Laptop keeps on saying I don't have a dvd drive

[Eor]

This is about the third time it's happened, I get on my laptop and it just says I don't have a drive. It won't open when I push the button or anything. I forgot what I did the first time, and the second time I downloaded some script that manually added it to the registry, or something similar (i think?), but again the computer refuses to acknowledge it.

It's a Toshiba

 

[AltF4]

Go to Start, then say "Run..." if you're in XP, or if Vista type into the Search bar on the bottom:

devmgmt.msc

Then hit enter.

You'll go into the Device Manager. Try doing this when your DVD drive isn't working. You'll have two possibilities:

1) The DVD drive won't be listed in the devices in the Device Manager. This very likely means you have a hardware failure, like a shoddy connection or a loose wire.

2) The DVD drive IS listed (but doesn't work). This would be strange, but possible. It could be driver issues. I would recommend getting the latest drivers from the manufacturer. In fact, it'd probably be a good idea to do so anyway.

 

[streetracr77]

It's most likely going to be a hardware problem. You will just have to get it replaced.

 

[Eor]

Is there any other way to do it?

It came back on again, but I've looked at device manager before when it wasn't working and it wasn't listed.

 

[AltF4]

No, it definitely looks like a loose wire, or some other hardware problem.

Since it's just a DVD drive, you can replace it. Taking it apart and putting it back together is a great learning experience... but you can also mes things up if you're not careful. I'd have your friendly neighborhood nerd take care of it for you. Buy him a pizza. It'll be cheaper than the geek squad for sure!

Nerds are easily bought out by pizza, alcohol (if of age), and electronics.

EDIT: Though... if you're going to compensate him with alcohol, you might want to pay him AFTER the job is done.