P2Plife Forums: Losing CD/DVD-reader/writer constantly in Win XP - P2Plife Forums

Hi,

I have been posting in this fine forum before in connection with minor mublinder questions which I now have used for several years without major issues and with great delight. Since I have always gotten superb help and professional advice by the pros in here I turn to you once again after having tried in vain to solve an issue in other forums that I had for some time now with my CD/DVD-reader/writer.

The issue occurred for the first time about 6-8 months ago and a short while after having installed Call of Duty - World at War. Due to some problems with the registration (the game was an original copy but on loan from the local library and it's key-code had already been used and registered by another user before me, thus rendering it useless) I uninstalled the game and continued working for some days on my Windows XP machine until I suddenly noticed some day that the "My Computer" window didn't show the CD/DVD-drive at all.

I tried several approaches such as searching for newly added hardware etc. but without success so the drive remained invisible.

In some forum someone recommended to me to firstly power off my system, then remove the power-supply to the CD/DVD-drive, power on my system once again, then powering it off, then reattaching the power-supply to the CD/DVD-drive, then powering the system on after which the newly found hardware wizard would automatically detect my CD/DVD-drive. This usually works (still to this very day) but there is a downside.

I quickly found that whenever I tried this approach it usually took only one reboot of the system (sometimes two or three) until the drive was lost once again by the system. The weirdest thing is that after this happens the drive reappears all of a sudden from time to time (this happens very, very rarely though) just to disappear once again after one or a few reboots (mostly one reboot is all it takes).

Somebody also suggested this could be an error with the motherboard drivers but to my best knowledge I have installed the latest drivers available by Asus (I got the Asus P5K).

When the problem first started to appear I had a lot of the problems explained in this thread in the Asus forum, especially the stuttering and freezing...

http://vip.asus.com/...SLanguage=en-us

I followed the links in this thread to jmicron in order to download the latest before mentioned drivers that should have fixed this problem. The stuttering and freezing problem has been occurring a while ago for the last time so this is not one of my present headaches. However the problem with the drive persist although it seems fully functional when using the method of disconnecting and reconnecting the power-supply as described before.

A second thought on this issue by myself and a possible culprit for the CD/DVD-drive error could be some copy-protection software that I think to be able to remember having read about and which apparently comes bundled at the install of Call of Duty - World at War. I am not 100% sure about this one but I am pretty positive having read about this somewhere on the internet and I also once saw a thread in the Activision forum that was full of people complaining about problems with this type of copy-protection program. Maybe this could be somehow interfering...?


My drive is to be found in this link...

http://en.kioskea.ne...-r-dl-sata-bulk

...so a Samsung SH-S203D CD-RW


I don't know if this could be of interest as well but in this link...

http://www.tomshardw...dvdw-s203d-read

...one can read about a user that has not the same but similar problems with the same drive as the one I have got.


There is also another thing that I am a bit worried about in connection with this problem. I am neither here sure if there is a connection or could be a problem but I have installed and am using Virtual CloneDrive which can mount and run ISO-files. However I also here think that I am able to remember that I installed this program first after the problem with the CD/DVD-drive showed for the first time. Not a 100% sure about this either but quite positive.

I hope that someone can shed light and/or find a solution to this problem and help me out.

Any advice or input is very welcome.

Looking forward to your answers.

Thanks in advance! :-)

Removing any UpperFilters and LowerFilters keys from the registry entries for your CD/DVD drive might help. Copy the text between the dashed lines and paste into a simple text editor, e.g. Notepad. Then save the text file as cd_drive.reg. Note that it must be a .reg extension. Check it after you save it and edit the extension if your computer has insisted on adding a .txt extension. Then run the file cd_drive.reg to merge the information into the registry. Alternatively you could perform the operation manually if you prefer.

--------------------------copy BELOW this line----------------------------
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}]
"UpperFilters"=-
"LowerFilters"=-
--------------------------copy ABOVE this line----------------------------

Hi snodger,

thanks for your swift reply.

I have followed your advice and the drive has now reappeared in the "My Computer" window.

So far I have rebooted twice after having executed the cd_drive.reg file and the drive appeared at each boot-up without problems.

However since I have lost the drive and it has from time to time reappeared I want to see if the present change will be constant or if it will relapse into the same problem as before. I have a good feeling about it but to be sure I think I need to see if it persists for at least 1-2 weeks. Thus I will post again with the result when I know for sure but so far I am very happy and grateful for your help. Thanks for taking the time and making the effort to help me out.

You guys are - as always - the best!


May I ask you two other questions...?

1. When I first installed XP on this machine I started out with two partitions on my hard disk - C: and D: - which made my physical CD/DVD-drive - E:
When I installed "Virtual CloneDrive" I think it changed the physical CD/DVD-drive to F: and made the virtual drive itself E: (I don't know why this happened but I can see now that this was most likely the case)

When I one day was getting low on space on the C: partition I used "EASEUS Partition Master 5.0.1 Home Edition" several times in the past to move space from D: to C: in order to increase the capacity of C: and decrease D: In the end I decided to move all the vacant space from D: to C: and to get rid of D: altogether (the latter I did about 1-2 weeks ago so the CD/DVD-drive problem started a long time before that).

After running the cd_drive.reg file that you posted with success, reestablishing the drive back into the "My Computer" I changed the order of the letters with Win XP's diskmgmt.msc thus changing the physical CD/DVD-drive from F: to D:

So now the order is fine again as the hard disk drive is C:, the physical CD/DVD-drive is D: and the virtual drive E: but...

...the question is now..., do you think that it is possible that either the use and install of Virtual CloneDrive and/or EASEUS Partition Master 5.0.1 Home Edition has created the problem with the physical CD/DVD-drive disappearing?


2. Could you - just out of curiosity - explain to me what exactly we did when we removed the upper and lower filters (as in how does the filter thing work in relation to the OS and what is the meaning/use of having upper and lower filters and what is an upper or lower filter really)?

If you could elaborate on these two points that would be swell...!

Thanks in advance for your kind help.


Regards

safesite

snodger, on 31 March 2011 - 09:59 AM, said:

A filter, of course, is something that blocks certain things and lets others through. Here we are dealing with audio filters that handle a range of sound frequencies. Not so long ago an audio filter was an electronic circuit; nowadays it is software in the form of a filter driver. Some computer applications that use cd drives like to install their own filter drivers. With some applications the filter drivers have to be registered (i.e. info must be placed in the registry so that they are used when needed). The most common reason for filter driver problems is that uninstalling an application that registered the filter drivers does not result in their unregistering. The drivers are uninstalled but the references to them in the registry remain, causing confusion for the OS. The object of the file that I provided was to remove references to old upper and lower filter drivers that are no longer on your computer. I suggest you keep the file cd_drive.reg somewhere safe in case you need it again in the future.

Virtual CloneDrive is unlikely to be the cause of the problem and EASEUS Partition Master is certainly innocent. Copy protection is a possibility, but really any software you installed in the past that was concerned with audio via CD/DVD could be the cause.

Hi snodger,

thanks for the explanation. I got most of it. Only thing I didn't understand is the following...

1. What are those filters really filtering out or away in this matter?
2. Why upper and lower filters? What's the meaning of those terms?

I have unfortunately bad news in regards to the success of the procedure to "zero" the filters in the registry.

The D: drive that stood for the physical CD/DVD-drive has disappeared once again. Apparently it is still the same issue and problem as before. I remember now having gotten a similar advice to yours before in another forum where I tried as well resetting those filters, just that I did it manually back then by removing them from the registry instead of with your file. At that time the result seemed the same. Initially the OS recognized the drive and all was good. Then the same thing happened with the disappearing of the drive in "My Computer" as it does now.

Do you have any new ideas on dealing with this problem? It couldn't be some "resistant driver" by that Call of Duty - World at War game, could it?

So far I am a bit puzzled about this.

Looking forward on any input or idea.


Cheers

safesite

snodger, on 01 April 2011 - 09:45 AM, said:

This post has been edited by safesite: 02 April 2011 - 05:12 PM

Your problem is with the UpperFilters and LowerFilters entries in the registry that my .reg file removes. These are the drivers that third party software installs to supplement the default Windows drivers.

It now looks as if the software that owns these drivers is still installed on your computer. You will need to identify the culprit software and either uninstall it, prevent it from running in the background at start-up, or update its drivers. I am providing you with links below to help you do that.

Microsoft help

Useful tool: devfilter.exe. This will help you to identify the software that owns the third party drivers. Ignore redbook.sys and imapi.sys; these are the default Microsoft drivers. Click on any others you see for details.

if you really want to learn more about audio filters then read this.

Hi again,

I tried your devfilter.exe program but the problem is now that since my CD/DVD-drive doesn't show in "My Computer" I am also unable to see it in that software. I thought I'd run your registry-file again but have done so twice now and haven't been able to reestablish that CD/DVD-drive yet.

So I guess the question is now how to get it back "online" before I can tell you what program and which drivers are installed.

Any ideas on this new issue?

snodger, on 03 April 2011 - 09:03 AM, said:

I am going to be online only briefly for essential administration tasks over the next few days, and then I will be offline completely until 19 April, so I am providing here as much useful info as I can think of.

• Check that your BIOS sees the drive; if your BIOS does not see the drive then you have a hardware problem - perhaps poor connections or failing drive.
  
• Uninstall the current CD drivers by going to Device Manager, right-clicking on your DVD/CD drive and click on Uninstall. Before you do this, you might like to select Properties and view the driver details. You should see redbook.sys, imapi.sys and storprop.dll. You might also see cdrom.sys, which is actually a SCSI driver, but it can do no harm if it is listed. All drivers should be v5.1.2600.5512.
  
• Restart computer so that drivers are installed by Windows.
  
• Check registry entries manually using regedit by navigating to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}.
  
• If any UpperFilters and LowerFilters values are listed, make a note of their data.
  
• Delete any UpperFilters and LowerFilters values under the Name column.
  
• Search on your computer for file names containing the data you noted down in #5. If you find any such files, identify the vendor and the version number. Update these drivers.

Good luck!

Hi snodger,

no problem. That's fine. I had this problem for almost a year so I can wait for those few days that you'll be away.

In the meantime I'll try to follow your steps in the manual you provided and to figure out as much as I can myself.

Thanks for that manual by the way and happy for any help you can give.

Have a nice holiday!


Regards

safesite

snodger, on 04 April 2011 - 08:59 AM, said:

What's the latest situation with your CD/DVD drive?

It's still not working.

I checked in the BIOS where only my hard disk shows up under SATA 1. The rest SATA 2, 3 and 4 are all undetected.

I can't uninstall the CD/DVD-drivers in Device Manager since the drive still doesn't show up there when it's missing in "My Computer".

I checked the registry entry but there is no upper nor lower filters listed under that key.

What do you recommend next?

PS. If the hardware would fail or connections would be bad I don't think I'd be able to detect the drive and make it work with the method I described in some of my first posts nor with your method that worked last time. Just a thought. Besides the drive works fine and flawless when I finally can detect it with those methods.

snodger, on 19 April 2011 - 12:03 PM, said:

If the DVD drive does not appear in your BIOS then it cannot be seen by Windows. Remove the data cable and the power cable from the drive, and also remove the data cable from the motherboard. Remake all 3 connections. Start up your computer and check the BIOS to see if the DVD drive is there. If it is still missing, turn off your computer and use a method you have used before to make the drive visible to the BIOS.

Once the drive is visible, boot into Windows. Download the latest Firmware (DVD driver) from here. Run the installation file and it will flash the firmware, which will be included in the package as a .bin file. When the firmware update has finished, reboot your computer. Windows should find new hardware.

There is the possibility that copy protection software is part of the problem. Your suspect, Call of Duty, uses Safedisc, which uses the Macrovision security driver secdrv.sys. This file should be in the folder \WINDOWS\system32\drivers. If you still have problems, you could try disabling the service Secdrv, if it exists. If this service does not exist, try renaming the file secdrv.sys.old.

If none of this works, then I am flat out of ideas.

Hi snodger,

just did what you said. Started out with renaming that secdrv file to secdrv.sys.old which I could find in the Windows system folder you pointed out. No effect on the drive showing up again after reboot.

Then I unplugged and reconnected the data- and power cable from both the drive and the motherboard with the exception of the power cable on the motherboard (I didn't touch that plug if in doubt).

Then things started happening...!

For the first the whole bootup sequence for especially the BIOS boot but also the subsequent Windows boot-up with logo and log in felt awfully fast all of a sudden. I could be mistaken on that one but I don't think so. Furthermore the drive then showed up again in "My Computer", Device Manager etc. I also could run and find the drive information immediately with that devfilter software that you recommended running last time. The information is here:

----------------------------------------------------
Filter Driver Load Order http://www.bustrace.com
----------------------------------------------------

Upper Device Filter: redbook
Device Object: TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S203D
Lower Device Filter: imapi

Driver Name: redbook.sys
File Location: c:\windows\system32\drivers
File Description: Redbook Audio Filter Driver
File Version: 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2108) [5.1.2600.5512]
Product Name: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
Product Version: 5.1.2600.5512 [5.1.2600.5512]
Company Name: Microsoft Corporation

Driver Name: imapi.sys
File Location: c:\windows\system32\drivers
File Description: IMAPI Kernel Driver
File Version: 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2108) [5.1.2600.5512]
Product Name: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
Product Version: 5.1.2600.5512 [5.1.2600.5512]
Company Name: Microsoft Corporation


I also ran Systinfo which is a program from a guy called Gabriel Topala and which shows detailed info about software, hardware, OS etc. The information for the drive is here if that could help somehow:

Property Value
Type DVD
Model TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S203D
Interface IDE ATAPI
Removable Yes
Location Tertiary Controller - Master drive
Vendor Specific 0615
Drive letter D
Controller Buffer Size on Drive 2 MBytes
CD Reader ROM/R/RW
CD Writer R/RW
DVD Reader ROM/R/RW/RAM
DVD Writer R/RW/RAM
SMART Support No


I also downloaded the Samsung firmware for the CD/DVD-drive but when running it the message "The firmware is not compatible with the selected drive" unfortunately comes up. I then did a fresh search and tried again with the correct model-no. (and with the four different "model codes" in the last search box) in order to find the right file. However the outcome was the same as before. I also ran the wininquiry.exe in the same folder that I downloaded with the firmware and took a screen shot of it that you can see attached.

Now the question is of course if the drive will disappear once again when I reboot the pc which I haven't done so far. So if you will be replying this very evening and very soon you might be lucky and catch me still running in the same boot-mode.

By the way..., I wanted to mention two things I heard/read in the last days for you. One of my friends told me that it could be that I have too many USB-media connected to the pc and that this could somehow confuse the OS and create such a problem. I told him that I doubt it but I wanted to mention it for you anyhow.

The other was that I read the pdf-manual on the Samsung firmware site. In it there was a troubleshooting guide. Under step 3 "Solving Technical Problems" there is a topic called "The Windows OS can't detect the drive". The two possible "solutions" that are listed are as follows:

• See if the device drive program has been installed properly
  
• Can be an OS problem. Try to reinstall the Windows OS program

I don't know if this could be of any help but I guess the only way I can find out if the drive is working is to finally reboot and see if it's showing up permanently in the future.

Waiting for your reply in anticipation...

snodger, on 20 April 2011 - 07:30 PM, said:

*** New development ***

Just rebooted the machine. However before that I tried to run/install some of my games with the CD/DVD-drive. I could not make windows "autoplay" any of those games and neither did they start up when double-clicking the drive nor when executing the program- or setup-icons when accessing those via Explorer (the drive just spun). The icons of the games did show up and thus were read by the drive so something doesn't make sense in all of this.

I am considering if there are problems due to my protection (running ZoneAlam, AVAST and Threatfire) but am unsure. After I couldn't make those games run, Windows started "hanging" and thus I both tried to reboot with the shutdown/restart buttons. However since that wasn't any success I manually pushed the power-button on my pc for a short in-out action twice or so. The pc then gradually shut down after a period of about 5 minutes in which I had to click on the "End now" window coming up for the ZoneAlarm process. Subsequently the reboot went through but after the first Windows boot-sequence there was no desktop, just a blue screen. I checked for the Task Manager which was accessible and showed all the processes running as supposed to, just that I couldn't see my desktop. I then restarted once more and finally wound up in Windows and desktop as usual.

Now the great news is that I can still see the CD/DVD-drive...!

However that has happened before after a couple of reboots so until this is permanent I don't dare to hope that it will continue and then there is still the question if it will work as it is supposed to...


I'll continue working on this and get back to you asap...!

I assumed from what you wrote in post #11 that the drive was SATA. I now see that it is ATAPI. In that case you might like this useful tool that provides details of an ATAPI CD/DVD drive. There are some useful options under View.

The screenshot shows that the drive is detected by the Samsung utility as the correct one for the firmware, so I don't understand why it was deemed incompatible. I have found a later version of the firmware on another Samsung site. Your version is SB00; the latest version is SB01. Follow the link to Firmware downloads on the left. The file you download is a self-extracting .exe file that you just run. It contains the installer and the .bin file. You can extract them separately if you want.

Samsung explains their one-click firmware upgrade method here.

Note that Samsung now offer a LiveUpdate program that you might find useful.

It works, it woooooooooooooorks...!!!

I just burned and afterwards erased a file on a CD/RW-disc with success as well as that I popped a game in the CD/DVD-writer which autoplayed right from the start and brought up the install screen. I didn't actually install the game but it's all looking like if it's working again.

Maybe it was just a lose connection of the plugs connected to the motherboard or what do you reckon?


I also ran that ATAPI tool you suggested and the information is here:

DISCINFO VERSION : 1.6.1.6
VENDOR : TSSTcorp
MODEL : CDDVDW SH-S203D
REVISION : SB00
VENDOR SPECIFIC : 0615
LOADING MECHANISM : Tray
SERIAL NUMBER : SH-S203DFirm
NUMBER VOL. LEVELS : 256
BUFFER SIZE : 2048KB
TOSHIBA CODE : OEM SB
TOSHIBA MODEL :
INTERFACE : ATAPI
RPC2 SCHEME : YES
STATUS : Set
USER CHANGES : 4
VENDOR CHANGES : 4
CURRENT REGION : 2
ANALOG AUDIO PLAY : YES
COMPOSITE OUTPUT : NO
DIGITAL PORT-PORT1 : NO
DIGITAL PORT-PORT2 : NO
READ UPC CODE : YES
MULTISESSION READ : YES
MODE 2 FORM 1 : YES
MODE 2 FORM 2 : YES
READ ISRC CODE : YES
READ BAD CODE : NO
BUFFER UNDER-RUN : YES
MT. RAINIER : NO
CAN READ CDR : YES
CAN READ CDRW : YES
CAN READ CDRM2 : YES
CAN WRITE CDR : YES
CAN WRITE CDRW : YES
CAN TEST WRITE : YES
CAN READ DVD-ROM : YES
CAN READ DVD-R : YES
CAN READ DVD-RW : YES
CAN READ DVD-RAM : YES
CAN READ DVD+R : YES
CAN READ DVD+RW : YES
CAN WRITE DVD-R : YES
CAN WRITE DVD-RW : YES
CAN WRITE DVD-RAM : YES
CAN WRITE DVD+R : YES
CAN WRITE DVD+RW : YES
MAX CDR READ SPEED : 48
MAX CDR WRITE SPEED: 48


I then proceeded to the Samsung website link you provided and downloaded the firmware update. However since the drive seems to work again I was wondering if running it would make things maybe worse again and thus wanted to hear your opinion on this first.

There is one other ting...


For about one week I had problems updating these updates with mublinder:

Security Update for Microsoft Office 2003 (KB2509503)
Update for Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 Junk Email Filter (KB2522981)
Security Update for Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 (KB2464588)
Security Update for Microsoft Office Excel 2003 (KB2502786)


I also tried to download and install those updates manually but the window that appears after a minute or so on screen states "The update cannot be applied". So I am somewhat puzzled in that matter as well.

I suspect this having something to do with the CD/DVD-drive problem but am also here a bit unsure. The reason for this is that the error message before the drive started working again mentioned something like "Error D:" or so when running some of those updates.

Any thoughts on this and whether or not I should still flash the firmware update...?

Looking forward to your reply...

snodger, on 25 April 2011 - 06:13 PM, said:

That's great news!

The data cable connection on the motherboard is often forgotten when checking connections. You might have had a dicey connection that you have cured. Also, effectively disabling the copy protection service could have been the reason you are now able to see and use the drive. Note that Windows often takes several reboots before it fully sorts itself out from some changes.

I always advise caution when it comes to updating firmware or flashing a BIOS. If it is working well, don't mess with it. A newer version is usually released to deal with some specific problem that might affect only a small proportion of users. So 'leave well alone' is my motto.

Although the Safedisc copy protection is disabled now that you renamed secdrv.sys as secdrv.sys.old, you might like to remove all traces of it from your computer. To do so, delete the file secdrv.sys.old. Then open the registry editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services. Scroll down the list until you come the the key for Secdrv. Right-click on it and delete it.

As for your failure with Office updates, this has been a problem with Office 2003 over the years. Microsoft provides full troubleshooting guidance and advice in this support bulletin.

Total victory...!

I removed the secdrv file and the key in the registry, so that is all gone.

However I couldn't find the log file in the temp folder in regards to the update problems with Office 2003 as it was described in the link you provided. I tried the repair option after that but it always got stuck in the middle of the progress bar and stated "Serious error". I then uninstalled the whole Office package, rebooted, reinstalled and updated again with mublinder. Now all the updates are downloaded and installed. That goes as well for the one's that I couldn't install previously.

I always think the same way as you mentioned in your last post in regards to the "leave alone what works well" including updating firmware and the like. So I just keep the file safe in case that I need this update somewhere in the future.

So as you can see, success all over the line...!

Thanks a million for your help! You guys rock! I simply can't figure out how you know so much about all those things since I consider myself quite acquainted with a lot of IT-issues but you guys are simply genius' in my book.

Now you helped me so much and spent so much time on solving my computer-issues, I feel I owe you.

Is there anything I can do in return...?

snodger, on 26 April 2011 - 02:33 PM, said:

safesite, on 26 April 2011 - 09:19 PM, said:

You can buy me a pint of Theakstons Old Peculier next time you're in town.

Haha, okay. I hear ya...!

Is it this one...?

http://www.dinkydrin...le-p-12226.html

Well, I don't know where "town" is or if I ever get there so it's a bit shaky but I'd sure like to buy you that pint for your efforts. That's a promise!

You can contact me here at the first sign of thirst if so...

snodger, on 27 April 2011 - 06:17 PM, said: