Bought a new computer for Xmas and cant find DVD ROM drive?

Question

the computer specs are Intel Celeron D 352 (3.20GHz) Socket 775 FSB533 512kb Socket 775 Fsb533 512kb Processor
1GB DDR2 Ultrafast Kingston RAM
80GB SATA II Hitachi Desk Star Hard Drive 16MB Cache
LG Dual 18x DVD/RW DL RAM Dual Layer ReWriter
500W ATX Switching Power Supply
6 USB2 ports (2 front, 4 back)
10/100 Network Card
17 inch LCD Multimedia Monitor
Genuine Windows Vista Basic

i have tried to run an install disk to try and install a printer
as not online yet, and when i get to a stage of the instalation process it says please insert driver disk so i do and it does nothing.
then after that i tried to play a DVD just to see if the drive works
looked on media player and the DVD is nowhere to be seen
i have fiddled with the plugs in the back of the drive but nothing seems to work

the disk turrns and the dive opens but the computer somehow cant read the disks can you help me?

the floppy drive is fine

the icon for the drive is not! listed in my computer.

Answer 1

Lisa, you shouldn't be expected to dig around in the BIOS or open the case of a brand new computer. Your post sounds as if you know how to detemine whether the drive is showing in My Computer or not. Take that sucker back! Hopefully you got it at Best Buy or something like it, where they will address your problem then and there without a lot of hassle. But, if you got it from Dell or other online site, you'll have to go through the task of contacting their support number. Play hardball whichever way it goes. They may try to get you to reinstall windows, or do bizarre technical things you shouldn't be expected to do. Stand firm, insist that you want THEM to make it right, or you want an immediate refund. Some help centers have an automatic policy that they won't connect you with a supervisor until you've asked a certain number of times, say 3.

Now, all that said, there is a place in Control Panel (do they still call it that in Vista?) that has Administrative settings for your PC. It may be that the drive just be enabled there, with somebody talking you through how to do it. From what you described, though, I think this is kind of unlikely, and I suspect you have a bad drive, or disconnected cable. But, if they ask you to do that simple check in control panel, you might go ahead and cooperate for a little while at least.

GOOD LUCK!

Ooh! EDIT: I found an article, click the link below. It's possible this is a Vista issue (bah! yet another reason to stick with XP).

Answer 2

Normally when u install a printer, u start the install by puting the disk into the drive and then hiting the install drivers, which reads direct of the install disk.

If you are starting the install and then puting the disk in after, sounds like your doing it back the front, if u plug the printer in 1st, windows will atempt to start the install and will ask for the driver disk, which has a 90% fail rate to detect the drivers on the disk.

So unplug the printer, put the driver disk in, it should auto-run, select install drivers, it will ask mid way to plug and turn ya printer on normally, if not do so after installation of drivers has finished.

Now if in your "MY COMPUTER" icon on desktop or "start" menu, has all ya hard drives/ cdroms listed etc, it may not list it as a "DVD" but simply "CDROM" or "CDRW" or similiar or even just "D:"

Hard drives are normally listed as "localdrive: c/d/e etc", floppy is normally "floppy: A" or similiar, so whats left should be ya DVD rom even if its just a letter, the drives a normally in letter order, so C, D , E etc, so if C and D are listed as "local drives" then "E" will probably be ya cd-rom, also when u put like a game disc in, a image will appear next to the letter, if the cd has a install file with image attached, like most games cd's do.

Also since u fiddled with the cables, their are 2 cables, power and the data cable which is a flat ribbon type, make sure the flat ribbon one is firmly in.

When you restart your computer the 1st, very 1st screen with white text you see will list you installed cpu, drives, so since u have 1 hardrive u should see your cpu info at the top, then 3 drive names, they may be labeled as the model or brand for the drive, will vary, plus the floppy should be listed also, if u atleast see 3 tags representing some sort of drives, means it must be pluged in corectly. you can check in bios also, but best u leave that alone :P.

this info is based for a normal PC, some prebuilds offered by dell and other companies do PC setups which are designed not to be changed or modified unless with their supplied parts, they can have diferent load up screens and crap....also they should be avoided :P.

Answer 3

First you need to check if the DVD shows up when you boot computer or goinng to BIOS menu to see if it's there.
If you don't see anything, you might need to open the case to check to make sure all power cable and data (ribbon) cables are securely inserted. Note: if your HD and DVD are on the same cable, make sure 1 is set to Master and the other one has to be Slave. Else you have a faulty DVD.

Answer 4

Please, please, please re-post with the Make & Model number of your new PC!!! Without it we can only guess at what's wrong.

That said, RTFM:

1. Read the PC User Manual from cover to cover and follow all instructions.

2. Read the Printer User Manual from cover to cover and follow all instructions.

3. Still stuck? Call tech support at the store where you bought them,

4. Last resort, call the respective manufacturer for more help.

After all, new stuff is almost always under warranty.

TIP: Most new PCs (with Vista, for sure) have DRM built-in (Google for it), so illegally created DVD / CDs may not work. Try something "store-bought" first.

Answer 5

The drivers are probably for Windows XP....Go online to your printer site and check for Vista drivers. Also, you can go to programs>accessories>system information>components (found in toolbar to left of your sys. info. window and check if your CD recorder/player is listed. there again, maybe driver problems. You can find driver downloads at www.driver downloads for free.com. GL.

Answer 6

START --> RUN --> MSINFO32.EXE [TYPE IN THE LAST WORD AND PRESS ENTER]

IT WILL SHOW YOU A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR COMPUTER.

GOOD LUCK.