I have a small problem I hope someone can help me with. Just recently my wifes computer started freezing at the initial start-up screen. I can hit ctl-alt-del to restart the computer and it will load fine. I did determine that it was the DVD/CD drive that was causing the problem. I installed a CD drive into her computer and the computer loads fine with it. She goes through this process every time she turns her computer on, turn computer on, it freezes on the initial start screen, hit ctl-alt-del to restart computer, then upon restarting the computer loads fine with no problems. She has a game that she likes to play on her computer that is in DVD format so the DVD drive is a must. She has XP and the DVD/CD unit is a Philips. There have been no changes made to her computer since the problem started. I can see the unit going bad and causing this problem but why does the computer load fine upon restart? Any help would be appreciated.
check the jumper pins on the back of the dvd drive and see if its set as primary if both the cdrw drive and dvd drives are set a primary it will cause problems or just replace both with a dvd-rw drive maybe this will help good luck though
I have only had one drive hooked up. Never had two drives hooked up at a time. The DVD unit functioned fine until recently. As I have said there have been no changes made to the computer. This is a DVD-RW drive.
How to troubleshoot CD-ROM drive problems in Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314096/EN-US/
Thanks for the link Toyman. The DVD unit had been working so it isn't a compatibility issue or anything like that. I don't have the booklet or any other information on the unit and so far haven't been able to obtain any info about the unit on the web either. I will probably just have to buy another unit, maybe just a little something went wrong with this one. I just don't understand why the unit works fine when restarting the computer.
have you tried to update the driver? goto device manager and you can see device conflicts and update it there. you can pull the drive back out and get the make and model number then just goto the makers homepage for support
Theres no problems showing in device manager. I tried to research the unit on the Philips web page but maybe the unit is too old and not supported any more. The Windows XP drivers were always sufficient in the past. The unit is being recognized ok, but now when you insert a DVD or CD into the unit it is not recognizing that there is a disc in the unit. I installed the unit into my computer and it is doing the same as it was doing in my wifes computer. I think the unit is ready to go into the trash. I ordered a new DVD drive from New Egg today. Thanks to all for the help.
I had this happeb once with CD Rom driver.The firmware got flushed from it.There was a firmware upgrade but I couldn't flash it normally with the old firmware gone.A guy in France figured out how to do it and had to physically go in the case with unit on and unplug drive and plug it back in.That was the power connection on the back of the drive.I forget all the details but I had to do this sort of quickly until the light on front came on or changed color.Then I reflashed the firmware and it works great now.
I agree with DC. A firmware flash has resurrected more balky optical drives for me than I care to count. Try that before you give up on it; just make sure it is the only DVD or CD drive in the system when you do it!!!
For Philips support check Philips websites in other countries.Sometimes they have support for older units no longer supported on the USA site.
http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/..._REWRITER_SU&slg=ENG&scy=AU&tmplt=&searchtxt= and http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/..._PC_STORAGE_CA&slg=ENG&scy=&tmplt=&searchtxt=
Posted by fastvfr "A firmware flash has resurrected more balky optical drives for me than I care to count" That is a little above my head, but I have ordered a new unit for my wife and will keep this one to tinker with. I don't care to try a firmware flash if someone would just tell me what it is and how to do it. Thanks for the links D.C.
Firmware interprets what the os wants a piece of hardware to do. As such it has a definite address. Flashing the firmware (re)installs that firmware where it's supposed to go. A couple of years ago, just about all firmware flashing was done at DOS, with a floppy. Now, a lot of companies have developed routines that work within Windows. Here's a few places to find out more about it: http://www.karbosguide.com/ http://forum.rpc1.org/index.php?sid=8a0a05b5f4f3224d41168907e58998db From what you describe it sounds like the power supply could be getting a little weak. If the mobo doesn't receive a <b>power good</b> signal within a certain timeframe, you'll get the same result. What's the brand/ age of the box?
Rager I researched and read up on firmware and I tried flashing the unit but I went from bad to worse. Now the light stays on all the time and when I start the computer it freezes on start-up. The unit is a Philips and was manufactured in 2002. I have googled and everything else I know to do but can't find any info on this particular model. The flash I did was for a model I thought was close to this one. The new unit arrived from newegg today and I installed it in my wife's computer and it is working fine. Don't think it was a power problem, I put it in my computer and it did the exact same thing. I think it is bound for the trash for sure now unless you can undue a flash. It was fun tinkering with it though and has started me on the road to learning about firmware.
