CDROM Icon Missing - Comments Page 2

I have worked on my Win2000 machine for almost 8 hours yesterday and can't get this fix to work for me. The drives were working fine until I went into my C: drive to clean out what I thought was junk. Now the CD's don't work. Device mgr sees them with a Code 19 "Your registry might be corrupt. I searched the web and found this fix (list many different places) but it still doesn't fix my problem. I also can't find any other CD writing programs installed. Got any other clues.

Thanks, ~Steve

EDITOR'S NOTE: Steve, I would try uninstalling the CD drivers and any related software, then re-add them. You may also have a missing DLL file. See http://askbobrankin.com/missing_or_damaged_dll_files.html for help with that.

Thank you so much! I have been working on getting my cd/rw to show up for over two weeks... after a particularly nasty bout with a m?hta.exe hijack. I didn't want to have to reinstall windows, and your fix helped tremendously!

After studying all of the comments from others re cd rom. I think I can explain my problem. I do have a Sony root kit virus. I have a desktop with XP. My problem is this computer is not on line. I am trying to re install the CD writer for use by my daughter. I can see the icon after attempting to reinstall. I keep getting messages like, direct cd cannot find supported recordable drives, load CDR4 etc. Cannot initialize API. Help

EDITOR'S NOTE: First step is to get rid of the Sony Rootkit. See this page for help doing so on computers that are not online . http://www.worship.co.za/BlackAndWhiteInc/xcp.htm

thanx bob, this actually worked. all my drives showed up again and work fine.

I have a SONY PCG-FRV26 laptop that has a CD-writer/DRD Rom in it (model: QSI CDRW/SBW 241). The CD-writer could write on low speed CD-Rs, but not on high speed Cd-Rs. I noticed in the website of HP has a firmware called sp28116.exe that claims to enable high speed recording (upto write speed 48-52) in the same CD writter. I have installed that and since then the CD drive icon is missing from "My Computer" and also from the "Device manager" of the computer (it has Windows XP Home Edition loaded). The CD-tray does not come out, but while booting, the LED light in the CD drive does flash twice.

I contacted SONY and Microsoft, but the technical support did not seem to be very useful and they always recommended to send the device to a professional service person. HP, obviously will not take any responsibility on problems with non-HP products. I was therefore wondering if you have any similar experience and happen to know the solution.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I recommend a System Restore to back out the change.

I have a Del Optiplex GX620 with a CD drive and a DVD-RW drive -- both of which show up in Windows Explorer but when I insert a CD in the DVD-RW drive it comes up looking totally blank. When I insert a good CD in CD drive, I get a prompt to please insert a CD. These CDs work just fine in other machines. I can hear both drives spinning, but nothing displays in Windows. Several months ago when I had this problem with the CD drive, I did the Registry Fix described in your article and it fixed everything just fine. Now the Registry does not show LowerFilters or UpperFilters so I have nothing to delete. The problem seemed to start (again) when I was copying large numbers of data files to my external hard drives from the CDs. Suddenly Windows couldn't see the data. I haven't tried a System Restore, because I haven't changed anything and I don't really know when it was working correctly. My Windows updates are current except for installing IE 7, and my virus scan tonight showed no problems. Any suggestions for what I should do next? It's got to be a software setting problem, but I don't know where.

EDITOR'S NOTE: System Restore (to the date after you did the registry fix) may be the best solution.

Bob, Thanks a lot! I had exactly the problem you've described and was able to fix it using your tip for registry editing.

As you suggesting, I suspect MagicISO or Easy CD Creator got things messed up. The PC is Compag EVo. I was going nuts from the problem and your article really saved me from more time consuming measures like rebuilding PC.

Thanks a load, this solution saved my day!

Bob, Thanks to your expert advice, I am pleased to announce that my CD rom is working again. I followed your "registry hack tips, and soon after rebooting, the cd rom showed up in My Computer and was humming along as normal, Thanks again. Dweezildorf

Hi - I need some help please - I have looked at my registry and do not see the data value keys of UpperFilters or LowerFilters and do not see the CDROM device in my device mgr. Any clues to help further would be great!

Thanks!

I have tried running System Restore, but unfortunaltely the system was not set to be monitored, and hence Windows did not remember any previous setting. I have also run a program called 'System Recovery', which claimed to bring the system to its factory installed settings. And I did it multiple times. This also could not see the CD drive. And, as usual, the LED flashes twice during the system boots up. I would be really grateful if you could suggest what else can be done with the system.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Possibly a hardware problem. Have you tried swapping in another CDROM drive?

Bob, just a big thank you for helping me restore my DVD/CD rom icons. Device manager showed system recognized the drives (yellow exclamation point)but didn't recognize the devices. Followed your instructions with the surgical gloves and the Windows registry, and it worked! Don't test me. I don't have a clue what I did except follow the instructions. Thank You. Next project is a clean install on my C:drive.

Awesome fix. I was at a total loss as to what to do. I would also like to say that after I "hacked" the registry, my computer booted up a LOT faster. It used to take minutes for windows to fully load, and now it happened in seconds. Is there anything else I can do to help my computer move faster, like it did?

I tried this fix but only the LowerFilters was there and removing it did not help.

Sometimes when I start my computer, the boot up is very slow and whenit completes, the hard drive is not there. Other times the boot up is fine and the drive is there but within hours, the CD drive disappears. As this happens, my computer (IBM ThinkPad R40) goes through a series of short freezes followed by the hard drive light staying on. All programs operate fine after this however the CD drive is no longer in My Computer nor in the Device Manager. The hard drive light will turn off when I open the CD drawer. If I put a CD in, it makes all the right noises but nothing happens.

It's not the hardware because IBM replaced the drive but the problem remains. Any advice?

No, I have not. Do you mean to connect another CD-ROM to the laptop and test it?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Remove the one that may be failing, and replace with another.

i have a samsung laptop and this feb installed winxp and the cd-rw/dvdrom was not writing and i was installing firmware from samsung website and it disappeared after reboot... it doesnt show in the devic manager and not even rebooting from the cd at start-up,. any help?? please. appriciated.

there is no lower filter and upper filters in the registry... so any ideas???

this comments didnt helpme and i did everything still the cdrom is missing... it has power but its not working in my laptop

Roney, something may have gone awry when you tried changing the firmware on the drive. That might explain why it's not showing up.

Bob - I have tried all your advice but to no fruishion. I do not have any upper or lower filters, my cd rom drive has power but it does not register as hardware. I have unplugged it and re-booted etc but it does not recognise it. I tried a system restore but that does not work, and I can not restore my system to factory settings as I need the disk to instigate this.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Most likely a hardware problem. Try a new CDROM drive.

Thank you for posting this! I had this exact problem. Must have happened when something was uninstalled. My D drive was missing in My Computer, but the device manager showed a code 39 (missing or corrupt) error. Since I didn't know when it happened I couldn't use the system restore function to fix it. My PC support site recommended taking the PC in to be repaired. Your instructions were explicit and easy to follow even for a computer newbie like myself. You're great! It worked! Thanks!