Won't recognize CDs in one drive - won't recognize DVDs or CDs in other drive.

[Guest randwill]

I have two DVD-R drives, a Plextor PX-708A (E-Drive) and a Sony Dual RW

Drive (F-Drive).

 

Both worked great until this week. Now the Plextor will read DVDs but not

CDs, music or data.

 

The Sony will not read anything.

 

Errors I get from either drive with either type of media, "Windows Media

Player encountered a problem while playing this file." or "Request cannot be

performed because of an 0/0 device error." or 'Disc not formatted. Disc

might be corrupted or using a format not compatible...blah blah." or I get

an hourglass for minutes while nothing happens.

 

I would like for both drives to read and write CDs and DVDs again. How can

I fix this?

 

Thank you.

[Guest Rich Barry]

Re: Won't recognize CDs in one drive - won't recognize DVDs or CDs in other drive.

 

Try dougknox's fix. http://www.dougknox.com Rt Column about 11 down.

Restore Cd/Dvd drives to Explorer. You could also try rt clicking

MyComputer>

select Properties>Hardware>Device Manager>your Dvd drives. rt click each

one

and choose Uninstall. Restart and let XP reinstall them.

"randwill" <rwilliams4254@triad.rr.com> wrote in message

news:q2EDi.36230$M%1.25946@fe10.news.easynews.com...

>I have two DVD-R drives, a Plextor PX-708A (E-Drive) and a Sony Dual RW

>Drive (F-Drive).

>

> Both worked great until this week. Now the Plextor will read DVDs but not

> CDs, music or data.

>

> The Sony will not read anything.

>

> Errors I get from either drive with either type of media, "Windows Media

> Player encountered a problem while playing this file." or "Request cannot

> be performed because of an 0/0 device error." or 'Disc not formatted. Disc

> might be corrupted or using a format not compatible...blah blah." or I get

> an hourglass for minutes while nothing happens.

>

> I would like for both drives to read and write CDs and DVDs again. How

> can I fix this?

>

> Thank you.

>

[Guest randwill]

Re: Won't recognize CDs in one drive - won't recognize DVDs or CDs in other drive.

 

 

"Rich Barry" <rbarry@socal.rr.com> wrote in message

news:46df199a$0$17073$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...

> Try dougknox's fix. http://www.dougknox.com Rt Column about 11 down.

> Restore Cd/Dvd drives to Explorer. You could also try rt clicking

> MyComputer>

> select Properties>Hardware>Device Manager>your Dvd drives. rt click

> each one

> and choose Uninstall. Restart and let XP reinstall them.

 

Thanks. I did both of your suggested options but there is no change in the

behavior.

 

To be clear, both drives show up in the list of drives in the My Computer

window, so the system recognizes them to be there, just not most of the

media placed into them.

[Guest Rich Barry]

Re: Won't recognize CDs in one drive - won't recognize DVDs or CDs in other drive.

 

Could you try disconnecting one, then the other. Just remove the Molex

Power connector.

"randwill" <rwilliams4254@triad.rr.com> wrote in message

news:q2EDi.36230$M%1.25946@fe10.news.easynews.com...

>I have two DVD-R drives, a Plextor PX-708A (E-Drive) and a Sony Dual RW

>Drive (F-Drive).

>

> Both worked great until this week. Now the Plextor will read DVDs but not

> CDs, music or data.

>

> The Sony will not read anything.

>

> Errors I get from either drive with either type of media, "Windows Media

> Player encountered a problem while playing this file." or "Request cannot

> be performed because of an 0/0 device error." or 'Disc not formatted. Disc

> might be corrupted or using a format not compatible...blah blah." or I get

> an hourglass for minutes while nothing happens.

>

> I would like for both drives to read and write CDs and DVDs again. How

> can I fix this?

>

> Thank you.

>

[Guest randwill]

Re: Won't recognize CDs in one drive - won't recognize DVDs or CDs in other drive.

 

 

"Rich Barry" <rbarry@socal.rr.com> wrote in message

news:46df3472$0$4042$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...

> Could you try disconnecting one, then the other. Just remove the Molex

> Power connector.

 

To be clear, do you mean I should power down, disconnect one player then

turn the computer back on and see if the remaining powered player now works?

Then do the same thing with the other player?

[Guest Rich Barry]

Re: Won't recognize CDs in one drive - won't recognize DVDs or CDs in other drive.

 

Yes, that's correct.

"randwill" <rwilliams4254@triad.rr.com> wrote in message

news:q2EDi.36230$M%1.25946@fe10.news.easynews.com...

>I have two DVD-R drives, a Plextor PX-708A (E-Drive) and a Sony Dual RW

>Drive (F-Drive).

>

> Both worked great until this week. Now the Plextor will read DVDs but not

> CDs, music or data.

>

> The Sony will not read anything.

>

> Errors I get from either drive with either type of media, "Windows Media

> Player encountered a problem while playing this file." or "Request cannot

> be performed because of an 0/0 device error." or 'Disc not formatted. Disc

> might be corrupted or using a format not compatible...blah blah." or I get

> an hourglass for minutes while nothing happens.

>

> I would like for both drives to read and write CDs and DVDs again. How

> can I fix this?

>

> Thank you.

>

[Guest randwill]

Re: Won't recognize CDs in one drive - won't recognize DVDs or CDs in other drive.

 

 

"Rich Barry" <rbarry@socal.rr.com> wrote in message

news:46e06ffe$0$32515$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...

> Yes, that's correct.

 

 

Okay, When I disconnect power to the Sony (Drive F) and try to play anything

in the Plextor (Drive E) I now get nothing out of the Plextor. Just -

"Please insert a disc into Drive E." Also it will not eject a disc when I

right click and go to Eject.

 

When I disconnect power to the Plextor, and hook power to the Sony, it now

plays DVDs and CDs (music and data) just fine.

 

So I surmise that the Plextor drive is bad.

 

So...

 

I stick in an old QPS CD drive (that works) in place of the Plextor (in the

Master, "E", position on the ribbon and power cords). Strangely, when I

look in My Computer I now have a "CD Drive (H:)" listed IN ADDITION TO the

Sony (F), which you'd expect because it's still there and hooked up, but

also there is "Plextor DVD (E:)"! Arrgh! There is NO, I repeat NO Plextor

drive hooked to the computer.

 

When I put an audio CD in the old QPS CD drive now hooked up at the at the

"E" position, it shows up in the "F" position and plays. Right-clicking and

choosing Eject from the "F" listing in My Computer causes the disc to Eject

from the QPS.

 

When I put a music CD into the Sony, which is still in the "F" position, it

shows up in the "E" position in My Computer. When I tell it to "Play audio

CD using Windows Media Player" WMP launches and gives the error - "Windows

Media Player encountered a problem while playing the file."

 

I surmise that I've got to get that Plextor info out of the computer's

memory because that's causing these screw-ups. BUT, there is no Plextor DVD

drive listed in Device Manager for me to delete.

 

I will eventually put a new drive in "E" position to replace the Plextor

(I'll leave the old QPS CD player in place until I get it). But as long as

Windows thinks that the Plextor is still in the "E" position, the Sony won't

work. And I'll still have that problem when I put a new DVD drive in "E"

position.

 

How do I get rid of any and all remnants that the dead Plextor drive is or

ever was hooked into my system?

[Guest Frank]

Re: Won't recognize CDs in one drive - won't recognize DVDs or CDs in other drive.

 

 

"randwill" <rwilliams4254@triad.rr.com> wrote in message

news:1W%Di.49947$M%1.7069@fe10.news.easynews.com...

>

> "Rich Barry" <rbarry@socal.rr.com> wrote in message

> news:46e06ffe$0$32515$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...

>> Yes, that's correct.

>

>

> Okay, When I disconnect power to the Sony (Drive F) and try to play

> anything in the Plextor (Drive E) I now get nothing out of the Plextor.

> Just - "Please insert a disc into Drive E." Also it will not eject a disc

> when I right click and go to Eject.

>

> When I disconnect power to the Plextor, and hook power to the Sony, it now

> plays DVDs and CDs (music and data) just fine.

>

> So I surmise that the Plextor drive is bad.

>

> So...

>

> I stick in an old QPS CD drive (that works) in place of the Plextor (in

> the Master, "E", position on the ribbon and power cords). Strangely, when

> I look in My Computer I now have a "CD Drive (H:)" listed IN ADDITION TO

> the Sony (F), which you'd expect because it's still there and hooked up,

> but also there is "Plextor DVD (E:)"! Arrgh! There is NO, I repeat NO

> Plextor drive hooked to the computer.

>

> When I put an audio CD in the old QPS CD drive now hooked up at the at the

> "E" position, it shows up in the "F" position and plays. Right-clicking

> and choosing Eject from the "F" listing in My Computer causes the disc to

> Eject from the QPS.

>

> When I put a music CD into the Sony, which is still in the "F" position,

> it shows up in the "E" position in My Computer. When I tell it to "Play

> audio CD using Windows Media Player" WMP launches and gives the error -

> "Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing the file."

>

> I surmise that I've got to get that Plextor info out of the computer's

> memory because that's causing these screw-ups. BUT, there is no Plextor

> DVD drive listed in Device Manager for me to delete.

>

> I will eventually put a new drive in "E" position to replace the Plextor

> (I'll leave the old QPS CD player in place until I get it). But as long as

> Windows thinks that the Plextor is still in the "E" position, the Sony

> won't work. And I'll still have that problem when I put a new DVD drive

> in "E" position.

>

> How do I get rid of any and all remnants that the dead Plextor drive is or

> ever was hooked into my system?

 

When one removes a device it should be uninstalled from device manager then

removed.

Nero has a toolkit and so does Plextor.

CD/DVD drives are also very specific about what type of media they will

read.

 

Good Luck

[Guest randwill]

Re: Won't recognize CDs in one drive - won't recognize DVDs or CDs in other drive.

 

 

"Frank" <bbunny@bqik.net> wrote in message

news:uMY4mIR8HHA.4436@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>

> When one removes a device it should be uninstalled from device manager

> then

> removed.

> Nero has a toolkit and so does Plextor.

> CD/DVD drives are also very specific about what type of media they will

> read.

>

> Good Luck

>

 

Thanks.

 

I re-hooked up the Plextor then went to Device Manager and removed it. I

then disconnected it. On reboot it is STILL listed in My Computer in the

"E" position.

 

"Plextor Toolkit" yields no hits on Google. "Toolkit" search at Plextor.com

yields irrelevant results.

 

Nero Toolkit is described as; "Nero ToolKit is the industry standard for

testing and benchmarking optical recording drives." This would NOT seem to

be a tool for removing an erroneous entry in a Windows XP system.

 

So, I ask again, does anybody know how to remove the drive listing from My

Computer or do I have to do a complete re-install of WindowsXP?

[Guest Frank]

Re: Won't recognize CDs in one drive - won't recognize DVDs or CDs in other drive.

 

 

"randwill" <rwilliams4254@triad.rr.com> wrote in message

news:ymeEi.280660$jE4.251018@fe12.news.easynews.com...

>

> "Frank" <bbunny@bqik.net> wrote in message

> news:uMY4mIR8HHA.4436@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>>

>> When one removes a device it should be uninstalled from device manager

>> then

>> removed.

>> Nero has a toolkit and so does Plextor.

>> CD/DVD drives are also very specific about what type of media they will

>> read.

>>

>> Good Luck

>>

>

> Thanks.

>

> I re-hooked up the Plextor then went to Device Manager and removed it. I

> then disconnected it. On reboot it is STILL listed in My Computer in the

> "E" position.

>

> "Plextor Toolkit" yields no hits on Google. "Toolkit" search at

> Plextor.com yields irrelevant results.

>

> Nero Toolkit is described as; "Nero ToolKit is the industry standard for

> testing and benchmarking optical recording drives." This would NOT seem

> to be a tool for removing an erroneous entry in a Windows XP system.

>

> So, I ask again, does anybody know how to remove the drive listing from My

> Computer or do I have to do a complete re-install of WindowsXP?

 

That doesn't sound right. I know that because of WPA windows never forgets

any installed hardware. Why it is hanging on to the drive letter is strange

to me.

I hope someone will chime in that knows more.

[Guest randwill]

Re: Won't recognize CDs in one drive - won't recognize DVDs or CDs in other drive.

 

Since no one seems to be able to tell me how to fix this I did an experiment

on my own.

 

I booted into Safe Mode. And hey, the Plextor (E:) didn't show up in "My

Computer".

 

So I went to Disk Management and reassigned my storage HD (which was "G") to

"E".

 

But when I rebooted into regular mode nothing had changed. The erroneous

Plextor drive still had the "E" and the storage HD was back to "G" when I

looked in "My Computer"..

 

I mention this in hopes that the fact that the erroneous drive doesn't show

up in "My Computer" will give some knowledgeable person a clue as to how to

help me fix this problem.

[Guest Frank]

Re: Won't recognize CDs in one drive - won't recognize DVDs or CDs in other drive.

 

 

"randwill" <rwilliams4254@triad.rr.com> wrote in message

news:qdkEi.308294$Bo7.299426@fe07.news.easynews.com...

> Since no one seems to be able to tell me how to fix this I did an

> experiment on my own.

>

> I booted into Safe Mode. And hey, the Plextor (E:) didn't show up in "My

> Computer".

>

> So I went to Disk Management and reassigned my storage HD (which was "G")

> to "E".

>

> But when I rebooted into regular mode nothing had changed. The erroneous

> Plextor drive still had the "E" and the storage HD was back to "G" when I

> looked in "My Computer"..

>

> I mention this in hopes that the fact that the erroneous drive doesn't

> show up in "My Computer" will give some knowledgeable person a clue as to

> how to help me fix this problem.

 

I have, for years, assigned ® to the read only drives and (S) to the RW

drives.

This may require a chnge in the registry.

http://www.softwaretipsandtricks.com/forum/windows-xp/4530-change-winxp-install-drive-letter.html

Try it to see if it will work for you. It should free up the high letters

for you. To me

this letter scheme from Microsoft is a nightmare.