Laptop CD drive

[4getmenot]

Am trying to put few new albums on I'tunes library but usually when the cd will automatically play but it is doing nothing? any ideas whats wrong?

[ChuckFickens]

If you open my computer (or computer if vista or windows7) is the drive listed there OK and does it change the name to audio CD when you insert a CD into it?

[ChuckFickens]

OH, and what version of windows is it?

[4getmenot]

opened windows vista my computer and just shows and shows removable disk (g) and cd drive (e) bu (g) doesnt seem to be anything and E is my dongle

[ChuckFickens]

OK, when the CD drive is empty it should be called CD drive but when you put any CD into it the name should change to the name of the CD (or just audio CD for music CDs) does the name change when a CD is put in the drive?

(G is probably the card reader on your laptop, it won't show anything unless you put a memory card into the reader)

[ChuckFickens]

Hold up.... did you make a mistake there? or is your CD drive and your Dongle really both E?

[4getmenot]

there is a bog 'Orange mobile' symbol and it says (E) Mobile partner

[ChuckFickens]

LOL... we are not really getting anywhere here :)

You have said you have

G: drive (probably a card reader)
E: drive (your CD drive)
E: drive, your dongle

you should not be able to have two drive letters the same listed. so was that an error? and the important part is does the name of the CD drive change when you insert a CD?

[4getmenot]

No not a mistake it says CD Drive (E:) Mobile Partner I have been trying to look for CD drive too to see if I could open it that way , seems a bit strange that E is the dongle, but I just went offline took Dongle out and inserted a CD to see if it came up but it doesnt. Cant see hat I've changed to make it not work

[NazNomad]

Plugging in any external device shouldn't (can't?) allocate it the same letter as an 'already installed' device, surely?

[4getmenot]

You'd think would you. I dont know what letter the CD drive was before and surely if E is for the dongle it should say USB drive??

[ChuckFickens]

Hmmm... OK I've just remembered that some dongles create a virtual CD drive to install the software from, so it looks like your CD drive is missing totally..

I'm taking a bit of a guess here, but it won't do any harm if I'm wrong but it is important to follow the directions to the letter for vista on this page.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982116

[ChuckFickens]

Naz, it's a fairly well known issue with some versions of windows that a upper and lower filter section is created in the registry for the CD drive that makes the drive totally disappear from my computer and device manager, which Is what I suspect here. and just to complicate matters some dongles create a virtual CD drive.

4get..... If I'm correct and you remove the dongle the CD drive should disappear all together from my computer (you may have to close the window and reopen it again)

[4getmenot]

just trying it now

[AlBags]

You should be able to work out what's going on from Administrative tools/Disc Management, and Device manager ..
If a CD Drive will not read a disc properly, Windows can close it down or temporarily remove it. It will not then be available til reboot. Check the properties and make sure 'show hidden devices' checked.
Virtual Drives still conform to Windows numbering. I have a few on this machine, but lock them (by letter) at end of alphabet to prevent probs with pen drives.

[ChuckFickens]

If it's the upper and lower filters the drive won't show up in device manager or in disk management..

there used to be a nice fix it on MSs support site for it, but I can't find it any more since they revamped the site a little while ago, now it just tells me that they don't support my OS! (Nice, so Linux users can't even offer support to windows users anymore!)

[NazNomad]

I agree, any virtual drives I create always follow normal 'drive letter allocation'.

Chuck, don't get me started with upper & lower filters ... gaaaaahhhh. Been having mouse probs for months now. :-(

[ChuckFickens]

that's part the reason I think the drives gone missing totally, there seems to be a D drive missing :)

[4getmenot]

Well that fix it thing didnt work. I dont get all this upper lower dooda

[ChuckFickens]

I didn't expect the diagnose problems to work on that page, it's the manual intructions you need to follow...

Windows Vista

1. Click Start
, and then click All Programs.
2. Click Accessories, and then click Run.
3. Type regedit, and then click OK.
Collapse this imageExpand this image
User Access Control permission
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
4. In the navigation pane, locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\C
ontrol\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE
10318}

5. In the right pane, click UpperFilters.

Note You may also see an UpperFilters.bak registry entry. You do not have to remove that entry. Click UpperFilters only. If you do not see the UpperFilters registry entry, you still might have to remove the LowerFilters registry entry. To do this, go to step 8.
6. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
7. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
8. In the right pane, click LowerFilters.

Note If you do not see the LowerFilters registry entry, unfortunately this content cannot help you any further. Go to the "Next Steps" section for information about how you can find more solutions or more help on the Microsoft Web site.
9. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
10. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
11. Exit Registry Editor.
12. Restart the computer.

By navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\C
ontrol\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE
10318}
it means in the left hand pane click on the plus sign next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE then the plus next to SYSTEM, then the one next to CurrentControlSet...... and so on

[4getmenot]

got to No 7 couldnt go any further, what now?