ok, i will start from the beginning.....
i had the dvd/cd-rw that came with my computer, i thenbaught a DVD-RW drive (replacing my old one) and it was working fine... i then decided to add an old drive (CD ROM) as the primary and change my dvd rw to secondary, it worked fine.... i then did a clean install of xp and then re-installed all my programs (both drives still worked)

I then tried disconnecting the cd rom and having my dvd rw as master, my computer wouldnt boot.... i managed to fix that problem in the end and now i have only the dvd rw connected, windows is recognising it as a dvd rw drive but it will not read/write cd's at all!!! the drive is only a few months old

I have tried:
- un-installing driver and letting 'add new hardware' re-install the drive (completed sucessfully but drive still did not work)

-updating firmware

-checked all connections (IDE and power)

-tried 2 different ribbon cables (1 of them brand new)

Could someone please help me out?

EDIT: i recently took all ide cables out to replace them, if i accidently swapped them round on the motherboard would this stop my drive working? (the HD works fine)

Thanks
Mike

this is what is shown on Belarc: LITE-ON DVDRW SHW-1635S [CD-ROM drive]

and on 'my computer': DVD-RW Drive (F: )

and in properties> Hardware:
Name: LTE-ON DVDRW SHW-1635S
Type: DVD/CD ROM Drives

have you tried a lens cleaner?

check all the cables are in properly, jumpers set master/slave

nnope, havnt tried a cleaner, didnt think the lens would be 'dirty' as i have hardly used it compared to the last one

cables are in, jumper set to master (drive is at the top of the IDE cable)

havnt rw drives got 2 lenses? 1 for cd-r's and one for rw's or something?
if so, what are the chances both are dirty?

Thanks
Mike

Hello Mad Mike,

just a thought, pull your IDE connectors off the motherboard,reconnect and reboot.
johanus

dont know if this will make a difference because i have disconnected the cable from the drive and re-cannected then re-booted

ill try it anyway

Thanks

hi, i have the same dvd rw drive as you, and the problem is highly unlikely to be the ide cables. if the hdd is detected, then don't worry about those. have you looked in bios? could be a problem in there somewhere. try autodetecting all your different drives one at a time, by only connecting one at a time, and seing which one is the problem. good luck

Thanks for the reply

at the moment, i only have 1x optical drive and 1x hard drive plugged in

i looked in bios when it wasnt booting, i disabled the secondary drives and the other 2 (HD and DVD drive) are set to auto.... will have another look in a mo to see what exactly it says

Mike

Primary master ----- on (Hard drive)
Primary slave ------- off

Secondary master ---- on (DVD RW drive)
Secondary slave ------ off

right... thanx for looking, first i would recommend plugging your dvd rw drive into te primary ide cable, and setting it to slave. are you still sure you want both these disc drives running at the same time? there's no reason why your dvd drive can't do everything your cd drive can. does windows boot up and is able to detect and use your dvd drive?