WindowsVista Media Player CD Drive.

Several weeks ago I ripped music from CD with my already installed Windows media player, and it was fine. I havn't used since then until now!When i inserted CD to be ripped, message on screen said I needed a CD drive to rip music.
Where has my CD drive gone??????????????

is it still showing OK in device manager or does it show an error? or is it missing completely?

DVD/CD is still in list in Device Manager, but now has a minus sign in the check box.
All other boxes in DM have plus signs next to them and when I last looked in DM several weeks ago, ALL boxes were ticked???

no yellow exclamations or red crosses?
if there are not it sounds like the drive is broken

which version of windows?

WINDOWS VISTA HOME PREMIUM
When I go into DeviceManager, there is a list of stuff there!There are two boxes that have a minus sign in the check box.1 is My computer name which is first in list, 2 is DVD/CD.No red crosses or exclamation signs.
I have had trouble with Net, being slow and not turning pages,showing Errors, but I dont suppose that is connected.
My CD ripping worked fine when last used, could any of the resetting and deleting that I done have anything to do with it not working now????

How about if you (temporarily) forget ripping and just try to play the CD? Does that work?

NO............

In device manager try right-clicking on the DVD drive, choose uninstall and restart your PC.

Vista should find it again when it reboots and reinstall the driver.

Does that make any difference?

I'm still unclear; does it try to play the CD and fail or does it fail to realise there is a CD in the drive?

In Device Manager list, right clicking on DVD/CD ROM DRIVE, brings up box which says scan for hardware changes, or properties.NOTHING else listed.

When I have Media Player on screen and insert the
CD, Message box comes up :

WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER CANNOT PLAY THE fILE.
tHE PLAYER MIGHT NOT SUPPORT THE FILE TYPE
OR MIGHT NOT SUPPORT THE CODEC THAT WAS USED
TO COMPRESS THIS FILE.

thats a software problem not a hardware problem. The computer does not have the decoding software to play the video/audio tracks on the disk
What program did you use to rip/burn the CD?
What is the file name extension for the files on the disk?

When I ripped music from pre-recorded CD's which were shop bought, I just put Media Player on screen,with Rip button showing, inserted the CD and it started to rip music onto media player. I did this on about 5 occassions,all CD's ripped ok onto computer, NO problem.
Went to do same thing yesterday and nothing happened except what I've told you.
I was wondering if anything I had to delete for last problem had anything to do with it, as I did tell you that last thing I deleted kept telling me
not to do it as it was used for other things on computer!!!
This posting for JON S.............

JON S............I dont know what you mean for file name extension on the Disc?????
Its just a shop bought music CD. I tried 5 different ones, same msg came up...........

can you read the CD in Windows Explorer? Does that recognise that a disk is there?

Jon S: I am a computer dunce!!!
I dont know what that means, read it in windows explorer? Can you explain in laymans terms please?

Jon S: I am a computer dunce!!!
I dont know what that means, read it in windows explorer? Can you explain in laymans terms please?

double click the "my computer" icon
A new window opens, with icons for each of the drives in the machine
There should be one for the CD/DVD drive. What does it say? Does it change if you put a CD in the drive? What happens if you then double click the drive icon with a disk in the drive?

Jon S: There is NO CD/DVD in there, only 2 Hard Disk Drives....Vista (C)and System(S).....Thats it.........

then you either have
a dead drive
or
the power or data lead has fallen off the drive
or
the drive is disabled in BIOS (unlikely)

wHAT IS BIOS? IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT. IF SO, WHAT?..............

is this still the Advent 5712 from earlier threads?
If so I dont think you can do much with the BIOS. Its almost certainly a dead drive. How old is this machine? Still under warranty?

JON S: Yes Advent 5712...........
Puchased in June,this year.....
What are BIOS?

the BIOS is a software interface layer which enables the operating system to communicate with the hardware. It controls the basic functions of the machine. Its unlikely to go wrong and it would take a specific act of diasblement to stop the CD drive being seen
As the machine is under warranty its time to call that warranty in. Its an Advent, so either call "The Tech Guys" or else take it back to the local PCWorld and get them to look at it - under warranty. Don't let them try to charge you. Its bust - make them repair it

JON S: I got up the Microsoft board and typed in problem and it said that Downloaded updates could be the problem! My computer has downloaded quite a few updates recently that were marked Important, so i clicked install.
Do you think there is any possibility that they could have caused the problem?
Also if I do have to go back to Curry's will I lose everything I have on the computer?? Thanks

updates - very unlikely

lose everything? who can tell? If its a hardware fault then there should be no need. But its DSG/The Tech Guys we're dealing with here, so who knows?. They write their own rules

Linda, if you take the computer back to Currys and they conclude the problem is software rather than hardware then they might reset your computer to its factory settings as a quick 'no-brainer' fix. Depending on exactly how the process works, this could cause you to lose all your files and would cause you to lose any programs you have installed since the computer was new.

Thanks Everyone. I'll tell them not to reset. If they say its a Software problem, what can I do next? Is there anyone, anywhere that would know why it suddenly disappeared from computer,even though its still in Device Manager, but instead of plus next to it, it has a - sign??But has gone from Hard Drive.???............

In Device Manager there is a category "DVD/CD-ROM drives" or similar. If you double click this you should see the model of each DVD or CD drive you have installed. If you double click the model you should see the properties of that drive, including whether Windows thinks it is working or not. I cannot understand from your account whether there are any models of DVD/CD drive listed or not. If your drive is not listed then either it has failed or the connecting cable has worked loose.

Earlier on I decided to try what Richard B suggested and uninstalled the ext to CD/DVD in Device Manager!!When it rebooted there was a message saying "DEVICE DRIVER SOFTWARE NOT SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED.CONSULT YOUR MANUFACTURER FOR ASSISTANCE GETTING DEVICE INSTALLED.
TSST corp CDDVDW TS-L633A ATA..DEVICE FAILED!!!!!!
I HAVE JUST BEEN BACK INTO COMPUTER TO HARD DISK DRIVES AND LO AND BEHOLD I NOW HAVE IN THERE A
DVD RW DRIVE (E).!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOTHING WHICH SAYS CD THOUGH??
I HAVE JUST DONE WHAT ALAN B ADVISED AND MSG CAME UP SAYING INSERT DISC!!!
I DID THIS AND LIST OF FILES SAYING TRACK 1 TRACK 2 ETC. CAME UP
I PUT UP MEDIA PLAYER INSERTED A CD AND IT PLAYED!!!!!! i HAVE JUST RIPPED IT AS WELL.
IT SEEMS TO BE BACK TO NORMAL!!!
iS THAT THE HAND OF GOD OR WHAT?????
I'M KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED IT STAYS THAT WAY.
CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENENED??????
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO TRIED TO HELP ME AGAIN!!!
IT IS MUCH APPRECIATED............LINDA

That DVDRW drive is also your CD drive, it is dual function. However, the message sounds as if the driver software has not installed correctly. If the problem recurs, it could either be a faulty driver, or the CD/DVD drive itself going wrong. In the latter case, it should be fixed under warranty, and as it is hardware, they SHOULD be able to do that without affecting your data.

In any event, the smart move would be to back up any data that you don't want to lose, just in case.

ALAN D............Thanks..........

i have got an advent 6552
and my disc drive will read dvds but not cds
can anyone help?
ive tryed uninstalling and rebooting and tryed all the updates.

it probably needs a new drive fitting
raise a job request for one of our team to come and visit you / quote you on a repair
http://www.pciq.com
search for someone in your area using your postcode

my laptop is very slow opening up