Messed with the Add/Remove and now My Laptop Can't Play DvDs(RESOLVED)

ScrnE011 · 04-06-2007, 12:40 PM

Well I was stupid and went and messed around with Add/Remove Windows Components. A few things happened, like the games, calc, and etc went away. I was able to get those things back. However, I must have deleted the driver that allowed my computer to read DVDs. I don't seem to have a Dvd/CD drive any more. When I put a DVD in, it says that it cannot read a DVD in the drive, and to put a DVD in.

I have Windows XP Media Center Edition, and my laptop is a Dell Inspiron 6000 model. I tried going to the Dell website to find a driver for my needs. When i put in my service number, it gave me list of drivers and downloads for the Inspiron Model. They all have funny names, so I don't know which one I should download.

Does anyone know what I need to get my computer to read DVDs again?

Geekgirl · 04-06-2007, 04:11 PM

Hello and Welcome to TSF

A quick thing to try is to use System Restore to a point before you messed around in the Add/Remove Programs. If this does not help we will have to try something else.

~~Girderman~~ · 04-06-2007, 04:18 PM

Also, make sure to try a "known good" DVD, because you get the exact same message when you insert a corrupted DVD. Meaning if you are only trying one of them, the problem might be with the DVD itself.

Also, check Device Manager and look for any yellow or red flagged devices, particularly in the CD/DVD Device area and see if uninstalling and reinstalling the device fixes it.

Note: I just read through the "Add/Remove Windows Components" area and didn't see anything there that would affect the ability to burn DVDs. Can you describe/remember specifically what you did ?

What exactly were you TRYING to do ?

Did you do anything beside Add/Remove Windows Components ?

ScrnE011 · 04-07-2007, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geekgirl

Hello and Welcome to TSF

A quick thing to try is to use System Restore to a point before you messed around in the Add/Remove Programs. If this does not help we will have to try something else.

I tried this, sadly, it did not work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Girderman

Also, make sure to try a "known good" DVD, because you get the exact same message when you insert a corrupted DVD. Meaning if you are only trying one of them, the problem might be with the DVD itself.

Also, check Device Manager and look for any yellow or red flagged devices, particularly in the CD/DVD Device area and see if uninstalling and reinstalling the device fixes it.

Note: I just read through the "Add/Remove Windows Components" area and didn't see anything there that would affect the ability to burn DVDs. Can you describe/remember specifically what you did ?

What exactly were you TRYING to do ?

Did you do anything beside Add/Remove Windows Components ?

I tried a few DvDs I know work and none of them worked.

As for what I was trying to do; I was trying to fix IE7. I have had alot of problems with IE7, and I saw that I could unistall it from the add/remove windows commponets list. So I checked it, but it had something else checked that I didn't want checked (I wasn't sure what it had checked). So it unistalled my games, claculator, and etc. So with frustration I decided to check everything, thinking that anything i unistalled I could just as easily install again. Sadly that was not the case. A few things, when I try to install them, ask for a CD that I don't have.
What I think I unistalled, that I need, is the Sonic DVD and CD Burning. However when i check that to install, it asks me for a CD that I don't have.

And no I did nothing else other then mess with the windows componets.

When I go to 'My Computer' there is only my C drive. No DVD/CD drive is listed. I right clicked my C drive --> properties --> hardware. Under that I see my C drive and I see my DVD/CD-ROM drive, labeled '_NEC DVD+RW ND-6650A'. Under decive properties and device status, i see: "Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)" I click the troubleshoot button and Windows Help appears. Windows Help tells me how to reinstall the hardware, but it ends up in a complete circle. I run the wizard it tells me to, and in the wziard, click my DVD/CD drive (that has an explanation point on it) and it tells me to click finish to go to troubleshoot for help. So ya, complete circle there.

Also, when i start up my computer, a message appears that is labeled SQL. And it says something like the SQL dumper is not working correctly, and to try reinstalling it. I don't know what I need to reinstall to get that working again, or if I even have a Cd that it might require.

-----------------------

Details on the problems I am having with iE7, if you have any info in this...

The iE7 says for a title: 'Internet Explorer - Provided by Yahoo!'. I can't seem to get that 'Provided by Yahoo!' thing to go away. Also, when I start up IE7, it fails to start several times before it actually works. It says that it has encountered a problem and needs to close. It also takes a long time to start up. And, when I am using it, and open a new tab, it takes about 3 seconds to open a new tab.

I have tried reinstalling iE7 (using the microsoft website) many times, but all the problems I listed above are always there.

~~Girderman~~ · 04-07-2007, 01:29 PM

Okay, you may actually have two problems, and they may not even be related.

Quote:

When I go to 'My Computer' there is only my C drive. No DVD/CD drive is listed.

This is the clearest thing we know. Your XP does not recognize your CD/DVD drive. That is all we need to know about that, and we can troubleshoot from this point forward.

The other possible problem is with IE7. There is a LOT of documentation on problems with this "update". I myself started a thread asking if it was worth the risk of installing it and the consensus was "No". Additionally, there is even MORE documentation with UNINSTALLING IE7, as people with the first situation (a screwed up IE7) try to get rid of it and wind up with even MORE problems.

I think in a strategic sense we should troubleshoot the CD/DVD device problem first, as it is clearly a problem and it may be fixed easily. My intuition is that this problem is unrelated to your IE 7 problem, and I don't think some third problem is causing both of the other two, but could be wrong.

First, has your CD-DVD device given you any indication in the past that it was "going bad" ? Please list it's manufacturer & model, and also your level of skill using it. (This will aid in gauging how simple or complex of suggestions & explanations you can handle...)

First thing to do is reboot to BIOS and verify that the CD/DVD device is recognized in BIOS. If not, you probably have a hardware problem and there is no point in troubleshooting any further, as they are general not repairable. Could be a cable or bad IDE socket, but those are rare.

If the device is recognized in BIOS, go back to Device Manager and (I just re-read your post) I do not find any explicit language stating that you uninstalled and reinstalled the device as I suggested earlier. Note I do NOT mean un & re-install the DRIVER, I mean the whole device.

Right click the device in Hardware Manager and click "Uninstall", then immediately shut-down and re-boot. Let XP find & install the device if it can automatically.

If this fails, we have to assume that either the driver IS corrupted or there is a hardware issue. Or perhaps a conflict with another piece of hardware. Please double-check & verify that the CD/DVD device is the ONLY one that is listed with yellow or red flags. Check the box (in Hardware Manager) "Show Hidden Devices" listed at the top. (Look carefully you will find it.)

In this event, uninstall ALL flagged devices and reboot as described above. If this fails, please report the flagged devices and the result(s) of the reboot.

Good Luck.

EDIT***

One more thing. If the uninstall & reboot option does not work, check Start>Administrative Tools>Computer Management>Disk Management and report all the drive devices it lists, with particular attention to whether the CD/DVD device is listed. Also make sure all have a drive letter assigned, and report what has which letter. You don't have to have a virtual drive (such as Alcohol or Daemon Tools), do you ? These can sometimes cause problems . . .

ScrnE011 · 04-07-2007, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Girderman

Okay, you may actually have two problems, and they may not even be related.

This is the clearest thing we know. Your XP does not recognize your CD/DVD drive. That is all we need to know about that, and we can troubleshoot from this point forward.

The other possible problem is with IE7. There is a LOT of documentation on problems with this "update". I myself started a thread asking if it was worth the risk of installing it and the consensus was "No". Additionally, there is even MORE documentation with UNINSTALLING IE7, as people with the first situation (a screwed up IE7) try to get rid of it and wind up with even MORE problems.

I think in a strategic sense we should troubleshoot the CD/DVD device problem first, as it is clearly a problem and it may be fixed easily. My intuition is that this problem is unrelated to your IE 7 problem, and I don't think some third problem is causing both of the other two, but could be wrong.

First, has your CD-DVD device given you any indication in the past that it was "going bad" ? Please list it's manufacturer & model, and also your level of skill using it. (This will aid in gauging how simple or complex of suggestions & explanations you can handle...)

First thing to do is reboot to BIOS and verify that the CD/DVD device is recognized in BIOS. If not, you probably have a hardware problem and there is no point in troubleshooting any further, as they are general not repairable. Could be a cable or bad IDE socket, but those are rare.

If the device is recognized in BIOS, go back to Device Manager and (I just re-read your post) I do not find any explicit language stating that you uninstalled and reinstalled the device as I suggested earlier. Note I do NOT mean un & re-install the DRIVER, I mean the whole device.

Right click the device in Hardware Manager and click "Uninstall", then immediately shut-down and re-boot. Let XP find & install the device if it can automatically.

If this fails, we have to assume that either the driver IS corrupted or there is a hardware issue. Or perhaps a conflict with another piece of hardware. Please double-check & verify that the CD/DVD device is the ONLY one that is listed with yellow or red flags. Check the box (in Hardware Manager) "Show Hidden Devices" listed at the top. (Look carefully you will find it.)

In this event, uninstall ALL flagged devices and reboot as described above. If this fails, please report the flagged devices and the result(s) of the reboot.

Good Luck.

EDIT***

One more thing. If the uninstall & reboot option does not work, check Start>Administrative Tools>Computer Management>Disk Management and report all the drive devices it lists, with particular attention to whether the CD/DVD device is listed. Also make sure all have a drive letter assigned, and report what has which letter. You don't have to have a virtual drive (such as Alcohol or Daemon Tools), do you ? These can sometimes cause problems . . .

I went to Device Manager and searched through all the devices listed. The only other device that has a symbol on it is under 'Network adapters'. The 'Bluetooth Personal Area Network from TOSHIBA' has a red 'X' on it. I believe this is because my trail expired for Toashiba though.

Under DVD/CD-ROM drives there is one device listed, which is the '_NEC DVD+RW ND-6650A', which has a yellow dot, with a black '!' in the dot, on it. I tried unistalling this (like you said) twice. After restart, a message saying that windows found new hardware appeared both times and the device came back both times, but still has the same problem.

My CD/DVD device has never given me problems before. The laptop is about a year and 3 months old. DVDs have always played perfectly on it.

As for the company and model of the device, I am not sure. I did a Google search for _NEC DVD+RW ND-6650A and it came up as this website: http://www.nec.co.uk/DVD_RW_ND6650.aspx

Quote:

First thing to do is reboot to BIOS and verify that the CD/DVD device is recognized in BIOS.

I am not completly sure how to do this. I believe I am suppose to click F2 as the machine starts up, but what do I do after (what I think is) the BIOS opens?

I am also still getting the SQL message when I start up my computer. This is issactly what it says:

Quote:

SQL Writer

SQLDUMPER library failed initialization. Your installation is either corrupt or has been tampered with. Please unistall then re-run setup to correct this problem.

**TheAtheist** · 04-07-2007, 03:21 PM

To see if the DVD drive is recognised in BIOs, simply reboot and watch the screens that appear before win xp loads up. It should appear with the C drive,your DVD player as a slave and C being master. Cant remember which screen it is on, and to be honest it doesnt matter as Bios's vary.

ScrnE011 · 04-07-2007, 03:46 PM

I don't know if I am looking at the right place, but I believe it is reconized by the BIOS. At startup i clicked f10 that brought me to the BIOS I belive. Under Device info, it had the DVD/CD-ROM listed.

~~Girderman~~ · 04-07-2007, 04:33 PM

http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1435803&SiteID=1

This might be worth reading...

Quote:

I am not completey sure how to do this. I believe I am suppose to click F2 as the machine starts up, but what do I do after (what I think is) the BIOS opens?

Yes, you should find the HD listed, and the CD/DVD device located nearby.

Still working on your problem, I'll post back in a bit . . .

ScrnE011 · 04-07-2007, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Girderman

http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1435803&SiteID=1

This might be worth reading...

Yes, you should find the HD listed, and the CD/DVD device located nearby.

Still working on your problem, I'll post back in a bit . . .

hey man, thanks for all your help. I actually found a solution for my problem. I went on the Dell forums and found this post: http://www.dellcommunity.com/support...hread.id=51978. I clicked the CD/DVD Drive not working - Troubleshooting Wizard and walked through that. Using information you helped me gain, I was able to walk through it and it told me to go into my registry and delete these two files. When i restarted my computer, the CD/DVD drive was back! So I am all set with that.

Thanks for all your help!

I am still having problems with the SQL Writer though. Every time I start up my computer, that message appears.

Geekgirl · 04-07-2007, 05:26 PM

Was it the upper and lower filters by chance?

~~Girderman~~ · 04-07-2007, 05:38 PM

Thanks for the thanks, glad I could be of some use and you are better off than you were . . .

Do you have SQL Server even installed ? This seems like an unusual program for the "average user". Are you the average user, and (therefore) is this something really weird (SQL Server errors on a system that DOESN'T have it installed...) ? ?

Or what ?

Read this:

http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1435803&SiteID=1

Not very many hits on this error. The above recommends to reinstall SQL Server, if you have it.

Have NO CLUE what it is or what it is for.

ScrnE011 · 04-07-2007, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geekgirl

Was it the upper and lower filters by chance?

yes it was. Not sure what they are though :P

Quote:

Originally Posted by Girderman

Thanks for the thanks, glad I could be of some use and you are better off than you were . . .

Do you have SQL Server even installed ? This seems like an unusual program for the "average user". Are you the average user, and (therefore) is this something really weird (SQL Server errors on a system that DOESN'T have it installed...) ? ?

Or what ?

Read this:

http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1435803&SiteID=1

Not very many hits on this error. The above recommends to reinstall SQL Server, if you have it.

Have NO CLUE what it is or what it is for.

Ya, I am actually not sure myself what the SQL server is used for. I don't know why it is on my machine either

. I am affraid to unistall it though, if it ends up being somehing important.

When I open 'Add/Remove Programs" it has three different programs labeled with Microsoft SQL. These are them:

Microsoft SQL Server Native Client
Microsoft SQL Server Setup Support Files (English)
Microsoft SQL Server VSS Writer

So, I don't even now which one of them I would unistall. I tink it would probably be the last one though? There is also no repair option that I see, only remove on all of them.

maybe I should just unistall all of them...

~~Girderman~~ · 04-07-2007, 06:00 PM

So I am assuming that you bought this computer used ?

I know of no reason why the "average user" would need to have SQL Server installed on their computer. Is it listed in Add/Remove Programs as something that can be uninstalled ?

Here's the wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_SQL_Server

If you bought the machine used and this came from the previous owner, I'd zap it immediately. If not, I'd keep it only as long as it takes to find out why and/or how it got on your computer as this is rather weird.

EDIT ***

In fact, on second thought, if this computer was used how long have you had it ? If you just got it, I'd do a complete reformat and fresh install, as you don't want to inherit the problems that the previous owner created. You'll have plenty of opportunity to create your own.

04-06-2007, 12:40 PM	#1 (permalink)
ScrnE011 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: New England Posts: 45 OS: Windows XP Media Center Edition	Messed with the Add/Remove and now My Laptop Can't Play DvDs(RESOLVED) Well I was stupid and went and messed around with Add/Remove Windows Components. A few things happened, like the games, calc, and etc went away. I was able to get those things back. However, I must have deleted the driver that allowed my computer to read DVDs. I don't seem to have a Dvd/CD drive any more. When I put a DVD in, it says that it cannot read a DVD in the drive, and to put a DVD in. I have Windows XP Media Center Edition, and my laptop is a Dell Inspiron 6000 model. I tried going to the Dell website to find a driver for my needs. When i put in my service number, it gave me list of drivers and downloads for the Inspiron Model. They all have funny names, so I don't know which one I should download. Does anyone know what I need to get my computer to read DVDs again?

04-06-2007, 04:11 PM	#2 (permalink)
Geekgirl Manager, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 12,404 OS: 98SE/WinXP Home/WinXP Pro Blog Entries: 1	Re: I Messed with the Add/Remove Windows Componets and Know My Laptop Can't Play DvDs Hello and Welcome to TSF A quick thing to try is to use System Restore to a point before you messed around in the Add/Remove Programs. If this does not help we will have to try something else. __________________ Compare NOD32 to your current antivirus and anti-spyware solution, HERE How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Vista How to back up and restore the registry in Windows 98/ ME / NT 4.0 / 2000 I DO NOT ACCEPT EMAILS AND WILL NOT REPLY TO THEM !!!!! TSF DOES NOT SUPPORT ASSISTANCE THROUGH EMAIL OR PRIVATE MESSAGES, PLEASE KEEP ALL QUESTIONS IN THE OPEN FORUM

04-06-2007, 04:18 PM	#3 (permalink)
~~Girderman~~ Register user Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2,096 OS: XP Pro	Re: I Messed with the Add/Remove Windows Componets and Know My Laptop Can't Play DvDs Also, make sure to try a "known good" DVD, because you get the exact same message when you insert a corrupted DVD. Meaning if you are only trying one of them, the problem might be with the DVD itself. Also, check Device Manager and look for any yellow or red flagged devices, particularly in the CD/DVD Device area and see if uninstalling and reinstalling the device fixes it. Note: I just read through the "Add/Remove Windows Components" area and didn't see anything there that would affect the ability to burn DVDs. Can you describe/remember specifically what you did ? What exactly were you TRYING to do ? Did you do anything beside Add/Remove Windows Components ?

04-07-2007, 03:21 PM	#7 (permalink)
TheAtheist TSF Articles Team Join Date: May 2006 Location: Portishead, Bristol Posts: 1,217 OS: xp sp2 My System	Re: I Messed with the Add/Remove Windows Componets and Know My Laptop Can't Play DvDs To see if the DVD drive is recognised in BIOs, simply reboot and watch the screens that appear before win xp loads up. It should appear with the C drive,your DVD player as a slave and C being master. Cant remember which screen it is on, and to be honest it doesnt matter as Bios's vary.

04-07-2007, 03:46 PM	#8 (permalink)
ScrnE011 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: New England Posts: 45 OS: Windows XP Media Center Edition	Re: I Messed with the Add/Remove Windows Componets and Know My Laptop Can't Play DvDs I don't know if I am looking at the right place, but I believe it is reconized by the BIOS. At startup i clicked f10 that brought me to the BIOS I belive. Under Device info, it had the DVD/CD-ROM listed.

04-07-2007, 05:26 PM	#11 (permalink)
Geekgirl Manager, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 12,404 OS: 98SE/WinXP Home/WinXP Pro Blog Entries: 1	Re: I Messed with the Add/Remove Windows Componets and Know My Laptop Can't Play DvDs Was it the upper and lower filters by chance? __________________ Compare NOD32 to your current antivirus and anti-spyware solution, HERE How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Vista How to back up and restore the registry in Windows 98/ ME / NT 4.0 / 2000 I DO NOT ACCEPT EMAILS AND WILL NOT REPLY TO THEM !!!!! TSF DOES NOT SUPPORT ASSISTANCE THROUGH EMAIL OR PRIVATE MESSAGES, PLEASE KEEP ALL QUESTIONS IN THE OPEN FORUM

04-07-2007, 05:38 PM	#12 (permalink)
~~Girderman~~ Register user Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2,096 OS: XP Pro	Re: Messed with the Add/Remove and now My Laptop Can't Play DvDs(RESOLVED) Thanks for the thanks, glad I could be of some use and you are better off than you were . . . Do you have SQL Server even installed ? This seems like an unusual program for the "average user". Are you the average user, and (therefore) is this something really weird (SQL Server errors on a system that DOESN'T have it installed...) ? ? Or what ? Read this: http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1435803&SiteID=1 Not very many hits on this error. The above recommends to reinstall SQL Server, if you have it. Have NO CLUE what it is or what it is for.

04-07-2007, 06:00 PM	#14 (permalink)
~~Girderman~~ Register user Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2,096 OS: XP Pro	Re: Messed with the Add/Remove and now My Laptop Can't Play DvDs(RESOLVED) So I am assuming that you bought this computer used ? I know of no reason why the "average user" would need to have SQL Server installed on their computer. Is it listed in Add/Remove Programs as something that can be uninstalled ? Here's the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_SQL_Server If you bought the machine used and this came from the previous owner, I'd zap it immediately. If not, I'd keep it only as long as it takes to find out why and/or how it got on your computer as this is rather weird. EDIT *** In fact, on second thought, if this computer was used how long have you had it ? If you just got it, I'd do a complete reformat and fresh install, as you don't want to inherit the problems that the previous owner created. You'll have plenty of opportunity to create your own.