This seems to be an entirely new problem that is populating the net. Something non-mechanical is going on. Much of what people are finding as a fix is a Reg mod, some having to do with nuking the UpperFilters an LowerFilters in the HKLocalMachine\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
Then unistalling the driver for the DVD/CD-ROM, rebooting and letting the OS reinstall the drivers, or doing it manually.
I have not gotten this to work. I don't intend the above as instructions, I wish to point out that there is a problem that is prevalent, not hardware-related, and, I'm guessing, WinVista (or broader) Update Related.
Still looking.
Basically, any data CD or DVD that I have, that I have created, is just fine.
Any purchased DVD, brand new or old, readable everywhere else, cannot be read. The DVD is not recognized at all. The OS spits the tray out just as it would if you asked for a directory of the DVD/CD device but had no DVD in the drive.
Putting in the DVD, it'll gronk-gronk, as if in an earnest attempt at reading the disc (and for a long time, knowing there is something to be read) - ultimately determining the disc is not really there. It is not even given a chance at being blank (formatting is not entertained), the determination is that:
there is no DVD in the drive.
My Vista Home Prem 32 on an HP dv2660se was fine until about a week and a half ago. At one point, it did recognize one movie DVD, but not another, continuing to think that that DVD volume, and no other was still there.
Anything I find that helps, I'll report back. If anyone finds more on this, I'd appreciate it.
examples of solutions that haven't worked for me:
http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-109591-my-lg-dvd-rw-reading-cds-but-not-dvds
http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-72997-dvd-drive-will-not-read-write
Microsoft's "fix" didn't do it for me, but here it is gang:
To resolve this problem, remove the affected filter drivers. To do this, follow these steps:
Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then click regedit in the Programs list.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
Locate, and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
Caution There can be many instances of the registry subkey that is mentioned in step 2. You must make sure that you are in the appropriate registry subkey before modifying the UpperFilters and the LowerFilters values. To verify that you are in the appropriate registry subkey, make sure that the Default data value is DVD/CD-ROM and the Class data value is CDROM.
In the right pane, right-click UpperFilters, and then click Delete.
Click Yes to confirm the removal of the UpperFilters registry entry.
In the right pane, right-click LowerFilters, and then click Delete.
Click Yes to confirm the removal of the LowerFilters registry entry.
Exit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.
Note After you remove the UpperFilters registry entry and the LowerFilters registry entry, you may lose functionality in certain programs such as CD recording programs. In this scenario, you must reinstall any affected programs. If the problem recurs, contact the program vendor to determine whether an update is available for the program.
For information about your hardware manufacturer, visit the following Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors/en-us
Help!