CD/DVD Burner stopped functioning in Windows XP

[ShadowZERO]

I have a Plextor PX-708A drive in my system. Just today, when I went to burn a DVD, my CDBurnerXP software told me I had no drives available. I then opened Windows Explorer, and it too failed to recognize the drive.

After reviewing my BIOS and the Windows Device Manager, they both recognize that the drive is plugged into my system. However, the Windows Device Manager displays the small yellow circle with the ! inside to indicate something is wrong.

After right clicking on the drive in Device Manager and selecting "Properties", I got the following generic error message:

Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)
Click Troubleshoot to start the troubleshooter for this device.

I cannot think of any changes I made to my system since I was last able to successfully burn a CD on that drive with CDBurnerXP, which was only a day or 2 ago. No hardware was added or removed, and I don't even remember changing any OS settings or installing or removing any software.

I'm pressed for time at the moment, and I've provided all the pertinent information I can think of off the top of my head.

Anyone have any ideas on what might have gone wrong, and/or the best steps to take to troubleshoot this problem?

 

[ShadowZERO]

Ok, I got some more time to do some testing, and I feel like I'm in an episode of the twilight zone.

My CD/DVD drive is the only IDE drive left in my system. I have and Intel D865PERL motherboard, which has 2 SATA connections and a primary and secondary IDE controllers, giving my a total possibility of 4 IDE and 2 SATA drives.

I figure my IDE cable connecting my CD/DVD drive might have come lose or gone bad, so I go grab a brand new never-been-used ATA100 IDE cable from my motherboard box.

I go to disconnect my current cable, and it practically falls out. Not only from the drive itself, but from the motherboard also. Just to test I tried the old cable in the primary IDE slot (it was originally in the secondary) with the same result.

At this point it would be easy to assume that cable was bad or just plain sucked. But low and behold, the never-been-used cable did the same thing. This cable wasn't just newer than the other one, but I could tell from the way it looked it was made by a different manufacturer and seemed to me to be of higher quality.

My first system build was during the ATA33 or ATA66 era. By the time I starting hearing about ATA100, I had already built a few systems.

From the way I remember it, those type of cables had a very snug fit. They required a good amount of pressure in the perfect direction to attach properly, and you could feel the resistance as it was fitting into place. Same thing with removing them, you had to pull pretty hard in the exact opposite direction they were plugged in to remove them completely. I cut my hand a few times doing of this. Also, pulling the cable at even a slight angle would cause it to come out a little on one side and make it even more difficult to remove.

Now, I can't connect my CD/DVD drive to my motherboard at all because THE MERE WEIGHT OF THE CABLE ITSELF will cause it to come loose or fall out completely from the drive or motherboard .

What the hell is going on here, am I going crazy or what?

 

[Zepper]

Check the connectors on the mobo and the drive. What you should see is two rows of pins standing straight up. Those cables should go on only one way. The blue end to the mobo and the opposite end to the drive as you have only one drive. Each end also has a pin one. The color stripe on one side of the cable indicates the pin-1 side. Usually one pin is missing in the mobo and drive connectors and the corresponding holes in the cable connectors shoule either be missing or blocked. There are other keys molded into each connector that mate with a slot in the surround of the male connectors. I'm thinking the cables were connected wrong at one point and pins were bent or some other malfunction occurred. So the male connectors need to be inspected carefully and pins straightened if necessary.

.bh.

 

[ShadowZERO]

Check the connectors on the mobo and the drive. What you should see is two rows of pins standing straight up. Those cables should go on only one way. The blue end to the mobo and the opposite end to the drive as you have only one drive. Each end also has a pin one. The color stripe on one side of the cable indicates the pin-1 side.

Yep yep. I'm quite familiar with all this info, and experienced enough to have put it to use a number of times.

Usually one pin is missing in the mobo and drive connectors and the corresponding holes in the cable connectors shoule either be missing or blocked. There are other keys molded into each connector that mate with a slot in the surround of the male connectors.

From my understanding, there are 2 types of "keys" as you describe for the IDE ribbon cables. The first, and least effective key, is a part of the plastic surrounding the pins(on the mobo or drive). On only 1 spot in that plastic surrounding the pins, there is a small, open notch, where there is no plastic. This corresponds to a raised piece of plastic on the end of the ribbon cable. I say this is the least effective key, because with even a small amount of force, you could bend the plastic on the mobo or drive and still insert the cable the wrong way.

The second and IMO most effective "key", is the missing pin(on the mobo or drive), which corresponds to a blocked hole, filled in with plastic, on the cable. Because of this key, exerting enough force to insert the cable the wrong way would bend at least one pin on the drive or mobo, which would likely destroy either.

I'm thinking the cables were connected wrong at one point and pins were bent or some other malfunction occurred. So the male connectors need to be inspected carefully and pins straightened if necessary.

As you may be able to tell by my knowledge of the 2 types of keys and how they work, I'm too experienced to make this mistake, and I never have. Moreover, I've examined the pins on both the drive and mobo very closely and they are in perfect condition.

Now unfortunately I have to add to the confusion. I tried again today, and the ribbon IDE cables seem to be connecting properly again, fitting snugly as I remember and described in my previous post. So yeah, I'm probably losing my mind.

So now, my problem is back to the state it was in at the time of my original post. Only difference is, I have completely ruled out the cable and connections. So just like before, the mobo BIOS and Device Manager(which still gives the yellow circle with the !) recognize the drive, but no Windows apps will.

Argh, what a headache. I really appreciate your reply, but I still need help. Any ideas for what to try next?

 

[Zepper]

You'll have to look thru the device properties in Dev Mgr to see what the error is (Yellow Circle with ! means error present). It could be as simple as having the Plextor jumpered to Slave rather than Master or Cable Select which would be the correct settings for only one drive on the channel. Or disconnect the drive, boot into Win so it disappears from Dev Mgr. Shut Win down again, reconnect drive and boot back into Win to let the drive be reinitialized. It is possible that the formerly loose cable could have screwed it up and it just needs a reset.

.bh.