*EDIT - fixed* Windows suddenly isn't detecting my cd/dvd drives - error message inside...

[xboxist]

"Windows cannot start this hardware device because its configuration information (in the registry) is incomplete or damaged. (Code 19)"

This is the error message that I get for both my DVD and CD-Rom drives. I have no knowledge/experience whatsoever with the Registry and the editing of it. They've worked flawlessly forever until today. They show up in the device manager but with the yellow exclamation marks next to them, and the above message is attached to them. I've tried reinstalling them and it has not worked. It would be very hard for me to pinpoint when exactly I last used them but I'm thinking it was a full two days ago, and I've done a lot of things on this computer since then. I'm just wondering if, based on this brief description and the error message, someone would know what the problem likely is. Thanks in advance for your time.

 

[BoberFett]

What model motherboard is this? Are these hooked up to the onboard IDE controllers or a separate card? Are they both on the same channel (cable)? Have you tried moving them to the other channel? Have you tried removing the secondary IDE channel and rebooting to let Windows redetect the controller? If this is a non-Intel chipset based motherboard, have you installed any driver updates recently? Have you ever installed motherboard drivers? Have you changed any BIOS settings? Touched anything inside the computer?

Without more information on your computer, it's hard to say what the problem might be.

 

[xboxist]

Sorry for the lack of info. I haven't been inside of the computer at all since the day I built it about two years ago. I haven't touched or altered anything hardware-related in quite some time. When I said that I've done a lot of stuff on this computer over the past day or two, that "stuff" has been things like playing games, making/editing a movie, etc. When the computer boots, I see that the computer detects the devices. The lights turn on, on the drives themselves. Device manager knows they are there, it just doesn't know what to do with them. Again, just wondering what some possible causes for this sudden problem could be. If I didn't answer something of yours, it means that I don't know the answer. Sorry to be so vague, I'm just trying to generalize the problem. And thanks for the response!

 

[xboxist]

EDIT: the two drives are on the same cable, and it goes into the onboard IDE port on the motherboard (ECS Elitegroup K7S5A).

 

[BoberFett]

Try each drive by itself on the cable. If something in one of the drives did go bad, it has the potential to make the other drive unreadable.

As for what caused it? Hell, I don't know. I've just had CD drives go bad before. I didn't beat on them, the room wasn't very dusty. They've just died.

 

[Nuggs]

I had this problem and THE ONLY way to resolve it is to either do a system restore back to when your system was working properly or do a format and reinstall. I even spoke to the techi in my uni and he didn't know how to fix it, once I did a system restore it workied fine, a quick and easy solution. It's not a problem with the cd drives your registry has been corrupted, no matter how many time you remove re install them, reinstall new drivers it won't fix it.

 

[gentobu]

I spent 6 hours at a customers site trying to fix a similar problem; DVD/CD drives not showing up in windows, but working in dos, linux, etc. I found this solution at Microsofts website, and it worked. Since then, I've encountered this problem at least 5 times, and the KB article has fixed it everytime.

 

[bacillus]

ok do this:
1) Log on with Administrative Privileges

2) Open the Registry Editor:

a) Go to "Start" then select "Run"

b) Type "regedit" and click "OK"

3)This step is optional & in most cases not necessary:

Backup you registry by:

a) Highlight "My Computer" by clicking on it once.

b) At the top of the page you should see "File"(Win XP) or "Registry" (Win 2000), click on this and then select "Export Registry File"

c) The following screen will allow you to select where you would like to save this backup and what file name you would like to save it as.

d) Please note at the bottom of the screen where it says export range "All"; this should be selected to ensure your entire registry is backed up completely.

e) Give the File a name and Click on the "SAVE" button (this will bring you back to the registry editor)

4) Remove the Upperfilters and Lowerfilters values by:

a) Expand the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" key (looks like a folder) by double clicking it.

b) Expand the "SYSTEM" Key

c) Expand the "CurrentControlSet" Key

d) Expand the "Control" Key

e) Expand the "Class" Key

f) Please look for a key containing the following string of letter and numbers:

{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}.
g) High light this key by left clicking once on it

h) On the right hand side you are looking for "Upperfilters" and "Lowerfilters", once you find these please delete them by high lighting (left clicking on them once) and then right clicking on them and choosing "delete"

5) Restart your computer.

6) Your CD-ROMs should be back.

 

[xboxist]

Bacillus and Gentobu - I appreciate the link and taking to time to type it out step by step for me. The solution worked. But I found it interesting that the "Upperfilters" was missing. So I just deleted the lower ones, rebooted, and then everything worked again.

Thanks again!

 

[Goose77]

thanks bacilus, i copy/pasted in notepad for later use... help thats so descriptive is rare here. it might just comeing handy one day.. thanks again!