Three Methods to Fix the Problem that DVD Drive is Lost in Windows 7

Microsoft has decided to stop providing extended support for Windows XP on April 8, 2014. So if you are a Windows XP user, you have to upgrade your operating system to a newer version like Windows 7 or Windows 8. Well, I’m a Windows 7 user, if you decide to upgrade your OS to Windows, you may want to read the following content, because it is about 2 solutions to solve problem in Windows 7 that many people might encounter – DVD drive is missing.

There are many reasons for a DVD drive that can not be found on a computer. Sometimes it is caused by driver issue; sometimes it is about the system problem. So how to solve this DVD drive missing problem? Here the three most common solutions are listed here for you:

Solution 1: Reinstall CD/DVD drive

1. Click Start menu and key in “Device Manager” into the search box. Then press Enter to open the Device Manager panel.
2. Extend DVD/ CD-ROM drives option. Find the drive name and right-click on it. Select Uninstall to uninstall the DVD drive. Then click OK to confirm the uninstallation.
3. Then click Action tab at the heading of Device Manger panel and click Scan for hardware changes. Then wait for Windows scan and reinstall DVD/CD-ROM. After it is finished, you can find DVD drive appearing in Device Manager.

Solution 2: Delete LowerFilters and UpperFilters

1. Click Start menu and then enter regedit into the search box. Press Enter key to open Registry Editor. First, make a backup of the registration file. Select Computer on the left side of the window and then click File tab at the toolbar, select Export. Then choose a destination. Click Save button to save the backup. Then if problem remains after doing the following method, you can find the backup file and double click on it to restore the registry.
2. Now click the small triangle respectively: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SYSTEM -> Current -> ControlSet -> Control -> Class and then select the following option: 4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318. Now the left side of the window will show something.
3. If you see the following two items on the left side of the window: LowerFilters and UpperFilters, right click on the items and select Delete to delete them.
4. Close Registry Editor and restart the computer. Then you’ll find the DVD/CD-ROM in Windows.

Solution 3:

If you don’t install the IDE drive program correctly when installing Windows, or after the installation, you open the Device Manager and find the yellow exclamation mark on the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, then the DVD/ CD-ROM may disappear. In normal situation, when entering the save mode, the drive letter of the DVD/CD-ROM is not showing. If you want to use the optical drive in safe mode, you can load the driver in Autoexec.BAT and Config.sys files. Then after rebooting the computer, you can use the DVD drive now.

Resource Box: Lacey Young is an editor of drm-assistant.com. As a technology geek, she knows very well about computer, software, smartphone, etc. Also she always likes to provide tips for others. Here is one: if you buy DVDs from other countries, a DVD Decrypter software can help you easily unlock the region code and let you watch DVD from other regions.