DVDRW not recognized by Windows XP

[bmwracer]

Well that's odd.

I've performed that fix about 20 times and those keys were always there.

I don't have that kind of luck.

[stiltman]

Something is fubared. You have to have the filters. Especially after installing Nero.

[bmwracer]

Something is fubared. You have to have the filters. Especially after installing Nero.

I wouldn't be surprised.

I'm currently running my old XP install (where the Optiarc works fine)... According to ImgBurn, I have no Upper Class Filter, but I do have a Lower Class Filter: PxHelp20.

[Nelson37]

Very odd problem.

I agree the drive is not at fault in any way, this is proven because it works on the original XP install, plus another, seperate PC.

You could test for power issues by cloning the old drive onto the new one, this gives you the old Windows setup with the new drive's power usage. I would rate this possibility as highly unlikely.

Try a new, unused DVD-RW and burn something to it, using the new drive with current, non-working XP. See if then it can read. THis will isolate RW functionality. Very important and easy test which should have been done already.

Were the original RW disks written using standard burning software, or some form of drag-and-drop? This means packet-writing and/or Mt. Rainier compatibility, which is a wild-card and something to avoid, for obvious reasons.
This would be my suspicion of where the problem lies.

For the minimal cost of a replacement, for a two year old drive, it might not be worth the hassle. Though these kinds of things do make me curious.

[bmwracer]

For the minimal cost of a replacement, for a two year old drive, it might not be worth the hassle. Though these kinds of things do make me curious.

Total agreement: these kind of inexplicable problems gnaw at me like a dog gnaws on an old shoe...


Anyways, the problem is resolved (sort of): I did yet another XP install on my new HDD, but using my old Pioneer burner... After the install was completed, I swapped in the Optiarc and now everything's OK.

Obviously, the "right" driver was loaded or configured for the Pioneer and remained even though I swapped burners...

Cautious optimism here: I'm going to do some more fiddling and testing just to make sure everything's stable.

If the problem is completely gone, I suppose I can let go of this issue and move on...

[RabidDog]

No! if you do get any more info or further insights you gotta post back.. good to see you got it working.

[bmwracer]

No! if you do get any more info or further insights you gotta post back.. good to see you got it working.

One other observation I noticed: my problem came back after I upgraded to SP3... And it went away after I uninstalled it.

[Nelson37]

That pretty well nails it, and thanks very much for posting the additional info. I've had a small but significant number of issues traced directly to SP3.

[bmwracer]

That pretty well nails it, and thanks very much for posting the additional info. I've had a small but significant number of issues traced directly to SP3.

Yup.

It's one of those upgrades that isn't for the most part...

Now when I'm informed of upgrades, I read through them thoroughly before installing 'em... Better the devil you know.



I guess where Windows is concerned, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."