|
DVD Drive Only Available After System Restore
I’m usually able to troubleshoot my computer problems but I’m having two different issues that have me completely stumped. While they seem to be different problems, there is one very interesting factor that ties them together. I’m using an HP Pavilion dv9500 laptop running Vista x32 with SP1. I keep up to date on Windows updates. About two months ago I began having intermittent problems with my DVD burner (Optiarc AD-7561A). I would occasionally get an I/O error in the middle of burning a disk. Several days later, I found that the drive was completely missing when I booted the computer (missing under My Computer and Device Manager).
About the same time, I started to have occasional problems booting the computer. This problem occurs about 15% of the time when I boot up. The machine freezes shortly after POST and at the beginning of starting Vista. When this happens, I’ve found the only way to successfully boot is to run System Restore and to role back to an earlier restore point. (Usually the latest restore point works, but sometimes I have to go back two or more points.)
Here’s the interesting part. My DVD drive is nearly always present and working after using System Restore. (There have only been one or two times I’ve used System Restore that the drive wasn’t present after. It is never present if I’m able to boot without System Restore.) The drive works properly for awhile before I get another I/O error or have to reboot for some other reason. After rebooting, it is always missing again. In other words, using System Restore seems to be the only way to bring my DVD back. Note that I’m not restoring to the same restore point each time. Since this has been going on for months and I install Windows updates regularly, it’s always a different restore point – usually the most recent one.
I can’t think of any changes I’d made to the machine that might have precipitated these problems. I can’t be certain, though. Besides keeping up to date on Windows updates, I periodically download HPs recommended driver updates and other maintenance suggestions. I do know that I updated my DVD burning software (ImgBurn) to version 2.4.4 about the same time, but I believe that was after I started having problems.
I’ve been focused on solving the DVD problem, so let me give more details there. When the DVD is missing from Device Manager, it doesn’t seem to be a Windows problem because I can’t boot a bootable disk. (I’ve looked to see if the drive is present in my Phoenix BIOS, but my BIOS don’t seem to have a screen that shows which devices are present.) This is what has me stumped – why does System Restore bring it back? I suspected a hardware problem so I purchased an identical model DVD drive (used but certified working). The replacement drive isn’t detected either. This makes me wonder if the connection to the laptop itself is bad. I’ve visually inspected (as well as I can) and don’t see a problem. I’m getting power to the drive (required to open the tray) so I know I have at least some connectivity. Besides that, a bad connection would seem unlikely to be affected by System Restore. It also seems unlikely that I’d lose a good connection simply by rebooting. When the drive isn’t being detected, I’ve tried to give it an extra push to see if I can get it seated to be detected, but this has no impact. I’ve tried uninstalling the ImgBurn software I generally use. I’ve also checked the registry for the Upper/Lower Limit issue. Neither limit is present in the registry. I tried running the Microsoft “Fix It” program anyway. Still no luck.
I’m posting this request in the Hardware forum because that’s the issue I’m trying to resolve, but I’ll also take any help with the System Restore issue. I won’t post in the Vista Support forum as I know duplicate posts aren’t allowed. I've attached a copy of my Belarc Advisor results in case that helps. Thanks in advance!
|