Why do my disk drives not work?

[timw128]

Hello- I have a new problem with my LiteOn disk drives. They are IDE and the master isn't working in 'autoplay' or 'autorun'. I have tried everything! ALL parameters and settings are set right. Even ran the MS AutoFix wizard and it fixed a couple of problems. Now, the slave drive is working, or so it seems, but no luck with the master. They are less than a year old (6 mos.) and I got them from Newegg.com. Device manager says both drives are functioning properly. For the record, I'm running Windows XP Pro SP3, build 2600 in a 4 yr. old Compaq Presario SR1426NX that is hot rodded a bit. I sure could use some help here...if any interested parties need any more specs, please ask. (aford10, please chime in) Thanks!
TimW

 

[treefrog07]

You might try opening windows explorer, right-click on the ODD, select Properties, select the AutoPlay tab, and choose "Prompt me each time...," or choose the options you want, click on the OK button. Then choose the other ODD and perform the same steps.

 

[timw128]

thanks, treefrog07...we tried that already. the ONLY thing i haven't tried is cracking the case open and swapping the drives around on the chain. i think i heard someone say they had some luck doing that. i do know that this all happened after a real nasty attack and one of the infections was a hijacker whose name had 'registry in it. i would have to go back to the STOPzilla logs and retrieve the proper nomenclature, though. the drives have a 1 yr warranty, and since the slave in the chain works and the master doesn't, i should find the truth after swapping them around. if not, i'll exercise the warranty and see what happens. from the ratings at newegg.com, i guess early drive failures are fairly common(?)

 

[treefrog07]

Try swapping them on the chain before you return them. A trojan/virus could have changed your Windows registry settings, but should not have harmed your hardware. It is possible that one ODD failed. I had a bad experience with Lite-On CDRWs a few years ago, so I switched to other makes.

 

[timw128]

thanks treefrog07!...what do you recommend in terms of disk drive manufacturers? STOPzilla does keep finding this Microplugin Trojan and an infection called Cognac. I tried the malware removal sequence in safe mode with networking as published by aford10, and apparently in my case it is ineffective. i am concerned about the hijacker that got into my registry, also. Please advise, thanks!....also, have a good Thanksgiving!
TimW

 

[treefrog07]

You're welcome. I've had good luck with LG, Plextor, and Samsung ODDs. LGs are pretty cheap, but burn all the media I've tried. If the trojan is the cause of your ODD problems, you might perform a clean install of the OS to solve it. Of course, you would have to backup all your data, and you would have to then reinstall all your programs and the data you backed up.
You have a Great Thanksgiving, too - I've got to go start the ham now.

 

[timw128]

Again, thanks treefrog07. i'll heed your advice on the ODD'S. i am hoping to avoid the wipe and re-install procedure. at present, i do not have the software to back up my programs. it would be labor intensive to track the programs individually and re-install. sometime arond the 1st of the year i'm going to install my new ASUS M4A88TD-M/USB3 mobo and amd phenomII x4 970black cpu w/12gb ddr3 ram. i have a 450gb velociraptor hd i wanna run, also. i may install 2 of them in raid 0 format and run an ssd for boot. i do not feel confident with the ssd's yet (not the drives themselves, but my lack of understanding of them..lol!), and i have not played with raid yet. one thing for sure- i'm always open to advice and suggestions.
thanks!
TimW

 

[timw128]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that with the mobo/cpu install I am going to switch over to Windows 7 Ultimate Full 64bit. I guess that was my main point!...lol!

 

[aford10]

You could be getting false positives from STOPzilla. If none of the scanners in the malware guide picked it up, it's pretty likely.

Does the master drive show up in My Computer? If not, follow this guide to delete the upper and lower filters.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982116

Did you run the ccleaner registry tool? If there was some damage to the registry, it may fix that.

 

[pjmelect]

Have you tried a CD cleaner disc? The problem may just be a dirty lens.

 

[timw128]

Thanks, aford10 and pjmelect. In addressing the last post first, indeed I did clean the lens with the disc- a few times.
The false/positive scenario did cross my mind a few times, but why does this keep repeating? I'll admit to being somewhat of a paranoic in terms of security. In following the guide about malware removal, I did as instructed, plus added the Micro Trend Hijack This to the recipe. Furthermore, we disabled the avast internet security and firewall along with STOPzilla. I ran everything in safe mode w/ networking. A full Malwarebytes scan revealed nothing. As I mentioned in a post earlier today at a different location in this forum, I am not qualified to interpret the logs of either Combofix nor MT Hijack This. And no, aford10, I did nothing with the filters. The slave drive on the chain is working, or was last time I checked, but the master isn't in terms of 'autoplay'. As of now, I have not had time to swap them around and reset the orientation switches on the back of the ODD's.
Please forgive my intensity regarding this matter, but I'm not much of one to let an issue rest. I most certainly appreciate the expert attention you all have given this issue of mine.
To all, I am thankful!
TimW

 

[timw128]

Oh yes, both drives show up in My Computer

 

[timw128]

aford10, there are NO filters listed in the rt. hand pane of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}....Both ODD's show up in the Device Manager and in 'properties' they are both listed as working. Another thing I wonder about is in My Computer, they both are listed as DVD/RAM drives, E: and F:. The drive letters are correct as my partition is designated as D:. They used to be called 'ROM'!
We ahve even applied the ms support download 'autofix' to them and supposedly it said it fixed a couple of problems.

 

[aford10]

As per the Hijackthis log, you can copy and paste the log to this site, and it'll tell you if there are any blatant issues.
http://www.hijackthis.de/

Combofix is the most effective malware software I've ever used. If it finds any issue, it'll fix it automatically. It doesn't prompt you to allow/deny the action. So, when it's done running, anything it found will be removed. The only other option that would be as effective/more effective, would be to create a boot disc (such as the AVG disc mentioned in the guide), and scan the OS without booting into the hard drive.

Since the drive is showing up in My computer, and there are no filters to delete, that narrows down the issue. Swapping the cable position probably won't help, since the drive is already being recognized (though it's worth a shot if you'd like). At this point, there are a couple things to try:
-go to the device manager-->right click and uninstall the drive-->restart-->It will reinstall on restart.

-insert the XP disc-->click Start-->run-->type sfc /scannow and hit enter-->if it's an issue with the system file/driver, this will repair it.

-try the drive in another computer. If the drive is defective, this will let you know.

 

[timw128]

After running autofix wizard numerous times and tweak ui, these are the log results that i got:
Heres whats going on in regedit:
HKLM\...\Services\Cdrom\Parameters!Autorun(Absent)<ALLOWS>
HKLM\System\CCS\Enum\...!Always Enable(Absent)<NOT SET>
HKLM\System\CCS\Enum\...!Always Disable(Absent)<NOT SET>
also can't find the filters in the registry. they aren't there!
i downloaded the AVG file from above and can't copy it to disk because of the ODD issue. i know someone out there has an answer for me. i really don't wanna wipe the drive and re-install OS because i do not have the time to put all of my programs back in and i do not have the software to clone the drive contents.
thanks in advance for your help
timw

 

[timw128]

aford10- i tried the drive in our dell xps 400, same os, and the drive works fine. so what you are saying is that if i put the xp disc in, it will be read by drive AFTER we perform the device manager>uninstall E: and F: (my drive labels)>restart and overwrite the installed os? hope that made sense!
thank you!

 

[timw128]

ok, i think we are making some progress. it appears the F: drive can be eliminated from the problem. it was able to copy the above AVG diagnostic file. the machine did recognize the E: drive upon device manager>uninstall>restart. so now i'll try the os overwrite and see if it fixes the E: drive parameters and post back. i am really greatful for the braintrust here at tom's. thanks a bunch!

 

[aford10]

OS overwrite? Do you mean a repair install?

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[timw128]

Thanks, aford10. Maybe I misspoke- I think I should have said repair install, as your below quoted statement implies. Sorry if I confused y'all!

"-insert the XP disc-->click Start-->run-->type sfc /scannow and hit enter-->if it's an issue with the system file/driver, this will repair it. "

 

[aford10]

Ah, I see.....That's not a repair install. That's a sfc scan (system file checker).

A repair install would do the same thing as a sfc scan, but there's more to it. Here's a nice screenshot guide, if you want to see the differences.
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/instxprepair1.htm

 

[timw128]

Hey, thanks a lot, aford10! Late last night, I was googling around for answers and found something in the registry regarding user accts. I took the log from autofix and started hunting down objests one by one. Not 100% sure, but we may have fixed it. The parameters appeared to not have all the values installed...I think! I am sooo burned out from chasing this stuff around, I've kinda forgotten what page I'm on!..lol! If it messes up again, I'll do the sfc scan. Thanks a bunch for your help!
TimW

 

[aford10]

If you're editing the registry, be careful. It doesn't take much to really screw up a computer. It's a good idea to backup the registry before making changes.

Good luck!

 

[timw128]

yeah, I learned that the hard way!- ONCE!...lol... 'regedit' is no joke and nothin' to fool around with if you don't totally comprehend it- which I don't! But, I know enough to go slow and not get poke happy in there. My pc education comes from googling and making copies of everything, compiling and editing into text format, and using common sense and reasoning to accomplish the task at hand. I am thankful to these forums and to the ability to do sound research that I learned throughout my tenure as an Automotive Engineer at General Motors.
Oh, by the way- I'll go off topic a bit to inform you that the whole false/positive issue I was experiencing with the infections appears also to be resolved. I uninstalled STOPzilla and reinstalled to a 'newer' version and I don't appear to be getting malware anymore. I'm not sure why or how that deal works. Maybe when I am done with this new build, I 'll research it. But for now, I need to learn about these SSD's and their nuances. I'd like to use one for a boot drive along with my 2 450gb Velociraptors in RAID 0 for this new build. My thanks and gratefulness to you again, aford10.
TimW

 

[aford10]

So are you still with GM, or did you get the boot? I live in southern Michigan, so that whole situation is all around me.

Sounds good. Best of luck with the new build.

 

[timw128]

No, I begged them for a buyout back in '94, but no go. I retired in '96 from the Tech Center in Warren, MI.
Them drives are still actin' up!...another late night I'm afraid!..lol!