WTF?? Where did the drive go?

Jersey Chick · Apr 17, 2012

Ah... I seem to have lost a drive on my laptop. I don't know where it went. I tried to import a CD into iTunes, only to find my E drive (DVD/CD drive) is nowhere to be found.

How did this happen? And more importantly, how do I ( a total techno idiot) fix it?

Can I just uninstall and reinstall? Is it really that simple (do I dare hope???)

Please and thank you for any advice!

Oh, and I'm developing a healthy hatred for all things HP...

alleycat · Apr 17, 2012

First, have you tried shutting it down completely and then rebooting?

Jersey Chick · Apr 17, 2012

That was the first thing I did.

It's an HP G60 and I'm getting a Code 19 on the drive in question. That's a DVDRAM GT20L ATA - if that means anything to someone who actually knows computers...

alleycat · Apr 17, 2012

What system are you running (Vista, Seven, etc.)?

Don't worry, the drive is not really "missing" --there is probably a registry error.

Jersey Chick · Apr 17, 2012

argh! I knew I'd forget the really important stuff... **headsmack**

It's running Windows 7.

alleycat · Apr 17, 2012

I looked on the Microsoft website.

I haven't had time to read all of this because I didn't know what system you had, but there seems to be an automatic "Fix It" for this problem.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060

alleycat · Apr 17, 2012

Oops, it looks like the auto fix only works on XP and Vista, you'll have to fix it yourself. See the instructions for Seven.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Open-the-Hardware-and-Devices-troubleshooter

Jersey Chick · Apr 17, 2012

Grrr... I hate computers...

If I uninstall, will the drive go away or will it just come up as install? I'm afraid if I click on uninstall, it'll vanish & then I'm completely screwed... Or, more screwed, anyway...

Cyia · Apr 17, 2012

Have you used any sort of "ripping" software? Some of those programs turn off the DVD drive so it won't allow you to use it until you turn the drive back on.

You'll have to go through the Control Panel and see if the drive is turned on or not.

alleycat · Apr 18, 2012

Where are we on this problem, JC?

We might have to do a little Googling to find the best solution if the MS instructions didn't help.

Jersey Chick · Apr 18, 2012

Cyia, No I haven't made any changes to my machine at all. The last thing I loaded onto it was iTunes. I rarely add any kind of software because I only use it my laptop for writing and researching. I don't use it for games or anything like that. That's why it's such a mystery that the drive just vanished.

Alleycat, the fixit instructions didn't help. I tried a system restore and the drive still wasn't there. I haven't done an uninstall because I don't really want to screw up other parts of the machine, since it's the only computer I have right now. I've been pricing new ones, and this might just push me into getting one.

I'm leery of messing around with the drives, since I know so little about computers and it never ends well for me. Usually, when I say, what's the worst that could happen? I find out.

Torgo · Apr 18, 2012

Jersey Chick, you could try rolling back the system to the last known working backup. I am not sure how that works in 7 as I haven't needed to do that yet, but it used to be called System Restore.

Alternatively it's possible that something updated a driver and b0rked it - look in Device Manager and see if it's showing the drive with any red flags? - or that there's a physical problem, such as an internal connector that has been jarred loose? I'm not an IT guy so this is essentially hedge-wizard stuff I'm suggesting, but I'd probably check Device Manager first, do a restore if necessary, and then finally get someone to open it up for you.

Jersey Chick · Apr 18, 2012

I did a system restore, and everything disappeared (all of my docs and bookmarks, etc., even though it said none of that would change), and the drive was still amongst the missing, so I undid it.

The Device Manager has it flagged, and says it needs to be reinstalled. But, if I uninstall it, will I be able to reinstall it and will I run the risk of messing up other files? That's my main concern.

Torgo · Apr 18, 2012

Jersey Chick said:
I did a system restore, and everything disappeared (all of my docs and bookmarks, etc., even though it said none of that would change), and the drive was still amongst the missing, so I undid it.

The Device Manager has it flagged, and says it needs to be reinstalled. But, if I uninstall it, will I be able to reinstall it and will I run the risk of messing up other files? That's my main concern.

I'm sorry System Restore caused problems and I hope you had backups. Device Manager probably just wants you to reinstall the driver. If you open the device properties you should find options to update the driver or roll it back to the previous version, which you should probably try in that order. Neither of those should cause any difficulties for other files.

Jersey Chick · Apr 18, 2012

I just undid the restore and everything came back. This machine has been giving me problems for a while. I don't know why losing the drive surprises me. No, wait, it doesn't.

I tried updating, and the system tells me the driver is updated. How does it know, if according to the same system, that driver doesn't exist?

Deleted member 42 · Apr 18, 2012

Now try shutting down everything, and rebooting.

Don't just "Restart." Shut everything down, wait about 90 seconds, and reboot.

Jersey Chick · Apr 18, 2012

That was the first thing I did. It didn't work.

Cyia · Apr 18, 2012

Did some Google-fu on "iTunes install made my DVD drive disappear." Apparently iTUnes + HP printer can = drive uninstall for reasons they can't explain.

Torgo · Apr 18, 2012

Cyia said:
Did some Google-fu on "iTunes install made my DVD drive disappear." Apparently iTUnes + HP printer can = drive uninstall for reasons they can't explain.

One of the main reasons I try very hard never to install a printer on my computer is that printer drivers tend to suck amazingly hard, coming bloated with all kinds of crapware that is all about trying to sell you stuff - ink, photos, blah blah. And everyone rightly hates iTunes. I can only imagine their awful conjunction.

FalconMage · Apr 18, 2012

Hi, JerseyChick. If you'll trust a forum newbie, I'd recommend that you uninstall the drive from Device Manager. I see what you said about the worst that could happen. But CD and DVD drives (and combos) are pretty generic items anymore. Even the writer drives. Windows has generic drivers, even if the proper ones don't work.

Uninstall, and then one of the buttons in Device Manager will let you scan for "Hardware changes." Fingers crossed that it detects and installs.

But nothing is 0% risk. I feel comfortable putting it below 1%, though.

Jersey Chick · Apr 21, 2012

Thanks, everyone - so far, nothing's worked, so I'm going to let it ride for now. I've started shopping around for a new laptop and when I get that, then I'll see about getting this one fixed. This isn't the first problem I've had with it, and I expect those problems are just going to get worse and I have to admit it's time to think about replacing the machine. Rats.

stormie · Apr 21, 2012

Amazon has an ASUS laptop for $359, no tax, free shipping. My son has it. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005UUSHH8/?tag=absowrit-20

WTF?? Where did the drive go?

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