Windows 7: CD or DVD drive is missing after upgrade to Windows 7

Windows 7 is a coll operating system beyond doubts. Microsoft has done a great job after they disappointed many with their Vista operating system. Lot of people are upgrading their Windows version from Windows XP or Windows Vista to Windows 7. I am one of the many people who upgraded from Windows Vista to Windows 7 as soon as the beta was announced.

Even though the upgrade experience is very smooth, some people have reported they are experiencing some issues with audio devices and dvd drives after upgrade. The dvd drive is missing is common problem after the upgrade.

By the way, it is funny to say that 'dvd drive is missing', since it is not really missing! The drive is still there, but the real issue is Windows is not recognizing it. Since Windows is not recognizing the drive, you cannot see the drive through the Explorer and you cannot use the drive to play CDs or run any programs from the CD/DVD drive.

Not need to get panic and your drive is still safe. We just need to figure out how to make Windows recognize it.

There could be several reasons for Windows to not recognize it any more. I will analyze some of the possible reasons and potential solutions.

Option 1. Restart your computer. You will agree that it is the simplest solution to many of your computer problems. Most probably, your CD/DVD drive will re appear in your explorer after you restart your Windows 7 computer.

Option 2. Use the troubleshooter that comes with Windows 7.

To use the troubleshooter, open "Playing and Burning CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs troubleshooter". Read more about Playing and Burning CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs troubleshooter.

CD/DVD drive troubleshooting

Run the troubleshooter on your computer. It will detect the drives and show you a list of available drives. Proceed through the wizard and most probably the issue will be resolved once you complete the wizard.

Option 3: Run the Microsoft Fix-it tool.
Visit http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cd_dvd_drive_problems for instructions to run the Fix-it tool.

Option 4: Uninstall and reinstall the drivers

If the drive letter is visible but cannot read any disks, try to remove and reinstall the drivers for the drive. To remove the drivers and reinstall, follow these steps:

- Open control panel
- Open System and Security
- Open System
- Open Device manager

You may open "Device Manager" by typing "Device Manager" in the Windows Search option in the start menu itself.

In the Device Manager, expand the DVD/CD-ROM drives. Right click on the drive and choose "Uninstall". Press "OK" to for the warning message.

After uninstallation of the drivers, restart the computer. When you reboot, the driver will be automatically installed and drive letter will be visible.

If the drive letter is not visible, then click on "DVD/CD-ROM drives" and select "Scan for hardware changes". This will detect and install the drivers for the drive.

Option 5: Sometimes the CD/DVD drives are not recognized since some registry keys are corrupted. You may attempt to fix this by changing the affected registry keys.

Remember that registry is an important part of Windows and changing the registry could seriously impact your Windows OS. It is a good idea to backup the registry before you make any changes to the registry directly.

Refer to this URL for additional instructions on modifying the registry to fix CD/DVD drive problems: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982116

CD or DVD drive is missing after upgrade to Windows 7

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