lost D drive

babysarabia · 01-16-2009, 11:32 AM

ok

I think I must of erased some components to use the d drive nothing is being recognized and the windows cd to redownload is in another state. please help

**manic** · 01-16-2009, 11:34 AM

Your using win98, correct? Did the drive work before?

**sobeit** · 01-17-2009, 12:45 AM

does it show up in your bios?

babysarabia · 01-18-2009, 08:27 AM

well the D drive is there something just must of been erased in connecting to the d drive. you put a cd in and it doesnt know it is there, even if you open from the computer. the computer thinks there is no disk in d drive.
It is supposed to be a dvd drive to does that make a difference maybe that broke and everything else is connected

**OldGrayGary** · 01-18-2009, 02:37 PM

Hi all

If the DVD drive is inside your PC case:
Sobeit mentioned that you could check the Bios to see if the drive displays there. If the DVD drive is inside your computer's case, it should show up on a list of IDE devices [it's unlikely to be SATA or SCSI in a Windows 98 PC]. Your computer might display a list as it is starting of the devices the motherboard's Bios detects -- you can pause that screen & see if your DVD drive shows up in that list (press the "Pause" key in the upper-right hand corner of your keyboard --- press your Enter key to continue startup afterwards). If your computer displays a major-brand "splash screen" (IBM, Dell, Sony, Hp, etc...) you won't see the list ... you'll have to enter Bios Setup to view the list [Press the key mentioned in the Bios banner or brand-name splash screen "Press F1 (or F2, F10, DEL, etc.) to Enter Setup"] .

If the drive doesn't show up in the list, it may have failed. Or, if you've been inside the case lately making changes, it's connections might be incorrect, or it's 'jumper settings' might be wrong. Let us know if you've been inside the case recently.

If the drive shows up in the Bios list, but not in Windows, try checking in Device Manager to see if it is listed in the DVD/CD drives category. If it is, select it with a click, and then select Remove. Reboot & see if Windows re-detects it - then test to see if it works.

If you've removed or added any CD/DVD recording software (like Nero or Roxio), this can cause trouble with CD/DVD drives. Have you changed any recording software recently? Or performed any Registry 'editing' or 'cleaning'?
____________________

If the drive is an external USB drive:
Take it to a known-good computer running Windows XP, and see if it works OK there. If not, there's likely a hardware problem with the drive.

If an external USB DVD drive works in Windows XP but not in Windows 98, you're likely going to have to track down and reinstall the exact-match Windows 98 drivers from the manufacturer's website [that should restore the right USB support].

Best of luck
. . . Gary

babysarabia · 01-19-2009, 09:01 AM

ok I tried that the computer says everytime I put something in the d drive
"D:/ is not accessible the device is not ready"
what does that mean?
when I checked the bios it said D0 ibm and a bunch of numbers but then it said D1 D2 D3 not detected.

**OldGrayGary** · 01-19-2009, 12:38 PM

Hi again

We've mentioned a few different kind of ways that cd/dvd drives are connected -- which connector does yours use? Does it connect externally with a USB cable, or internally with a different sort of cable?

The list that you mention (D0, D1, D2, D3) sounds like a list for internal devices connected to either the wide flat cable called IDE, or to the slender narrow cable called SATA. Since you see only one device in that list, it is likely your hard drive that is listed = an IBM hard drive (IBM doesn't make CD/DVD drives).

So, if your CD/DVD drive is internal, it may have failed - not even the Bios is detecting it. A problem with it's cables or jumper settings could cause this also, but that's unlikely if you haven't been inside the case recently.

If your CD/DVD drive is external, I still think you should try attaching it to a known-good Windows XP or Vista PC -- if it isn't recognized by those, the drive likely needs to be replaced.

It's not unusual for optical drives to fail suddenly.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

**djaburg** · 01-23-2009, 02:39 PM

It sound like the drive has stopped reading media which is certainly not uncommon with older drives. Getting a new one and replacing it is pretty easy. I wouldn't think that Windows is the issue if you see the drive in my computer but disks don't register, that's normally a drive issue. My guess would be that you need to get a new CD drive and that should resolve the issue.

01-16-2009, 11:32 AM	#1 (permalink)
babysarabia Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 3 OS: win98	lost D drive ok I think I must of erased some components to use the d drive nothing is being recognized and the windows cd to redownload is in another state. please help

01-16-2009, 11:34 AM	#2 (permalink)
manic Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 5,241 OS: xp	Re: lost D drive Your using win98, correct? Did the drive work before? __________________

01-17-2009, 12:45 AM	#3 (permalink)
sobeit TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: NEAR Posts: 7,433 OS: windows/linux	Re: lost D drive does it show up in your bios? __________________ there's been global warming since the ice age

01-18-2009, 08:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
babysarabia Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 3 OS: win98	Re: lost D drive well the D drive is there something just must of been erased in connecting to the d drive. you put a cd in and it doesnt know it is there, even if you open from the computer. the computer thinks there is no disk in d drive. It is supposed to be a dvd drive to does that make a difference maybe that broke and everything else is connected Last edited by babysarabia; 01-18-2009 at 08:29 AM.

01-18-2009, 02:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
OldGrayGary Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA Posts: 2,240 OS: Windows 98se/2000/XP/Vista	Re: lost D drive Hi all If the DVD drive is inside your PC case: Sobeit mentioned that you could check the Bios to see if the drive displays there. If the DVD drive is inside your computer's case, it should show up on a list of IDE devices [it's unlikely to be SATA or SCSI in a Windows 98 PC]. Your computer might display a list as it is starting of the devices the motherboard's Bios detects -- you can pause that screen & see if your DVD drive shows up in that list (press the "Pause" key in the upper-right hand corner of your keyboard --- press your Enter key to continue startup afterwards). If your computer displays a major-brand "splash screen" (IBM, Dell, Sony, Hp, etc...) you won't see the list ... you'll have to enter Bios Setup to view the list [Press the key mentioned in the Bios banner or brand-name splash screen "Press F1 (or F2, F10, DEL, etc.) to Enter Setup"] . If the drive doesn't show up in the list, it may have failed. Or, if you've been inside the case lately making changes, it's connections might be incorrect, or it's 'jumper settings' might be wrong. Let us know if you've been inside the case recently. If the drive shows up in the Bios list, but not in Windows, try checking in Device Manager to see if it is listed in the DVD/CD drives category. If it is, select it with a click, and then select Remove. Reboot & see if Windows re-detects it - then test to see if it works. If you've removed or added any CD/DVD recording software (like Nero or Roxio), this can cause trouble with CD/DVD drives. Have you changed any recording software recently? Or performed any Registry 'editing' or 'cleaning'? ____________________ If the drive is an external USB drive: Take it to a known-good computer running Windows XP, and see if it works OK there. If not, there's likely a hardware problem with the drive. If an external USB DVD drive works in Windows XP but not in Windows 98, you're likely going to have to track down and reinstall the exact-match Windows 98 drivers from the manufacturer's website [that should restore the right USB support]. Best of luck . . . Gary __________________

01-19-2009, 09:01 AM	#6 (permalink)
babysarabia Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 3 OS: win98	Re: lost D drive ok I tried that the computer says everytime I put something in the d drive "D:/ is not accessible the device is not ready" what does that mean? when I checked the bios it said D0 ibm and a bunch of numbers but then it said D1 D2 D3 not detected.

01-19-2009, 12:38 PM	#7 (permalink)
OldGrayGary Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA Posts: 2,240 OS: Windows 98se/2000/XP/Vista	Re: lost D drive Hi again We've mentioned a few different kind of ways that cd/dvd drives are connected -- which connector does yours use? Does it connect externally with a USB cable, or internally with a different sort of cable? The list that you mention (D0, D1, D2, D3) sounds like a list for internal devices connected to either the wide flat cable called IDE, or to the slender narrow cable called SATA. Since you see only one device in that list, it is likely your hard drive that is listed = an IBM hard drive (IBM doesn't make CD/DVD drives). So, if your CD/DVD drive is internal, it may have failed - not even the Bios is detecting it. A problem with it's cables or jumper settings could cause this also, but that's unlikely if you haven't been inside the case recently. If your CD/DVD drive is external, I still think you should try attaching it to a known-good Windows XP or Vista PC -- if it isn't recognized by those, the drive likely needs to be replaced. It's not unusual for optical drives to fail suddenly. Best of luck . . . Gary __________________

01-23-2009, 02:39 PM	#8 (permalink)
djaburg TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,320 OS: XP SP3/Vista/7 Server 2K/2K3/2K8	Re: lost D drive It sound like the drive has stopped reading media which is certainly not uncommon with older drives. Getting a new one and replacing it is pretty easy. I wouldn't think that Windows is the issue if you see the drive in my computer but disks don't register, that's normally a drive issue. My guess would be that you need to get a new CD drive and that should resolve the issue. __________________ Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done. The inherent vice of capitalism is the uneven division of blessings, while the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal division of misery.