Dell Inspiron 1720 Windows 7 problem - Missing DVD player

MikeNolan

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I have just done a clean install of Windows 7 instead of using Vista. Everything seems to be fine except the DVD/CD drive is not seen. It seems like Dell do not offer new drivers for this - I am thinking of uppgrading the DVD unit anyway probably to Blu Ray - will this solve my problem
 
Windows 7 can usually use the Vista drivers so check the Dell support website for your laptop and see if you can download a suitable Vista driver for the DVD drive.
 
No, Dell are not supporting Windows 7 on the 1720 - no up to date drivers available. I've also noticed that the "Sleep" function is "greyed" out on the shut down options. Is this correct. Hiberbate is available. Si I go back to original question - would a new drive sort problem? Thanks
 
No, Dell are not supporting Windows 7 on the 1720 - no up to date drivers available. I've also noticed that the "Sleep" function is "greyed" out on the shut down options. Is this correct. Hiberbate is available. Si I go back to original question - would a new drive sort problem? Thanks
I'll repeat myself - Windows 7 can usually use the Vista drivers.
 
Windows has already searched for updated drivers and tells me that I have the latest
 
Windows has already searched for updated drivers and tells me that I have the latest

seeing as you for some reason fail to see what brookheather has said, did you download and install the Vista drivers?
 
I already appear to have them - as mentioned I and windows have searched for latest drivers - they are only for Vista and XP - I already have them, so there is obviously a little glitch somewhere else. I am not the only one who seems to have come across this problem with Windows 7 and this laptop.

So getting back to my original question, will a new up to date drive sort the problem.
 
I have just done a clean install of Windows 7 instead of using Vista.

I already appear to have them - as mentioned I and windows have searched for latest drivers - .

those statements can't correspond, you can't do a clean install and have the drivers already there?! unless you have installed the latest Vista drivers instead of assuming so?

again, reading through the Dell community pages, people have had the same problem that Dell did not release 7 drivers but as has been suggested in this thread, people used the Vista drivers and it has worked fine.

So buddy, without assuming, have you actually gone and installed the latest Vista drivers? If not, please try that first and we will go from there :thumbsup:
 
Lets try and make things a little clearer for you: you have various devices in your laptop: graphics cards, sound cards, dvd drives etc. Some of them are immediately recognised (or perhaps after a little coaxing from a config utility) by Windows so it knows what they are, what drivers they need and can keep tabs on whether they are up to date. Your problem is that Windows doesn't know what your "DVD" drive is so it doesn't know how to set it up or how to install a driver. As a result it doesn't maintain it on it's driver list.

You need to identify what dvd drive it is, go to the Dell website and download the Vista driver for it. You then go into Start/control panel/device manager and you will probably see an item listed that has a yellow question mark next to it and called something like "unrecognised device". If you rt click this device and select update driver. Select the option to locate the driver yourself. Click on browse and go to the folder where you saved the downloaded driver. Highlight it and click ok. Should tell you driver installed and device is working correctly. Windows now knows what it is. Close all windows and see if the dvd drive appears in Explorer.

Unfortunately, computers are logical and thus very precise and use a very precise jargon. My peers may appear to be pedantic but that is only because they are using the language of computing and this can sometimes appear confusing.
 
The mystery deepens but seems to have resolved itself. I replaced the new drive that had Windows 7 with the old drive that had Vista on. Rebooted and as expected the DVD/CD drive was there. Removed old drive and replaced it with new one - switched on hey presto, it's all working. What the glitch was I have no idea.
 

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