CD Drive Doesn’t Show Up In My Computer

If your CD or DVD drive no longer show up in My Computer, you could have either a hardware or a software problem. the hardware problem could be as simple as the the drive has died, become unplugged or has a crimped IDE cable. But if the drive is good and it still does not show up in My Computer, you may need to do a little registry editing to get them back. Drives can disappear during a Windows update or if you install or uninstall hardware or software. Editing the registry is one way to force Windows to recognise the hardware again.

Troubleshooting Hardware Problems With a CD or DVD Drive

First, see if the door opens and closes on the CD or DVD drive. If it does not, you probably have a dead drive. You can try switching power connectors on the inside, but its not likely a single power connector has failed.

If the drive door does open, check for a crimped or disconnected IDE cable. If the cable is secure, make sure your jumper is set properly on the rear of the drive. Of course, if you didn’t move the jumper and it worked previously, that is not the problem.

Edit the UpperFilters and LowerFilters in the Registry

If we have ruled out any hardware issue with the CD or DVD drive, you may need to go into the registry and delete the UpperFilter and LowerFilter keys for your CD or DVD drive. To do this go to STAR, then Run and type regedit and hit OK.

Be sure to backup the registry by creating a restore point.

Navigate through the registry in the following way:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE >SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > Class > {4D36E965-E325-11CE- BFC1-08002BE10318}

If you see any listings for UpperFilter and LowerFilter, right-click and delete them. Exit out of the registry editor and reboot the computer. You can then navigate to My Computer or the Device Manager to see if the drives are now visible.