The Missing DVD Drive in Windows

26 September 2011


IntroductionAfter using some software, one might find that Windows 7 can no longer able to use the IDE DVD drive because the icon was missing from the drive tables and also, one could not find the DVD drive in the Device Manager. The DVD drive is gone. The Windows’ trouble shooter will say there is no optical drive connected to the computer and the Device Manager’s hardware scanner refuses to pick up the missing DVD drive. All known attempts, sometimes, including system restore, failed to reinstate the presence of the DVD drive.

What Happened?
The solution suggested that the driver for the DVD drive could have been replaced by the use of the "nasty" software and now becomes just another ATA device under the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers. The system was not able to recognise it as the DVD drive.

The Solution
The solution is actually quite simple i.e. to uninstall the “device” from the Device Manager and let the computer’s "plug and play" picks up the DVD drive and install the correct device driver. However, there is catch because under the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, there will be more than 1 ATA device. Now, which one belongs to the DVD drive?


One way out to find out is to check the device detail of each device but the easier way is just to uninstall all the ATA devices, one by one, in the IDE ATA/ATAPI controller and let the computer restores all the drivers. After removing the devices, restart the computer, one should happily see the return of the DVD drive in the drive table “without having to pull out one’s hair”.