was wrong. First, I tried disabling it, and then reenabling it - that didn't work. I decided to do a Google search with the name of the device (Slimtype DVD C DS24CZP ATA device) and came up with someone else with exactly the same problem here, down to the 39 error code. I decided to take the advice offered there (Not the part about the different programs, as I haven't downloaded any of those - the part about uninstalling it, and then rebooting my computer) but it didn't work - it tried, but it came up with that same 39 error when it tried to find the software for the "new" hardware.

Then I decided to try a System Restore to yesterday, because it was working fine then. That didn't work, either. Before I uninstalled the driver, I looked on Acer's website to see if I could find the right program, but I couldn't. I did a spyware scan, and found a few things, but nothing that could cause this (Just tracking cookies) and a quick virus scan, which found nothing. (I'm in the middle of a full system scan now) I haven't done anything strange to my computer, and the only modification I've done is installing some extra ram, but that was about a week ago, and the cd drive has been working fine since then. (And I don't see how they could be related)

So right now, I'm at a loss. I have a computer less than a month old - that won't read CD's. Is there anything obvious I've missed? Any suggestions, anyone? (Besides going hulk and ripping the screen off the laptop and screaming at it? ;) ) I could really use some help, if anyone has any ideas. Thanks. (For reading all that, even if you don't have any ideas)
 
try finding the drivers again.

if you installed ram open it back up and make sure you didn't jiggle anything loose

if that fails take it back
 
try finding the drivers again.

if you installed ram open it back up and make sure you didn't jiggle anything loose

if that fails take it back
I tried it several times - still doesn't work.

Do you really think that could be it? I mean the drive worked for about a week after I installed the ram, with no problems at all. (And I'm sure I installed the ram correctly)

Darn it, I was hoping someone had some brilliant plan. :( Thanks guys.
 
I tried it several times - still doesn't work.

Do you really think that could be it? I mean the drive worked for about a week after I installed the ram, with no problems at all. (And I'm sure I installed the ram correctly)

Darn it, I was hoping someone had some brilliant plan. :( Thanks guys.

well i've had IDE cables come loose from a computer that wasn't moved for 2 years so it's quite possible that you've knocked it loose and by carrying it around it finally came off.

other than that when it comes to cd/dvd drives the only trivial fixes are drivers and loose connections. Unless you're an engineer you probably won't be able to fix an internal problem.
 
Well, I've taken apart my laptop before - a fun business, with half a million screws - and as far as I can remember, the CD/DVD drive is connected to the computer by simply pushing the pins into an interface inside the laptop. So...you can't have jiggled anything loose unless the drive won't actually open. Since it does open - it is connected perfectly well, and this does seem to be a driver problem (barring the rare possibility that your drive has actually died...but then you can just get a warranty replacement).

As for how to fix it should it be a driver problem, I'm not sure. I might be inclined to just (like you seem to have done already) remove/uninstall the driver, restart the computer, and reinstall the driver from Acer's download source. See what happens :).
 
1. Call tech support. (probably for money)

2. Check if any of your hardware is messed up.
 
Just reinstall the drivers. Windows should automatically find the ones you need.
 
I found the driver in the Device Manager, and it had a yellow icon with a question mark on it, showing that something was wrong.
This means there's something wrong with your driver. Automatic Updates (one of the best Microsoft services) should be able to find the correct driver for it.

How do I know? Simple, in my PC Troubleshooting & Network Administration class, we had to completely set up a PC to the teachers specifications, and about 7 items didn't have the correct drivers (your "yellow icon w/a question mark"). Updated the drivers, and no problemo.
 
I tried that. It says it doesn't need to be updated. When I uninstalled it and restarted my computer it tried to reinstall it, but it didn't work. (I don't remember if it didn't install properly, or if it installed but it just didn't work) I dunno.

Do you guys think reverting the machine to the conditions it came out of the factory in would do the trick? I have an external hard drive I could put everything on while I did that, so I wouldn't lose anything - it would be a pain, and probably take a couple of hours to move everything back and forth and reinstall all my programs, but if that's what it takes, then I'll do it. (I'm just afraid that it not work, in which case I won't even have the games I installed before it started messing up) Is that a good idea, or is it not liable to help?
 
try uninstalling the driver, then without rebooting reinstalling. It worked for my wireless adapter a few times. Plus you can also control the installation a bit more..
 
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