Windows Vista decided I don't have a CD-Rom?!

It might not be vista... the drive could be dead. I had a similar occurence with my DVD drive on a win xp box this summer. I had to replace the drive, even though if I pushed the button it opened, and when I put something in, I could hear it spinning. Windows said "nuh uh, no drive there mister."

badducky said:

I suspect, that since it coincided around an uninstall that it is, in fact, a Vista problem. It has been suggested that uninstalling software on Vista that uses the DVD drive causes the DVD to disappear or function incorrectly.

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Urgh


I gotta say... My webserver is win server 2008, and me like VERY much. I'm going to try and get my desktop units updated to that, because frankly, Vista is the Windows ME of the 21st century.

badducky if this is really a brand new computer call your computer tech support.

What did you uninstall that used the DVD drive.

Got to Acer's website and see if they have the dvd driver to download.

This thread scares me as I have an acer, running Vista.

*hides*

badducky said:

Please, god, please don't make me call computer tech support... I don't have time to sit on hold for three hours and push buttons while aimlessly waiting to be talked down to by someone that is only as smart as the boxes on the computer-screen in front of them...

*shivers*

I had tried to install Neverwinter Nights to build sample modules that I could throw around the video game HR peeps. It didn't run right, so I uninstalled. Problems ensued afterward.

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Badducky...it's a new computer. Use your warranty. I can stress this enough...when your computer is in warranty you really should use it...because if your drive is dead then they need to replace it. If you screw around you could screw up your computer worse.

Either way: Go to the Acer site and see if they have the drivers for your dvd drive available for download and try to reinstall the drivers. If that doesn't work make the call.

My friend A. had this same problem with her lap top. She screwed around because she was afraid of tech support. She's not stupid, and she can do quiet a lot of tech things herself. However she waited too long and now she has a laptop with a non working drive out of warranty.

Really, we're not that scary.

Have you tried 'System Restore'?

Ol' Fashioned Girl said:

Have you tried 'System Restore'?

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Last Resort.

badducky said:

I had tried to install Neverwinter Nights to build sample modules that I could throw around the video game HR peeps. It didn't run right, so I uninstalled. Problems ensued afterward.

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Aha! It might be a SecuRom problem.

Since it's new, I very much recommend using your warranty. The possibility of a drive failure is quite likely.

Why don't you check in device manager if it detects the drive? Or even the BIOS. On mine, the computer tells me what drive I have when I boot up (on that black screen).

I always buy my comp stuff at places that I can visit easily as half the hardware I buy ends up being faulty. I just made two trips to the store over a faulty modem.


And, of course, everything works in the store.

Simple test - Pop in a bootable DVD or CD and reboot the machine.

If the drive picks up the DVD/CD and boots it, then the drive is working fine*

If that's the case then it means that Windows Vista is being crap. Solution is to either,

1) Hunt for new drivers
2) Re-install Vista
3) Reformat your drive and put XP on instead
4) Buy a Mac

(* - You'll have to check your BIOS settings to make sure that booting from the CD/DVD drive takes priority over the hard drive, since some manufacturers don't have that, for some stupid reason)

badducky said:

Please, god, please don't make me call computer tech support... I don't have time to sit on hold for three hours and push buttons while aimlessly waiting to be talked down to by someone that is only as smart as the boxes on the computer-screen in front of them...

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That really makes me appreciate my Apple Care (although I did have one guy at the Genius Bar who irritated me so much).

my lap top did this recently to me, just with my mouse pad.

have you tried un plugging it, and removing the battery? get it dead off the power and let it sit for about five minutes and it can fix a a lot of problems.