Windows 7 One more DVD won't work

[john3347]

I see numerous CD/DVD threads here and mine is similar but somewhat different from any of the others, so I will start an additional thread.

I have a home built computer with a Biostar 945GZ Micro 775 Motherboard (Intel 945GZ an ICH7/R chipset), Pentium D 830 3GHz Processor, 2 GB ram, 250 GB SATA harddrive, HP dvd 1040i DVD-RW, and a recently added Lite-on HDP118 dvd rom drive (both DVD drives are IDE drives), running Windows 7 Ultimate that was installed on a fresh formatted harddrive shortly after Oct 22 last year. (This is not an upgrade from anything, just a fresh install on a formatted and clean drive.) The HP drive has been the only DVD drive on the machine until I decided to install the second drive only a few weeks ago..

The problem started with the Lite-On DVD drive installation. Winows 7 will not recognize the second drive. I have tried every possible jumper setting and CS ribbons and non-CS ribbons (CS=cable select). I can make the Lite-on DVD-ROM work or I can make the HP DVD-RW work, but no combination will make both of them work at the same time. Since the new DVD-ROM works when it is installed at the end of the cable as master, I know it works. I also know that the HP drive works. I have tried about 6 different cables, at least one of them being brand new. When I boot the computer, the light on both drives blink, and the light blinks for a couple of seconds when a CD is inserted in either drive. But the second drive (slave) is not recognized in Winows Explorer and does not work at all. There is no drive letter in Windows Explorer for the slave drive. These two DVD drives are on the same Motherboard IDE header and are the only devices on that header.

I have read about numerous problems that numerous people are having with CD and DVD drives in Windows 7, but none of these exact symptoms. I have not read of numerous solutions to these numerous problems, tho. I'm just wondering if anybody knows of a registry tweak, or a BIOS selection or something to make Winows 7 recognize multiple DVD drives?

 

[koffdrop]

Lite-on has just told me my six month old double layer burner is not compatible with 7. They advise me to put it in a computer running XP. Nice of them. and there seems to be no drivers for my Samung ML4500 laser - XP here I come, back!

 

[john3347]

Why so much CD/DVD problems????

I read on this forum, and others, about numerous CD/DVD issues with Windows 7. There seems to be no solution to any of them. The most frustrating thing is that most of the time you don't even know who to blame. Is it Microsoft, or is it the DVD manufacturer, or is it simply an unknown configuration problem? In my particular instance, the blame seems to point squarely to Windows 7. Both of the two DVD drives in question with my issue function normally when used alone. The problem is that Windows will only recognize the one that is in the master position. I have this same chipset on another computer running Windows XP and the same dual DVD drive combination as I am attempting to install on the Windows 7 machine and everything on the XP machine works normally; so I feel that I can eliminate Motherboard as the problem. If the second drive works normally in the master position and is not recognized in the slave position, it is not a problem with the drive itself.

I think this is just one more issue that supports my feeling that Windows 7 is really half-baked and has retained much of the incompatability issues of Vista. Microsoft, shame on you!

 

[john3347]

Update! Some of us just don't accept "won't work". Well, the problem outlined in this thread has not been fixed, but I have found a workaround to make both my DVD drives work. I have purchased an IDE/SATA adapter (TigerDirect Catalog # ULT40322, approx. $20) and converted my IDE DVD ROM to SATA so the "Master" DVD RW is on the IDE ribbon and the "Slave" DVD ROM is converted to SATA connection. While this combination costs more than buying a low end SATA DVD drive, it works when you can pull parts from previous projects out of your spare parts storage drawer. In summary, two DVD drives will work on my particular hardware combination when one is SATA and the other IDE. Hopefully this info may help somebody, somewhere.

Perhaps this CD/DVD issue with Windows 7 will get fixed with SP1.

 

[Highwayman]

I read on this forum, and others, about numerous CD/DVD issues with Windows 7. There seems to be no solution to any of them. The most frustrating thing is that most of the time you don't even know who to blame. Is it Microsoft, or is it the DVD manufacturer

Thing is... how many people report their dvd drives work perfectly? sadly forums don't provide good statistical data for what percentages do and don't work. That said it might be worth looking for new firmware for dvd drives BEFORE installing windows 7 just to be safe.