DVD drive is not detected in Vista

[aliaksandrhn]

Hello, I am new to this forum but I did some research on my issue with no luck so far. I am hoping someone will be able to help me.
2 days ago the DVD drive on my HP Pavilion 9620US laptop computer disappeared. I do not see it either in Computer or in Device Manager. The strange thing is that I think it's a software problem because I can open and close the drive, when I put in a disc the light blinks and I can hear the regular noise in the drive. Everything is normal except nothing happens after that. It's like Vista doesn't see the drive, doesn't know that it's there.
I tried a number of solutions that I found online:
1. Rebooting computer and searching for new hardware in Device Manager doesn't solve the problem.
2. Deleting Upper/Lower Filters i Regedit doesn't solve the problem.
3. Using Microsoft Fix It tool is a waste of time - it tells me "DVD drive is not detected.
4. I tried System Restore to a couple of weeks before when I knew the drive worked - no luck.
I am not sure if I can see the drive in BIOS but may be that's because I don't know where to look. I looked under Main menu there but I don't see ANY hardware listed there.
I am not sure if that has anything to do with it but this issue came up after I came back from vacation and left my laptop lying upside down on its lid for a couple of days.
I am running Windows Vista Home Premium, the computer is about 2.5 years old, works really great, never had any problems.
Please, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Alex

[MACuser]

It is possible that due to some missing system file the issue occured. You might be look for iviaspi.sys to fix the issue back again. The file is located in indows\system\ and/or drive:\windows\system32. Click on start > run and then search for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class. Here look for the key {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}. Delete all the data from here.

[aliaksandrhn]

Thanks, MACuser, but like I said, I already tried the solution of deleting data from the filters and it didn't work for me. The drive seems to be operational and at this point it looks to me like this is some kind of Vista glitch.
Does anybody have other suggestions, please?

[JAMES_911]

Have you tried updating the HP Pavilion 9620US Dvd Drive firmware to the latest, you can get it from the hp support site itself? Either ways, did you try to clean the dvd drive's lense, but be carefull while opening it. I had a similar problem like you, so I just opened the drive by removing all screws and cleaned its lense with gentle touch, connected it to the pc and voila, it started reading the drive again but after 1 week or so, it again started giving same problems, so I bought another drive.

[aliaksandrhn]

Thank you for your response, JAMES 911, yes, I tried updating the firmware but the updater tells me that DVD drive on my system is not detected and since there are no original files there is nothing to update. The problem is not the dirty lense either since my DVD drive works fine when you put it in another laptop. So the problem then is either Vista or motherboard but then again if it was a faulty motherboard I would probably have other issues as well, not just the drive but other than the DVD drive thing my computer works fine. Today I opened up the laptop looking for may be a loose cable or something but found nothing. I am desperate.

[EINSTEIN_007]

Is it an external dvd drive that you are using? Download Nero Info Tool v4.03 and tell us what firmware the drive currently has. It sure seems to be a software conflict if the dvd drive is working on some other laptop. If only it was in warranty then you could have perhaps replaced it.

[aliaksandrhn]

No, it is an internal drive, not an external. Windows doesn't see it so I can't tell what firmware I have. Bios doesn't show it either. The link that you provided is broken.

It's very wierd. Like I said, the drive works when you connect it to another laptop. On motherboard everything looks fine and I don't have any other problems. That's why I am more and more inclined to think that it is some Vista thing.

[ApPy10]

In that case why dont you try formatting your Windows OS and install a fresh copy of the operating system. It might be possible due to some virus attack, your drive is not acting properly. You can also check the jumper on the back of the cd/rom before you discard it. It should be set to Master before you discard it. The jumper is a tiny clip that connects pins together. It is easy to pull this off and move it over to MA-master. Cable select can go out and seen like the cd/rom or even hard drive has died, when it actually has another route of transportation for data

[aliaksandrhn]

Yes, I believe that's about the only option left for me - to play with the operating system, may be even try upgrading to Windows 7 and see what happens.
I am pretty sure it's not a virus either since I use avast!, always have and never had any problems with viruses/spyware. Plus I recently scanned my system and got nothing. I will say it again, other than this drive everything is normal, everything works fine and always has. That's the wierd thing.
I am not sure what you mean by "discarding" the drive. First off, it is not connected to motherboard by any cables. I took it out, cleaned the connectors on the drive and on the motherboard. And like I said, the drive is fine, it works when you put it in any other laptop. It even receives power from my laptop since you can open and close it and it spins when you put in a disc. Windows just doesn't see it.