My D drive is gone.. :/

EIlvesEIlves
edited September 2004 in Hardware
Hello guys. After I restarted my computer my D drive was gone. I checked the device manager and it told me

Windows cannot start this hardware device because its configuration information (in the registry) is incomplete or damaged. (Code 19)

I uninstalled it and reinstalled ... nuthing ... I tried to plug my other CD-Rom ... still the same message. I even tried registry cleaners and fixers .. still nothing. Maybe it is a virus or something? Can anyone help me?

Comments

  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited September 2004
    Try running the diagnostic tools from the Harddrive manufacture.
  • groovemaster1groovemaster1
    edited September 2004
    That happened to a friend of mine. He has XP, Musicmatch jukebox caused it. He installed it & restarted, only to realize that drive E was missing. If U installed a prog & was told to restart, then uninstall it. If MMONNIN's idea doesn' t work I would reinstall windows.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    Reinstalling windows is pretty bad advice.

    With XP, your last resort is to do a repair install. If that doesn't fix it, it's a hardware problem.

    Can the BIOS see the hard drive? Are we talking about one physical drive divided into two partitions, or two physical drives?

    Are we even talking about a hard drive? Is your D drive an optical drive or a hard drive?

    As you can see by all the questions I have, we need more info. Please DON'T reinstall windows yet.
  • Lord_NightLord_Night Piqua Ohio
    edited September 2004
    OMG Don't reisntall windows YET... :mean:

    as Prime asked... what is your D drive?
    there are still options we haven't tried yet. I know of several but need to know what the D drive is..

    who ever gave the option for reinstalling windows will now be banned from drinking beer for 1 day.... :D
  • PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    I'm with prime and Lord_Night. I had the same exact thing happen with a Zip drive and a CD-ROM. Both were caused by drives unexpectedly dying.
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited September 2004
    JohnnyRotten

    Point well taken and good procedural steps. May I remind you that it isn't wise to scold one of the site owners and other members. I too make mistakes and gloss by some posts but it doesn't warrant shouting at anyone right out of the gate. These people aren't newbs. :)



    EIlves,


    Further to what JohhnyRotten said here is another possible solution for you...more of detective work than anything else.

    Okay...so far we've determined that you are talking about your CD-ROM drive that is designated by D:\. You've tried another optical drive and that too isn't being detected.

    So...let's start this all from square one. Do not reinstall windows. That's too drastic a step for the moment and the problem is elsewhere.

    Step 1: Go into BIOS and see if the CD-ROM is listed along with your hard drive. If you aren't familiar where to look then it should be in the first or second menu selection of your BIOS.

    If BIOS isn't seeing the hard drive then no amount of registry cleaners, etc will help. BIOS is before the software loads.

    Now..you could just have a bad cable. That happens on occaision. No harm will come to your PC if you switch the cables...try booting up with the CD on the hard drive cable...you can place it as a SLAVE (Remember to switch the jumper on the CD ROM to slave) OR you can simply unplug the hard drive...you know that cable works and plug it into the CD ROM...

    When the motherboard goes BEEP hit delete and go into BIOS. If the CD ROM is listed in the BIOS then you know it's a bad cable. Replace cable (the one that the CD ROM was originally plugged into) and you should be good to go.

    Now ...if that doesn't work then put the computer cables back to the way they were originally. I'm assuming one cable goes to the HDD and a separate cable goes to the CD-ROM.

    If BIOS doesn't see the device you may try RESET CONFIGURATION (deeper into another area of BIOS) are reboot. If that fails then clear/reset the BIOS. It is a good idea to note all the settings before you do this as you will have to go back in and make sure all the settings are correct.

    Point is...you want to check to see if the hardware is faulty...in this case it may be one of two things...the cable itself or...perhaps...a bad header on the motherboard.

    Then we can begin to see if it is other areas of the software.

    Hope this helps.

    MM
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    I stand by my original statement. "Reinstall windows" IS BAD ADVICE.

    There is a REPAIR INSTALL which effectively reinstalls windows and all device drivers while keeping the user's software and documents, saving a great deal of time (sometimes hours of time).

    JOHNNYROTTEN, I am an IT professional and a business owner that makes decisions on things like this daily, and if one of my employees ever suggested a complete format and reinstall over trying a repair install first, I would reprimand them for not only wasting my time, but my client's time as well.

    You gave bad advice. That's all there is to it. I am showing the user a better way to fix his problem. If it doesn't work, then reinstalling is a LAST RESORT, as I have stated previously.
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited September 2004
    JOHNNY*ROTTEN wrote:
    As long as the problem gets fixed, thats all the matters.

    Thanks JOHNNY*ROTTEN.

    :)
  • KINGPINKINGPIN PAKISTAN
    edited September 2004
    Try system restore , but make sure that you bios has detected the device.
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