Windows XP not seeing CD-Rom drive

I am no IT guy but I have built a couple of computerss from scratch. The problem I am having now is with my Dell Inspiron 9200 laptop.

The laptop has a Sony DVD+-RW DW-56A burner in it. Windows no longer recognizes it. I have tried to uninstall it and then re-install it numerous times. I have even physically uninstalled it. Whenever I try to re-install it or update the driver I get a message that Windows cannot find a better driver. I have done a search on the Dell site as well as through google for a driver but all I can find is a flash for the firmware. I have tried running the flash but I get a message that no drive is installed. I also even copied and pasted the drivers from another Dell laptop, but of course that did not work either.

"Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)"

The drive is recognized by the Bios and I can access it through Bios setup. I can even boot from the cd-rom drive. But once Windows loads its all over.

My understanding is that Windows has a built-in driver for the CD-Rom drive and that Sonic should handle the DVD portion. Is that correct? Should I do a re-install of Windows? Will I lose all of my data on my C drive when I do it?

Any help is much appreciated.

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Originally Posted by UnderTheGUN

Should I do a re-install of Windows?

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No, just throw your computer away and buy another one. ;)

I'll check with our IT guy here. We have a couple of 9200s in the field.

have you tried obtaining the correct driver from Sony support? They are the first to go to for the driver...not Dell.

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Originally Posted by OrangePuck

have you tried obtaining the correct driver from Sony support? They are the first to go to for the driver...not Dell.

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When it comes to Dell's machines, going to Dell IS the only way to go. I've been there many times with our edit packs worldwide where the only place I can pull a driver, is from the disc that comes with the laptop/desktop Why? I can't say other than Dell can stink.

The only thing I have been able to get from the Dell or the Sony site is the firmware flash. I am trying to find a the disc that came with the laptop but no luck yet.

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Originally Posted by Unfiltered

When it comes to Dell's machines, going to Dell IS the only way to go. I've been there many times with our edit packs worldwide where the only place I can pull a driver, is from the disc that comes with the laptop/desktop Why? I can't say other than Dell can stink.

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Well, I did see that Sony's site didn't have a record of that model number and since DW-56A is a bit smaller than a typical Sony model number for a dvd drive I figured the model number given was a letter or number short.

The way that I look at situations like this is simple. Instead of spending hours trying to figure out this one single answer just restore the laptop. It will work better afterwards and in a lot of cases can be done faster than trying to figure out the cause of a problem such as this. Not to mention that it will take care of every other problem as well and make your laptop run like it's new again. It's far less stressful and more beneficial than dicking around the internet all day long looking for an answer.

Yea, that is what I have been not wanting to admit to myself. What are the chances that I lose all my software settings for the third party apps I have running? I guess it doesn't matter, I just have to do it! I will backup some of my important docs before re-installing Windows.

do a clean format too... while you're at it. At the DELL site you can punch in your express service code and you'll get the downloads specific for your machine.

You can also get Norton Ghost or Acronis something or other and image your HD to a DVD or to a USB hard drive... format your original Hard Drive with a clean install of WXP, and then download your image...

Yea, I have a firewire external drive so i guess i'll go ahead and do full backup. thanks for the help guys.

Try doing a Windows repair first. Put the Windows disk in and boot from CD. Let it go thru its whole deal loading drivers. If it makes it that far, hit Enter (DO NOT HIT R HERE), select F8, and give it a minute. The disk should come up and say something like Hey, we see you have another version of Windows, would you like to repair it, and hit R here. If a screen comes up with your hard drives and existing partitions, you have gone too far. Turn off the machine and try again. If a Windows repair doesn't fix it, yer probably screwed. Try re-installing Windows. Before you re-install, make sure you have the Dell driver disk or download the NIC drivers off of the internet first. The rest of the drivers you can load thru Windows Update or from Dell's website after the wipe. As someone else also mentioned, if you do need to reload windows completely, you should make sure to format your hard drive, and start from scratch.