7 Best Methods to Fix CD/DVD Drive Missing or Not Detected in Windows 10/8/7

Symptoms refer to the signs or indicators of a particular illness, condition, or emotional state that a person may experience. These can manifest physically, mentally, or emotionally and are often used to diagnose or identify a health issue. Common examples include fever, headache, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, or depression. It's essential to consult a healthcare professional if one experiences persistent or concerning symptoms.

Your CD or DVD drive is not appearing in File Explorer on Windows 10, and it has a yellow exclamation mark next to it in Device Manager. Upon opening the device's Properties dialog box, one of the following error messages is displayed in the Device status section:

• Windows couldn't start this hardware device because its configuration information is incomplete or damaged. (Code 19)
• This device isn't working properly because Windows can't load the driver required for this device. (Code 31)
• The driver (service) for this device has been disabled. There might be a backup driver that can provide this functionality. (Code 32)
• Windows couldn't load the driver for this hardware. The driver might be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)
• Windows successfully loaded the driver for this hardware, but can't find the hardware device. (Code 41)

This issue might occur after one of the following situations:

• You upgrade the Windows operating system. • You install or uninstall CD or DVD recording programs. • You uninstall Microsoft Digital Image.

Resolution

Quite a number of users encounter issues where their CD or DVD drive fails to appear in File Explorer, Disk Management, or Device Manager due to the reasons mentioned above. To assist in resolving this problem, we present 7 highly effective methods that have been proven to fix the missing CD/DVD drive in Windows 10. Implement each solution sequentially until the CD/DVD drive icon reappears on your Windows computer.

7 Solutions to Display Hidden CD/DVD Devices:

Solution 1: Display Hidden (Unhide) CD/DVD Devices in Windows 10

Have you tried to show the hidden device in Windows 10? Sometimes, Windows 10 updates can perform a reset, reverting some settings to their previous state. If your disc is not appearing as it should, first try un-hiding the CD/DVD device.

Navigate to "This PC" -> "Manage" -> "Device Manager" -> "View" -> "Show hidden devices."

Solution 2: Uninstall IDE ATA/ ATAPI Controllers

If Solution 1 (Show Hidden Devices) does not resolve the issue, please proceed.

Step 1: Identify the DVD/CD-ROM drives and IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers entries. Right-click on each item individually under both the "DVD/CD-ROM drives" and "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers" sections and choose Uninstall.

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Step 2: Right-click on these items again and select "Scan for hardware changes" this time.

Step 3. Restart your computer after making these changes.

Solution 3: Update or Reinstall CD/DVD Driver

To update the driver, download DriverHandy, which is a professional driver management tool. It can assist you in updating your CD/DVD drivers and managing all other device drivers. It automatically keeps your device drivers up-to-date with the latest versions. Download it to give it a try.

Step 1. Download and launch DriverHandy.

Step 2. Locate the target drivers and click "Update."

Update all drivers with one click:

Solution 4: Fix Missing CD/DVD Drive with Command Prompt

Using Command Prompt usually increases the likelihood of fixing a missing CD/DVD disc issue in Windows 10, and it's relatively straightforward to operate.

Step 1: To launch an elevated Command Prompt in Windows 10, simply type CMD in the Start menu search bar. Right-click on the Command Prompt desktop app and select "Run as administrator."

Step 2: Copy (Ctrl+C) and paste (Ctrl+V) the following command into the Command Prompt, then press Enter.

reg.exe add "HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\atapi\Controller0" /f /v EnumDevice1 /t REG_DWORD /d 0x00000001

Step 3: A message reading "The operation completed successfully" will then appear. Close the Command Prompt window and return to check if the CD/DVD icon has reappeared.

Solution 5: Repair Corrupted Registry Entries

Warnings: The registry entry should be handled with extreme caution, as improper modification can lead to severe consequences. Therefore, it is advisable to use the best free backup software to back up the Windows 10 registry before fixing corrupted entries to ensure the CD/DVD reappears.

Step 1: Press the Windows key and R key together to open the Run command. Type regedit and press Enter.

Fix corrupted registry entries to resolve missing CD/DVD issue in Windows 10.

Step 2. Navigate to the following path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\ {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

Step 3: Search for the UpperFilters and LowerFilters strings on the right-hand panel.

Step 4: Right-click on them and choose "Delete".

Solution 6: Create a Registry Subkey

Warning: Be extremely cautious when editing the Registry, as incorrect changes can lead to serious issues. Therefore, it's recommended to use the best free backup software to back up Windows 10 before fixing corrupted registry entries to make CD/DVD visible again.

Step 1: Open the Registry Editor, following the instructions provided in Solution 4's Step 1.

Step 2. Navigate to the path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\atapi\

Step 3: Right-click on the blank area on the right pane, and when the New option appears, select Key.

Step 4. Create a new key named Controller0 under the atapi key.

Step 5: Select the new Controller0 key. In the right pane, right-click the blank area and choose DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Step 6. Name it as "EnumDevice1" and press Enter. Next, double-click on it to set the Value data as "1". Click "OK" to save the settings.

Step 7. Exit the Registry Editor.

Step 8. Restart your computer.

Solution 7. Download a Third-party CD/DVD Repair Tool

If unfortunately all the above free methods fail to fix the missing CD/DVD issue in Windows 10, don't give up so early. There are some third-party CD/DVD repair tools that are powerful enough to fix various disc problems, though most of them are not free, it's still worth a try.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading. I genuinely hope that the solutions presented in this article have resolved your issue with the DVD drive not appearing in Windows. If you found an alternative solution, please share it with me, and I will ensure to include your method here for the benefit of others.