prob'ly dumb but pretty perplexing drives Q

[ahhaa]

OK...

for some reason I can't quite recall anymore, I added an HP CD52 writer to my computer. It already had a Lite-On 401S DVD burner in it. I'd just gotten my 250G HD finally working right for video editing.

The setup was both these drives on the secondary EIDE cable, Lite-On as master. Then I installed the Nero 6 OEM that came from HP ( I'd had 5.5).

The Lite-On suddenly thought it was a CD burner only, and the HP thought it was a CD-ROM only. Yet XP thought they were what they should be, and Device Manager says they are working perfectly. Thing is, No DVD blank or recording is recognized by any program. If I try & burn with Nero- it ejects the disc.

It gets better. I figured I'd just uninstall the HP & the Nero. Horrible continuous clacking noises from the 250 HD, which isn't even on the same cable. (slave on primary EIDE).
The 250 was gone from My Computer, as well as the HP burner.

Putting it back doesn't fix things, until I used a Restore point. Unfortunately the RPs only go back a month or so, there's not one from before I installed the drive in the first place.
Now its back in its little bay, and my 250 is recognized again (whew!)

Spent half an hour typing it up for the HP techmail, but their site was inaccessible every time I hit send.

so I came here (again) any ideas what I did wrong this time?

[aedipuss]

try switching master and slave settings on the drives around. some function better as one or the other. make sure the cables are good. try a different one if possible. the other thing to do is to get rid of all aspi layer filters in your registry. adding/removing burning software sometimes screws it up.
Remove the Upperfilters and Lowerfilters values completely from the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

[ahhaa]

Ok, I'll check that out, thanks. Coud I also try using Cable Select, or would that screw things up further, now that they've already been setup with the M/S config?

[ahhaa]

Well, I'd gotten up early & re-sent the email to HP.
Got this reply just now, am posting it here for your bemusement...

Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.

I am sorry to know about the issue. I understand from your email that you are facing an issue with the HP CD writer, as it is not working properly. Let me assist you in this regard.

I have some troubleshooting steps to check the issue with the drive.
Please follow the below steps:

******* Reset the BIOS *******

1. Restart the notebook.
2. Tap the F2 or F10 key as soon as the restart.
3. Using the arrow keys, navigate to Exit menu and select Get defaults values.
4. Navigate to Exit menu and select Save Changes and Exit.

******* reinstall CD/DVD drivers *******

1. Click Start, Control Panel, Performance and Maintenance, and then System icon.
2. This opens the System properties window.
3. Select Hardware tab and click Device Manager.
4. Click "+" beside CD/DVD Device Catagory.
5. Right-click the listed CD/DVD/RW and select Uninstall.
6. Restart the system.

Windows will redetect the device on restart and reinstalls the drivers automatically. Once this is done downoad and install the following patch:

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts_desc/xp_cd_dvd_fix.htm

Hope this should resolve the issue. If the problem persists, then I recommend you to backup the registry and follow the steps given below:

Registry backup in Windows XP:
----------------------------------

1. Click Start and select Run.
2. Type Regedit in the Open field and click OK.
3. Click "File" in the menu.
4. Click "Export" from the drop-down menu.
5. Click the down arrow beside "Save In" and select Local Disk(C.
6. Type Backup.reg in the File Name field.
7. Click Save.

After the backup of the registry, please follow the steps given below:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.

2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.Locate the following registry subkey:


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/Curretcontrolset/Control/Class/{4d36e965-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}

3. On the File menu, click Export.

4. In the File name box, type savedkey, and then click Save.

5. Click the REG_MULTI_SZ data type UpperFilters, and then click Delete on the Edit menu. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.

NOTE: If this data type is missing, continue to the next method.

6. Click the REG_MULTI_SZ data type LowerFilters, and then click Delete on the Edit menu. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.

Quit the Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.

I am sure this will resolve the issue. Please get back to me with observations and results because it is important that I resolve your issue in a timely manner. I would like to add that we value your precious time and would be here round the clock to serve you.

Looking forward to assist you!!! Have a Great Day!!!!

Sincerely, Mike
HP Total Care