Your CD drive or DVD drive is missing or is not recognized by Windows or other programs

Your CD drive or DVD drive is missing or not recognized by Windows or other programs, so you cannot play or access a CD or DVD. This issue might have occurred after you installed, uninstalled, or updated a program or you updated Windows.

Or, this issue may occur if one of the following conditions is true:

• You upgrade the computer to Windows Vista or Windows 7
• You install a Windows service pack
• You install or uninstall a CD or DVD recording program
• You uninstall Microsoft Digital Image

You may see one of the following error messages:

• One of the following error messages appears when you view the CD drive or the DVD drive in Device Manager.
  
  Error message 1
  The device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device (Code 31).
  Error message 2
  A driver for this device was not required, and has been disabled (Code 32 or Code 31).
  Error message 3
  Your registry might be corrupted. (Code 19)
• An "error code 39" error message.
• A message that resembles the following appears in the notification area:
  Windows successfully loaded the device driver for this hardware but cannot find the hardware device. (Code 41)

Diagnose and fix the problem automatically

The Your CD or DVD drive can't read or write media troubleshooter may automatically fix the problem described in this article.
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Let me fix it myself

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
This problem is caused by two Windows registry entries that have become corrupted. To fix the problem, you have to use Registry Editor to delete the corrupted Registry entries. To use this method, you must be logged on to Windows as an administrator.

Windows 7 or Windows Vista

1. Click Start
   , and then click All Programs.
2. Click Accessories, and then click Run.
3. Type regedit, and then click OK.
   If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
4. In the navigation pane, locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
5. In the right pane, click 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 8.
6. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
7. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
8. In the right pane, click LowerFilters.
   
   
   Note If you do not see the LowerFilters registry entry, unfortunately this content cannot help you any further. Go to the "Next Steps" section for information about how you can find more solutions or more help on the Microsoft Web site.
9. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
10. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
11. Exit Registry Editor.
12. Restart the computer.

Now go to the "More Information" section.

Windows XP

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. In the navigation pane, locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
4. In the right pane, click 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, click Delete.
6. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
7. In the right pane, click LowerFilters.
   
   
   Note If you do not see the LowerFilters registry entry, unfortunately this content cannot help you any further. Go to the "Next Steps" section for information about how you can find more solutions or more help on the Microsoft Web site.
8. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
9. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
10. Exit Registry Editor.
11. Restart the computer.

Now go to the "More Information" section.

Try to play or access a CD or DVD. If you can play or access a CD or DVD, you are finished with this article. If you still have a problem, try reinstalling programs that use the CD or DVD drive, or reinstall the drivers for the CD or DVD drive.

Reinstall programs that use the CD or DVD drive

If you cannot play or access a CD or DVD, you may have to reinstall some programs. Some programs might not be able to use your CD or DVD drive until you reinstall those programs. If the problem occurs again when you install or uninstall those programs, contact the manufacturer of the program to see if an update is available to resolve the problem. Some examples of programs that might be affected are:

• iTunes software by Apple
• Nero software by Nero Inc
• Roxio Creator software by Sonic Solutions
• Zune software by Microsoft

After reinstalling your programs, if you can play or access a CD or DVD, you are finished with this article.

If you still cannot play or access a CD or DVD, please see the "Next steps" section.

Remove and reinstall drivers for the CD or DVD drive

If the drive is not listed, remove and reinstall the existing drivers. To do this, follow these steps:
Windows 7 and Windows VistaClick Start , and then click Control Panel. Follow the appropriate steps: If you are using Windows 7, click System and Security, click System, and then click Device Manager. If you are using Windows Vista, click System and Maintenance, click System, and then click Device Manager.
Note If Control Panel is in Classic View, double-click System, and then click Device Manager.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow. In Device Manager, expand DVD/CD-ROM drives, right-click the CD and DVD devices, and then click Uninstall. When you are prompted to confirm that you want to remove the device, click OK. Restart the computer.After the computer restarts, the drivers will be automatically installed.

Windows XPClick Start, and then click Control Panel. Click System and Maintenance, and then click System, On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow. In Device Manager, expand DVD/CD-ROM drives, right-click the CD and DVD devices, and then click Uninstall. When you are prompted to confirm that you want to remove the device, click OK. Restart the computer.After the computer restarts, the drivers will be automatically installed.

Now try to play or access a CD or DVD.

If you can play or access a CD or DVD, you are finished with this article.

If you cannot play or access a CD or DVD, you may have to reinstall some programs. Some programs might not be able to use your CD or DVD drive until you reinstall those programs. If the problem occurs again when you install or uninstall those programs, contact the manufacturer of the program to see if an update is available that solves the problem. Some examples of programs that might be affected are: iTunes software by AppleNero software by Nero IncRoxio Creator software by Sonic SolutionsZune software by MicrosoftAfter reinstalling your programs, if you can play or access a CD or DVD, you are finished with this article.

If you cannot play or access a CD or DVD, please see the "Next steps" section.

Next steps

If this method did not help you, you might want to use the Microsoft Customer Support Services Web site to find other solutions. Some services that the Microsoft Customer Support Services Web site provides include the following:

• Searchable Knowledge Base: Search technical support information and self-help tools for Microsoft products.
• Solution Centers: View product-specific frequently asked questions and support highlights.
• Other Support Options: Use the Web to ask a question, to contact Microsoft Customer Support Services, or to provide feedback.

If you continue to have questions after you use these Microsoft Web sites, or if you cannot find a solution on the Microsoft Support Services Web site, click the following link to contact Support:

For more information about how to fix CD or DVD drive issue, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 976187: FIX: The DVD drive is not recognized after you install Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2


For a Windows 2000 version of this article, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 270008: Cannot Access CD-ROM and "Code 31" Error Message in Device Manager After You Remove Adaptec Easy CD Creator from Your Computer.