"Can't Find CD-ROM"

"Can't Find CD-ROM"

So here's the problem . . .

Recently your computer has not been recognizing my CD/DVD ROM drive.  Or maybe it's your printer -or your webcam.  When you check online it seems like this is almost a normal problem.  Usually restarting the computer works . . . usually, but you have to restart twice most of the time.

Sometimes you get a black screen with "Err1, Err2, Err3" and it freezes.  Restarting it again usually just opens up Windows as normal, but sometimes there's only a black screen and a blinking cursor at the top left.  It stays there for about five minutes before Windows opens.

But it keeps happening, and then you restart and get the message "Operating System not found."  You restart again and maybe it works fine, maybe not.

Even if your system will work some of the time, it's obvious there's a problem.  And the most likely cause is a Driver error.

How can a faulty driver do all of this?

Drivers are software that tell your computer how to talk to hardware. Every piece of hardware is like a person from a different country, so you need a translator just to convey the language to the computer.  Drivers are those translators.

So what's happened?  Something has gone wrong with that driver, the one associated with your CD-ROM, your printer, etc. Either it's just become outdated or something has corrupted it - a faulty update, a duplicate install or even malware.  Consequently, your computer has no idea there's a CD-ROM sitting inside it.  What's more, drivers are loaded prior to the operating system; that's why you can use devices like monitors and printers before you can use Windows.  When some drivers get corrupted, they can actually interfering with the loading of Windows.  That's what causes all of those boot errors.  Something is getting in the way of a clean startup and Windows does not like it.

What to do:

Step 1:

Identify exactly what type of CD-Rom (or other hardware type) you have, its official name.  To do this you need to find it in the device manager.  Open the Start Menu and right-click on "My Computer" or "Computer."  Then go to properties and look for "Device Manager."  Look for your CD-Rom drive and write down what it's called.  Be sure to get its official designation, mine is the PLDS DVD+ -RW DS-8A5SH.



What if your computer isn't recognizing your CD-ROM?  Then it won't show up in the device driver.  The best thing to do is go on to Google (or any search engine), type in the exact kind of computer you have (especially it's model number) and ask what kind of CD-Rom normally comes installed on that.  Since computers are mass-produced, you can usually find it this way.



Step 2:

Go get a new driver.  If you right-click on a piece of hardware in the device manager, it'll give you the option to check for new drivers.  What Windows says may or may not be right.  Sometimes it says you have the most up-to-date but that doesn't mean there's not a problem with it.  Or maybe it's not showing up at all.  Either way the best place to get a driver is from the manufacturer.  Once you know who the CD-Rom is from, you can go to their website and look for the driver that matches your computer.

Helpfulls:

• On the manufacturer's website, look for the links to "Support" or "Downloads" or even "Support and Drivers" or "Download Drivers"

• Make sure you get the right version.  Pick your species of Windows and specify if it's 32 bit or 64 bit.  Don't know?  Again, just check out the Properties screen.



When you find the driver, it may be in a zipped or compressed file.  Be sure to unzip it whereever you've stored it.  Windows should accommodate this just by right-clicking on a zipped file, i.e. it'll say something like "Unzip this Here?" or "Decompress this in current folder?"

If anything about the download seemed fishy to you, upload the file you downloaded to virustotal.com; but generally, if it's from a big company like HP or Dell or Asus it'll be fine.

Step 3:

Installing the driver.  This is where there enter variables.  Some drivers actually come with an executable file, one with a .exe ending.  If you're confident you got the driver from a legitimate source, go ahead and click that .exe file and it will likely activate a little installer program to take care of replacing the driver.

If not, and if your computer is showing your CD-Rom, go to the device manager, right-click the CD-Rom listed and you should have an option to "update driver."  Clicking it will direct you to specify where the driver is.  You navigate to it, select it and cross your fingers.

If it's not showing your CD-Rom, it's a bit trickier.  You have to install the driver manually.  To do this, you've got to install new hardware.  Open the Start Menu and type in Add a Device. (In Windows XP, the "Add a Device" Dialog is in the Control Panel.) That should propel you in the right direction.  If you can't find it, look through the Control Panel.  When Windows asks you to point out where the new driver is, navigate to where you put the driver you downloaded.

There could be some variations in these processes, but all in all, this should give you the best chance to take out an old or corrupted driver and put in a new one.  Updating a driver that already exists will take care of corruption.  And installing one will give you a way to put a newer version in place to overrule an older one.

Automatic Driver Installers

There are lots of programs out there that advertise automatic driver updating.  They essentially search for PC drivers you specify and then contact the web to see if there are newer versions on the scene.  Some work better than others, and the quality of the search depends on being able to find the latest drivers as soon as they're released.  We recommend SlimDrivers, available from Download.com here:   SlimDrivers uses community sourcing to keep its driver registrar up-to-date in real time.  That means that as soon as new driver versions emerge, SlimDrivers identifies it.  This reduces the risk of getting an outdated driver.

SlimDrivers is totally free, but if you want a more automatic service, we recommend DriverUpdate, available here.  DriverUpdate will scan your whole computer at one time, putting together a comprehensive list of not just one, but all available driver updates you can get.  Then it lets you start all of the driver update processes with one click.