CD & DVD Rom Drives Not Showing!

[faz1964]

Hi

My Dell desktop computer which has both a CD and DVD rom drive are not showing on my system anymore. I have checked in Device Manager and used Belarc Advisor to check and they don't show up in there either

Can anyone please help?

 

[spyder viewer]

As a quick check, open up the bios and have a look if they show in the boot drive list.

 

[faz1964]

Hi

No they don't.

Thanks

 

[Stabilo8763525]

Maybe a bios reset would do the trick?

 

[faz1964]

Maybe a bios reset would do the trick?

Hi

How do you do that and are there any dangers in doing it?

Thanks

 

[Stabilo8763525]

No dangers that I am aware of - I have had to do it a few times and never had any trouble. You should see a battery (one of the small silver disc variety) somewhere on the motherboard. There should be a way to release it - all you have to do is take it out then slot it back in. Hope it works

 

[Begonia]

How long do these batteries generally last?

Are they mostly all the same size and voltage?

Would it be advisable to replace this with a new battery, rather than just take out and immediately put back the existing one?

When you have the lid off, is it a good idea to do this anyway?

 

[spyder viewer]

How long do these batteries generally last?

Are they mostly all the same size and voltage?

Would it be advisable to replace this with a new battery, rather than just take out and immediately put back the existing one?

When you have the lid off, is it a good idea to do this anyway?

They last for years: I've never had to replace one although the one in my 7 year old desktop is on the way out. They are similar but the type will be stamped on the side. Normally £1-2 on Ebay.

If your machine is remembering it's bios then it's probably ok.

Before you take out the battery, make a note of the bios settings as you will need to put them back afterwards if any have been changed from the factory default. Make sure that the machine is completely switched off at the plug before proceeding. Leave the plug in the socket as this will ensure that the machine is properly earthed. The bios battery is silver in colour and about the size of a 10p piece. Note which way up. Pop it out wait a couple of minutes and pop it back in. There may even be a bios reset button on the motherboard.

How old is the machine, what model?

 

[RBJTech]

I take it you have checked the connections on the back of the CD/DVD drives and motherboard ...

BIOS will pick up new devices on POST, dud battery or not, so I personally think the battery is not the problem here.

If the devices are old ribbon cable 'IDE' devices, also worth looking for the little Master/Salve jumper on the back of the CD/DVD case. If one is wrong, you may knock out both devices from being discovered. Depending how it has been setup, you may have one as a 'Master' the other as a 'Slave'. If SATA devices, then ignore all the above ...