Losing removeable media access

[SoftTop]

OK, this has been driving me NUTZ for the past few months and I've tried just about everything i can think of to remedy the problem. So..... I give up.

The problem only seems to affect the floppy drive, the CD drive and the DVD drive. HDDs are (hopefully) not affected.

Floppy:
I can format disks quite happily, but it won't let me write to them or read them. Makes it kinda tricky to upgrade mobo bios etc. Re-booting doesn't help.

CD & DVD:
I can write to multiple CDs using Nero or XP no problem.
I have to reboot PC if I want to read data from a CD or DVD. If I then eject that CD and try another one it fails to be recognised and I get an error message telling me that the drive path isn't recognised.

I have allocated the drive letters Y & Z to the CD and DVD but that doesn't seem to be a factor - tried putting them back to be E & F a while ago.

All testing via the troubleshooter shows the devices as working normally.

The only other thing I can think of as being possible is a broken mobo.

Any help or insight (or loud guffaws in the background) are welcome.

XP Pro SP2 (same under SP1)

TIA

ST:{

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

SoftTop,

You could check to make sure the cables are properly attached to the Drives. (With a Floppy, just because it gives you the option to format, does not mean it sees the disk, it is just the default reply for when it cannot read something.)

You could try a fresh install of the OS since you should not lose all drives at the same time, even if you have a hardware issue.

Take Care,

Richard

[LPS500]

I had a similar problem in that I kept losing all the drives for the multi card reader on my pc.

After a lot of hunting about the excuse turned out to be a build up of static in the machine?? Anyway the cure was to shut the pc down, turn off the power switch on the back then hold the start/power on button on the front for 30-45 seconds. It started up just fine after that and I've never had a problem since.

Might be worth a try?

[SoftTop]

Sorry folks, not ignoring you all - honest! :hmm:

I thought that before I did a complete reinstall of XP I'd have trudge through some forums and see if this is a common problem. Seems like it is but in various flavours:sad:

I tried a few other things out like uninstalling the drives and the various XP hardware interface programs. Even took all the drives out of the pc and ran it up and down a few times, changed drives from other PCs into it .... suffice to say none of the exciting activities made a difference.

I did try the holding power button in for a while and that didn't help either (any port in a storm as they say).

Now collecting information from the kids as to what applications they NEED to have kept on the PC and it's a frighteningly long list. Parental veto might just have to be applied.:cool:

I'm now gathering the CDs and DVDs needed to re-install the apps and games. I just hope that the reload of the OS fixes the drive problem, otherwise I'm goosed for a week or so until I can get a new mobo.

The biggest problem I have is that I can't just stick the XP disk (pre SP1) in and "repair" it because of SP2 and the way it's changed major bits of the OS. Time to bite the bullet.:}

Hope you all had a good holiday

all the best for 2005

ST