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Thread ID: 83549	2007-10-05 18:50:00	Weird Windows Problem	pctek (84)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
598253	2007-10-05 18:50:00	Compaq laptop, second hand. Its had Win XP Pro installed on it at some stage. No idea if that was the original O/S. In Windows CD drive does not work. I took it out - it came back as Unknown but correctly identified. It then worked for 1 minute, it would describe it self in Windows Explorer as DVD/CDRW which it is, and show the contents of a CD, Then lose it. Wireless mouse is no longer detected either. I did a repair install and no difference. It saw the CD for a minute then nothing. When it doesn't work it says in Win Explorer its a CD not DVD/CDRW. Alerter service will not start either, it said a dependency isn't started, which is Workstation. - try to start that and it says error 1005: The volume does not contain a recognized file system. I don't want to wipe it and reinstall, it does not have either a recovery partition nor recovery CDs. ANy ideas?	pctek (84)
598254	2007-10-05 22:42:00	bump	pctek (84)
598255	2007-10-05 23:53:00	Try These: Maybe enter the bios to check if settings are standard. There should be default settings. Perhaps also visit device manager for any errors that pertain to the drive and mouse, etc. Also in device manager check (click) on IDE contollers, and then click on primary and secondary channels and then advanced settings. I think transfer modes should be DMA which for some PC's can default to the lower level PIO mode, which causes CD/DVD issues. I have fixed a desktop which had similar issues to yours, by reinstating DMA ultra mode 5 for the CD/DVD drive...	kahawai chaser (3545)
598256	2007-10-06 02:45:00	Try These: Maybe enter the bios to check if settings are standard. There should be default settings. Perhaps also visit device manager for any errors that pertain to the drive and mouse, etc. Also in device manager check (click) on IDE contollers, and then click on primary and secondary channels and then advanced settings. I think transfer modes should be DMA which for some PC's can default to the lower level PIO mode, which causes CD/DVD issues. I have fixed a desktop which had similar issues to yours, by reinstating DMA ultra mode 5 for the CD/DVD drive... BIOS is a Compaq laptop - minimal settings. Nothing wrong there anyway. No probs in Device Manager. Drive is on DMA. Like I said the thing is fine in Safe Mode, its a WINDOWS problem. Its not a driver or settings problem.	pctek (84)
598257	2007-10-06 05:54:00	would reinstalling the aspi layer possibly help the cd.......... how did you mean 'it works fine in safe mode'.......and as for I don't want to wipe it and reinstall, it does not have either a recovery partition nor recovery CDs. what about imaging it as a backup then trying a clean install ?	drcspy (146)
598258	2007-10-06 06:12:00	Man it is weird, This suggests perhaps a corrupt driver (but unlikely as u implied) or registry (which is more related to a windows problem). But a corrupt registry generally occurs if a program was recently uninstalled, or a virus of some sort is present, leaving registry code unremoved or corrupted. Hence incorrect registry settings will cause issues... Were any programs (3rd party) removed?	kahawai chaser (3545)
598259	2007-10-06 08:03:00	In safe mode the CD drive works just fine. Reads happily, displays itself properly in Win Explorer. You know how in Explorer it says what it is, like mine says DVD-R drive. His says DVD/CDRW or something. Then you insert a disk and it chnages to its name. Thats all fine in safe mode. In normal windows it sits there saying cd, you insert a disk and nothing at all happens. You hear it start to try to access it then stop. I did the registry removals and let windows put it back. That cures it for a bout 2 minutes. I did a Repair install too as there is the wieless mouse problem, obviously that doesn't work in safe mode so its a bit untestable......and then theres the weird services stuff. Quiet a number aren't started. Including Workstation. That gives the error I mentioned in my first post. I'd suspect the hard drive has a probelm except it doesn't seem too. Its fine apart from this stuff. And safe mode, the CD problem is not there at all. This laptop did have windows reinstalled on it - it doesn't have its original install anymore. Whether something happened then I don't know. The owner told me when he got it he couldn't activate it and had to ring MS. It does have a legal sticker on the back. But who knows.... It hasn't got any malware. I checked, even though the owner was careful and running various things regularly on it himself. Theres a few games on it. They had it 1 month. (bought off Trademe)It worked at first, although not for long. The problem with doing a manual install is I'd priobably cure this - but end up with another problem. I've check this specific model for drivers and there are 2 missing on Compaqs site: chipset and audio. It does have audio - but not the one on this laptop. Compaq do not have recovery CDs for this model anymore - I asked. They apparently only keep sets for 3 years on low end models and its older than that. I'm not that keen on spending ages chasing all over the net for correct drivers either.	pctek (84)
598260	2007-10-06 10:16:00	Well... Try this site (www.cdfreaks.com/)which I browse a lot - It is popular for CD issues, updates, news, etc. But more specifically try their sub forum thread (club.cdfreaks.com)which is similar to yours I believe. But involves a bit of thinking and mucking about...	kahawai chaser (3545)
598261	2007-10-06 12:04:00	pctek, I don't know if this will help you but you could gather and store all the drivers using this free program to install them again after you do the re-install: WinDriversBackup Personal Edition www.aplusfreeware.com	zqwerty (97)
598262	2007-10-06 13:34:00	yeah was gonna suggest that ......	drcspy (146)
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