CD/DVD drive stopped reading all CDs and DVDs
I’m having a problem with the CD/DVD drive of my laptop (Toshiba satellite L100). It has stopped reading all CDs and DVDs, and disappeared from my computer and device manager. I have figured out the problem, the drive has become loose and I have to reinsert it.
How will I be able to do that without asking for a technician’s help?
I know nothing about stuffs like this (esp opening a laptop) so please give me an easy-to-follow guide.
I’m not familiar with this particular Toshiba model but most likely you’ll have to remove one screw from the bottom of the laptop and then push the CD/DVD drive from the laptop.
Here’s an example of removing CD/DVD drive from a Toshiba Satellite A105 laptop, could be similar to your laptop. Take a look at the disassembly steps 6 and 7.
If your CD/DVD drive disappeared from My Computer but you still can see it in the device manager, you can use this method posted on Microsoft site:
Do you need spare parts for your laptop? Search here by the laptop model and part description.To resolve this problem, remove the affected filter drivers. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click StartStart button, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then click regedit in the Programs list.User Account Control permission If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
2. Locate, and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-
08002BE10318}
Caution There can be many instances of the registry subkey that is mentioned in step 2. You must make sure that you are in the appropriate registry subkey before modifying the UpperFilters and the LowerFilters values. To verify that you are in the appropriate registry subkey, make sure that the Default data value is DVD/CD-ROM and the Class data value is CDROM.
3. In the right pane, right-click UpperFilters, and then click Delete.
4. Click Yes to confirm the removal of the UpperFilters registry entry.
5. In the right pane, right-click LowerFilters, and then click Delete.
6. Click Yes to confirm the removal of the LowerFilters registry entry.
7. Exit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.
April 10th, 2008 at 12:20 am
I am having problems with my DVD drive. I use Toshiba Portege M600 notebook. It has DVD-RW drive.
I am able to view CD & VCD but not able to view any DVD. In some cases DVD Audio is available but no Video.
When I try playing the DVD, I get messages that ‘Hardware Acceleration must be Full’. I checked that it is at it maximum level.
Can someone please advice on this?
April 15th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I’ve a Dell Inspiron 1100 laptop. I’ve a problem in the combo drive it does not load any disc neither DVD nor VCD. The light blinks again and again, but nothing happans. What’s the problem I don’t know.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:37 pm
My laptop (HP Pavilion dv6000 running Vista 32-bit) has stopped reading certain DVDs. It will read some DVDs (Blade Runner, Kids in the Hall) but others will just spin around for a few minutes before being spit out (Mostly Netflix DVDs).
I know for a fact it’s not the discs as they run fine on my brother’s 3 year old Compac running XP. I also know it’s not the drivers because I’ve checked them several times. Could it be the DVD laser is getting weak, or should I just invest in an external DVD drive?
Thanks for any help.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Ben,
Did you try cleaning the laser? You can use the cotton swab soaked in alcohol. Open the drive and carefully clean the laser.
June 9th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I have the same problem with my HP Pavilion dv5000 running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. Will this work for me as well?
June 12th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
i have R-52 sereis of IBM i my facing a problem as a message box appear constantly stating dvd/cd drive is under used by other programe try stoping it later irrespective of removing the drive and inserting it again as the drive is removable like an USB.
July 1st, 2008 at 3:47 pm
My Toshiba A215-56804 laptop has a problem with the dvd-rw drive. It won’t read dvd+/-r discs. But it will read regular dvds just fine. Can anyone help?
July 1st, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Shawn,
Yes, it should work for XP Media Center Edition too.
July 1st, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Tyrone Jordan,
If your optical drive will read factory DVD discs but will not read home made DVD+/- discs, them most likely you have a problem with the optical drive.
I’ve seen that before. For example, the driver recognize DVDs but will not read CDs or vice-versa. That indicates a problem with the drive.
July 14th, 2008 at 8:06 am
please help me!…my laptop stop reading any cd/dvd.i can’t even hear the system running as it should when inserting any cd/dvd to the laptop.yet the light flash but nothing happened.
July 31st, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Hi, I have a Samsung R60 plus laptop, well its a mates. Im trying to format and install windows again and so need the CD/DVD drive working.
The CD drive that is installed with the laptop does nothing.
- First power on (not a reboot/CTRL+ALT+DEL) shows the green light comming on, meaning the CD drive is getting power.
- Pressing the Eject button does nothing, Iv had to use a pin to get the tray to come out finally just removed the face and used a screwdriver etc to just push the emergency eject button as a way to get the tray to come out.
- When a CD etc is inserted (windows boot disk) it does nothing, no spinning up or anything, tried other CD’s and get the same thing
So from the above Iv told him the CD/DVD drive is bust and needs a new drive before I can redo windows for him…
Used another CD/DVD drive without the mounting/screw plate so it would fit.
Now it spins up and everything seems to be working but in BIOS the drive is not picked up, so I cannot boot up from this drive.
1. First question, What F key etc do I press to get the selective boot menu? ie choose which drive to boot from. I did acidently press the right key once (whilst the original faulty drive was in) but cannot remember which it was, tried now with the working drive but cannot get the selective boot menu (not talking about in BIOS select boot procedure, Im talking about just before windows starts/post screen finishes)
After having no luck with using CD drive from another laptop, he’s taken my advice and we bought a brand new samsung CD/DVD re-writable drive.
Now im getting the same thing as I was with the cd drive from the other laptop. Spins up and everything seems to be fine, but BIOS does not pick it up.
2. Is there something I need to do to get bios to recognise the drive?
Thanks
September 18th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I have a laptop Sony Vaio PCG-GRZ-660 that has Toshiba DVD-ROM SD-R6012.For some reason on this laptop I can’t open DVD-RW disc recorded on Sumsung DVD-VR357 video recorder but surprisely,no problem if it was DVD-R disc.I even updated the latest firmware and still no luck.When I go to “my computer”it doesn’t even recognize DVD-RW in DVD-ROM.All other DVD-RW discs recorded on this PC are playable with no problems.
Thank you,
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:14 pm
HELP!
I have a dell inspiron 1501 and my dvd rom stoped working all of the sudden. I insert a cd or dvd , I can hear the sound that is running it but it stops. I go to my computer to check for the cd/dvd drive icon but is not there. I’m not a technical(opening computer) person but if there are some steps that I can follow to resolve this please notify me.
October 6th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I have a DVD stuck inside my Toshiba Satellite L40/L45 laptop. I can open and close the DVD tray but cannot see the DVD so it’s in there somewhere. Any way to get it out other than taking it to a tech?
Thanks.
October 21st, 2008 at 12:54 pm
HELP!!! HP Pavilion dv5224nr
DVD/CD-ROM not working….
Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)
plz help me thnx.
November 22nd, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I’m having a similar problem, I get Code 39 too
I just bought this Toshiba Satellite A305 in July. Thankfully I bought a protection plan and will update once I can get to the store (probably Tues).
I know it’s working, because I can still play games that require a CD, but I can’t burn cds, play music, or watch DVDs *sigh*
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Huzzah! It’s fixed! In my case it was a software issue, and I called Toshiba and they were able to talk me thru what to do.
1) go to http://support.toshiba.com
Once the DOS prompt pops up, you’ll have to “press any key” to start and “press any key” to exit
2) Where the search box is, click ‘Express View’
3) Type in this ID “98080671” and change the drop down menu to “Support Bulletin”
4) Click the search button!
5) “CD / DVD drive missing from ‘My Computer’ (Windows Explorer)” should pop up
6) *note if this will work with your Toshiba model* Follow on-screen directions to download “Toshiba Upper/Lower Limit Repair Tool (RmvFltrs.exe).”
7) After saving, unzip, and run! (it’ll look like the old DOS prompt)
9) Restart laptop
10) Check ‘My Computer’ – hallelujah ! it’s there!
If it’s not there after this, then the tech guy told me that it was a hardware issue, and I’d have to bring it in.
Hope this helps!!
November 25th, 2008 at 7:34 am
My HP Pavilion dv5000 DVD drive suddenly stopped reading any burned or blank DVDs. CDs work just fine, as do commercially purchased DVDs, but DVD+/-R just spin then stop, then spin then stop, and so on. Any help?
December 9th, 2008 at 12:33 am
holy crap!!
i have an acer aspire 5610 and i remember that i had selected to not have my disks to automatically load. then i found that my cdrom wasn’t reading anything *sigh* filter…
thank goodness i found this site; i tried it and it worked! woohoo!
thanks so much guys!
December 10th, 2008 at 11:07 am
I have an hp dv6000 and it has stopped reading regular cd it only reads dvd and only records dvd-r how cn I fix this problems becaue ot doesn’t want to ead the regular program cds. It’s killing me here I need help!!!
December 18th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
my HP laptop is no longer reading cd/dvd’s it does not appear in device manager, is there some way i can reinstall the driver?
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:26 am
I have a Dell laptop Inspiron 9300. It will play DVD’s and will Play Audio CD’s. However, will not recognize any program cd. I can put in the cd and it will start to load the program, then stop. For some, it does not even recognize the program at all. I tried multiple cd’s, such as boggle, a spanish cd, map cd.
I uninstalled and reinstalled cyberlink – this covers the dvd and made microsoft windows Media player 11 default player – this covers the audio…. however, it’s as if the computer no longer recognizes programs from cd’s any more. I’m not very techy so bear with me ok? Just trying to get my husband’s laptop running again. Thank you for your help.
January 13th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
hello my problem is that my cd/dvd rom drive reads dvds as cds and some times the whole cd/dvd driver disappears from my computer. and when it does appear, it reads all cds and dvd movies as blank cds. and opens autoplay the way it would open if u insert a blank cd. so plz help tried every thing i cud. thanks
January 21st, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I own a Gateway M-6843 laptop with an Optiarc optical drive. Lately, I can’t get ANY program to recognize a blank disc and burn CDs. iTunes won’t work, Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 won’t work, and I can’t even burn a CD using Windows Media Player 11. I have uninstalled and reinstalled Roxio and iTunes numerous times but so far, nothing has worked. The optical drive DOES appear in Windows Explorer and it will PLAY CDs and DVDs, but it won’t burn them. My operating system is Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit version. Any help much appreciated. Articles in Roxio and iTunes forums didn’t help.
January 24th, 2009 at 9:04 am
I have a Toshiba L40 and wasn’t able to see my dvd drive on “my computer” or on the disk management option but the registry fix seem to have fix it 1st time round! Thanks!
January 29th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
I have an hpPavillion notebook with thats DVD+rewrittable/DVD player/CDrewrittable. Whatever, I’m not computer savy, anyways, suddenly one day it stopped reading DVD’s, all it does it make a whirrling sound and beep a couple times and when i open my computer to see if it even registers that it’s there it says it doesn’t recognize it.
My parents sometimes use it, but they say they have done nothing, erased nothing etc…
PLEASE help.
i have no TV, it’s my only form of entertainment.
January 29th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Liz,
Will it read CDs?
If your drive stopped reading only DVDs but will read CDs, most likely there is a problem with the drive and it has to be replaced.
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:59 pm
I own a HP dv6000 CD/DVD drive doesnt work. when a put a disk in (CD or DVD) the light turns on, the drive makes a whirling sound, and after awhile it’ll spit the disk out. I can’t burn CD’s either. What’s wrong?
February 4th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
I am having lenovo y500 4461 series laptop. when i put a CD in it it shows “702mb free or 702mb” and when it comes to DVD some time it plays it without any problem some time show empty disk. I had also checked the driver it is showing all normal. how can i get rid of this problem. Help me.
February 7th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Hello I own a HP Pavilion dv6000 and like alot of people it does not recognize my hardrive. Also it does not recogonize the administrator’s account? Can you help me out with this?? Thanks in advance.
February 8th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Reka,
What do you mean by that? Are you getting an error? The hard drive will not appear in the BIOS or what?
By the way, check out this article:
Free repair for some out-of-warranty HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario laptops
March 8th, 2009 at 9:44 am
I used my HP Pacilion dv2315nr laptop to burn a movie to DVD using windows Movie Maker and now it will not write to any CD. Is there any way I can tell the dumb thing that the burner should recognize both CD & DVDs?
Help and input please – Annewithany
March 8th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
re Sony Vaio VGN – NR32l
My cd/dvd drive keeps ejecting unrequested every 10 seconds or so
What’s the problem, and how do I fix this? It is only 6 months old
Thanks
March 8th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Ed,
Here’s something you can try. Enter the device manager. You’ll find an entry for the CD/DVD drive in there. Right click on the drive and uninstall the driver.
Now reboot the laptop and the CD/DVD drive should be detected by the laptop and the driver will be reinstalled. Does it fix the problem?
March 20th, 2009 at 1:23 am
I have a Dell inspiron 1525. When I insert a CD or DVD my CD driver doesn’t recognize anything!
March 24th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I’ve read forums for days now. My Toshiba Satellite p205d with Vista was reading CD’s and DVD’s fine. Then sometime it stopped reading “program” discs to download something. (I’d have to copy it on wife’s laptop with XP to a USB stick and then download to mine) Then I noticed it wasn’t reading DVD’s either. I’vd read about the registry settings and removing the upper and lower filters. I’ve done that. Then (as warned)other programs may not work right. That’s true. DVD started working but then iTunes won’t start up without error message about not being able to read from CD’s. Re-installed iTunes and still the same warning. I, then, did a system restore to get my registry settings changed back to where they initially were. So, I’m sitting in the same boat I was in at the beginning. iTunes is fine now; but, can’t view DVD’s. These forums are endless with no good solution that I’ve seen yet. Perhaps there’s another windows update that will address this registry issue better. That will change it enough to have everything work!
March 24th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
dbm2,
Sounds like a software related problem. I would suggest reimaging the hard drive from the recovery disc and start over.
I published your question here: Laptop stopped reading CDs and DVDs
April 15th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I have an HP Paviion dv5000 and I’m having trouble with the cd/dvd rom. It will not play any cd’s or dvd’s. In fact, when I try to burn a cd it states that no cd or dvd burner has been detected. Can you please help?
Thanks…
April 15th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Hi,
I have an Inspiron 1525. I was trying to rip or even play some cds and it wont work. I hear the cd turning, but it always kicks it back out with a message telling me to insert a cd. I have tried multiple cds and winamp and yahoo music jukebox with the same result. My laptop is out of warranty of course. The funny thing is that it will play DVDs fine. I have played cds on it before, in the past, but it has been a while, because I have been really busy.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!
May 31st, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Well i have a hp pavilion dv6700 and my dvd drive have stop detecting.. i need help with it…but i dont know wat a upper filter and lower filter is under the registry files
July 13th, 2009 at 7:11 am
hi i have a lenovo note book model no 85Q of N-series.It can’t read any CD but can read dvd.What’s the problem.plz help me.
July 13th, 2009 at 7:18 am
sagar,
1. Try cleaning the optical drive lens with alcohol.
2. Try deleting the CD/DVD drive entry from the device manager and let Windows re-detect the optical drive on startup. It will reinstall the driver.
3. If nothing helps, probably you’ll have to replace the drive.
August 26th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
my hp pavilion dv6000 is no longer recognizing blank cd’s. it recognizes both normal, store-bought audio cd’s, and dvd’s but not the blanks. i have already right-clicked on the properties of the drive to make sure it’s allowed for recording. any other suggestions?
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Thinkpad T42 CD-RW DVD-Rom drive cable catches and kinks when closing tray. There is a very thin flexible plastic cable that follows the tray out underneath. When you close it instead of sliding back in the cable folds and kinks and gets pull into drive and flattened again. I can’t imagine the cable would last this way for more than a few dozen cycles. I have taken the drive cover off expecting to find something that prevents this but there is nothing. At this point I use a finger to guide the cable everytime I close the tray. Any ideas?
February 12th, 2010 at 4:16 am
I have an Acer Aspire 3003LM laptop/notebook and it will no longer read cd’s or dvd’s . The green light flashes when i insert either a cd or dvd and it makes a short high pitched noise every 2 or 3 seconds but doesn’t sound like it is actually spinning the disc . Microsoft Fix it , cant mend it . It says there is no readable media . So im assuming that it’s optical drive that’s somehow died .
Can i buy any replacement dvd+rw combo drive to replace it or do i have to buy a specific one ?
At present it has an Liteon dvd=rw SOSW 833S ( VRS2)(E) installed .
Thanks in advance .
Nancy