Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Optical drives not recognized

Aug 10, 2004 11:24AM PDT

My son installed some old Windows games that were on a floppy into his computer and now it says the master boot record has been modified and the CD and CD/RW drives are not recognized by the system The BIOS still shows them, though. Any suggestions??

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Sounds like software.
Aug 10, 2004 12:16PM PDT

But with no OS mentioned and the hardware apparently in working order, my only suggestion is that you post in the Forum that matches your OS.

Bob

- Collapse -
Re: Sounds like software.
Sep 16, 2004 10:10AM PDT

Win 98 SE. HP Pavilion desktop.

- Collapse -
Sounds like,,,
Sep 16, 2004 10:18AM PDT

Your new information is too lightwieght for any clear answer. Here's the generic answer.

1. The motherboard drivers need to be installed.
2. One or both drives have failed and Windows can't recognise one or both. After you install the motherboard drivers (sorry, with so little info, I can't tell which to install), test if a drive failed by hooking up only one as master at a time.

Best of luck,

Bob

- Collapse -
Re: Sounds like,,,
Sep 16, 2004 10:29AM PDT

What other info would help? 667 mhz processor, don't know the motherboard info. Junk it? Pull the drives out and reinstall? It's not hooked to the internet. I planned on doing that to get a viruscan done.

- Collapse -
There are some hundred Pavillion models.
Sep 16, 2004 10:34AM PDT

I can't know which one you have.

Try to find a model number.

Bob

- Collapse -
Re: There are some hundred Pavillion models.
Sep 16, 2004 10:44AM PDT

Thanks. I have the info at home in a file. I know its a 6700 or 6900 series, but I'll get more specific when I get into my file.

- Collapse -
And a dozen 6700...
Sep 16, 2004 11:15AM PDT
- Collapse -
Re: And a dozen 6700...
Sep 28, 2004 10:38AM PDT

Bob,
I was wrong. The unit is an 8750c. 667mhz processor, Intel 810e chipset. After spending a day working on it, I found that the primary and secondary hard drive ide controllers are not functioning properly. I attempted a search for an updated driver, but it had no effect. My antivirus program showed the LCCVstealth virus, or something like that. It would not repair it. The machine does boot up, but just doesn't show the CD drives. I did a complete system restore and the drives showed up, but when I rebooted they went away again. I may try deleting the partitions, then reformatting and reloading the OS.

Jeff

- Collapse -
Re: And a dozen 6700...
Sep 28, 2004 10:47AM PDT
- Collapse -
Re: Optical drives not recognized
Oct 1, 2004 1:52AM PDT

I am wondering whether you received help on your pc's failure to recognize your CD and CD/RW drives.... I have the same problem and am just before replacing my pc, but came across your inquiry. (I have a Dell system, four years old...Windows XP). Thanks for any info.