DVD Drive Not Working in Win 10 Laptop

Hearsepilot said:

Does this drive show up in device manage? Have you selected Show Hidden Devices?

Yes it does and I have uninstalled it and it did reinstall on the next boot up. I have searched for an updated driver and it says it is using the best driver for it. I also searched ASUS's WEB site for a driver for it and there is none to be found.

I was just about to post this because I believe it is my last chance to get this fixed.

I need some advice. I have only 1 more thing I can try and that is editing the Registry. But there are 2 steps I may have to perform. I believe I know how to back up the Registry by exporting the key but I am asking for confirmation on that. The first key I need to edit is - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} Do I, once I find that key, only back up that "subkey" or do I back up the entire HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key? If the edit causes Windows not to boot up, is there anything I can do with that exported key, if I save it on an USB stick, to get Windows functioning again?

I wanted to edit this to keep it all together because I now have more concerns. First let me show what I am trying to do this is what I found on the WEB as a possible solution:
3. In the navigation pane, locate and then select the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
4. In the right pane, select UpperFilters.

Note You may also see an UpperFilters.bak registry entry. You do not have to remove that entry. Click UpperFilters only. If you do not see the UpperFilters registry entry, you still might have to remove the LowerFilters registry entry. To do this, go to step 7.
5. On the Edit menu, select Delete.
6. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, select Yes.
7. In the right pane, select LowerFilters.

Note If you do not see the LowerFilters registry entry, go to the next method.
8. On the Edit menu, select Delete.
9. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, select Yes.
10. Exit Registry Editor.
11. Restart the computer.
Note: To use this method, you must be logged on to Windows as an administrator. To verify that you are signed in as an administrator, bring up the Control Panel, select User Accounts, and then choose Manage User Accounts.


I ran the Registry and had it search for the entire key I posted above which I am supposed to edit. The search did not find the key. I did a manual search and, unless I'm mistaken, I found the key but there is no UpperFilters or LowerFilters to edit but there are 4 other "keys" under the key I believe I found. Please see attachments.

I clicked on every one of those other keys under the one I found and there still was no UpperFilters or LowerFilters to be found. However, when I clicked on the last key named Properties, I got an error message. Any ideas what I should do from here?

Have you done what I suggested in post #11 ?

If you don't want to clean the optics, buy a new optical drive they are a standard part, you will have to retain the front plastic bit matching the laptop, and a rear bracket.

There are normally no UpperFilter or LowerFilter entries in the Registry, you are good to go. The driver is standard generic one in Windows, again good to go.

A 12 year old laptop drive and discs, think about it...

Helmut said:

Have you done what I suggested in post #11 ?

If you don't want to clean the optics, buy a new optical drive they are a standard part, you will have to retain the front plastic bit matching the laptop, and a rear bracket.

There are normally no UpperFilter or LowerFilter entries in the Registry, you are good to go. The driver is standard generic one in Windows, again good to go.

A 12 year old laptop drive and discs, think about it...

Here is what I did but first let me say, I would not know what Optics you are referring to. I did, however, clean the drive and gently blew it out with compressed air. I put a blank DVD disk in it an burned 3 or 4 files to it using Nero Burning Rom. After Nero said the burning was complete that drive would not recognize the disk in it even though the drive, itself, appeared in the left pane of Windows File Explorer. I took that DVD to another computer and sure enough the files were on it. That drive will not read any disks at all. So, I think you're saying what I think, the drive is bad. Those chances are very good. Thanks.

Megahertz said:

The ODD has a laser beam that is directed to the disk and the reflection is read by a sensor. If the laser lens or the sensor lens are dirty the information can't be read properly.
As it is writing to the disk but can't read, the sensor lens isn't working as it should.
Use a cleaning kit for ODD.

Thanks you.

cereberus said:

Agreed - in the end, OP should just buy a shiny new external usb dvd drive and reuse internal slots for hard disks.

Not sure what OP means but if it means me, I already have an external DVD burner that works with this computer for the rare times I may need to use it. This computer is so old, I'm amazed it still works but, I usually try to buy quality when I do invest in a new computer. Just a bit of history, this computer started out running Windows 7 and was updated to run Windows 10 after a few years of Win 7. Now Windows 10 is close to its life cycle and the computer is still functioning minus that drive. It is awful slow by today's standards but once was very useful. I wish I could remember when I bought it but I believe it is well over 15 years old.