I need help....again

Oh dear. This has happened to me before. It turns out my drive died on me and I had to replace it.

I suggest you have one of your sons crack open your computer (I assume you are talking about a desktop machine) and check inside to make sure none of your cables came loose.

If the cables didn't come loose and rebooting machine doesn't help, they you might want to replace your CD/DVD drive.

You didn't install any new software on your machine recently did you?

I echo Sam's thoughts, but I also add that it could be signs of your Motherboard dying as well... Sometimes as the Motherboard dies it starts off by not recognizing this or that... Sometimes it increases the number of components over time and sometimes it just ends up not booting up...


Try rebooting as well, if you're the type who likes to leave their computer on constantly and just lets it go into sleep mode, sometimes a good reboot will solve these issues... I don't recommend the Sleep cycle over shutting down... A computer needs to reorganize its resources, so it's good to reboot the machine...


As a precaution I would suggest backing up everything you deem to be valuable, because the chances are not in your favor from what you've described and you could lose everything...


I'm sorry for the bleak outcome, I'm sure it's not what you wanted to hear... I hope for your sake it is something simple and stupid and you're able to get through this with minimal effort...

did you restart as sometimes that happens & then they appear again.
don't forget jim there is a patch to play without the disk if you need it.

Thank you for your suggestions.

First, yes, I rebooted my computer but the drives still do not appear.

As far as adding new software, not to my knowledge. Interesting, though, my daughter-in-law used the computer for about 2 hours last night before I came home. It was after that when I tried to play the game and nothing happened. Although, I haven't yet asked her if she downloaded anything. I will do that soon and get back to you all.

Finally, once upon a time I had to replace my CD drive in a different computer. Guess what? It worked! Still, I think I'll call #2 son and have him take a look at it.

Thanks....again.

Probably just a coincidence that she used it and then it stopped working... If it was something as simple as deleting them, the computer would have picked them up upon the reboot and told you that you have New Hardware ready for installation...

It is possible that she did something that allowed a virus to get onto your computer...

Does the CD Drive open and close and is the light blinking when it opens and closes??? This will let you know if there is at least power running to the Drive...

are they showing in device manager at all.
check control panel/ system/hardware/device manager & look at disk drives

OK, I just remembered something that may have a bearing on this problem. Earlier in the day (Thursday when the problem started) I got a notice of windows security update; the little yellow shield icon at bottom right of the task bar. I updated my computer, rebooted as advised, and everything was OK till I tried to play Syberia later that night. Could this be the problem?

Also, as per Lynne's advice, under Hardware, disk drives, it does not show D or E drives but instead, when I doubled clicked disk drives it says: ST38011A; when I double click on that a new box opens: ST38011A Properties with several options including Troubleshooting. But, I do not know what to do now. Any suggestions?

And, according to ST38011A Properties, the disk drives are working properly! How can that be?

Hm the windows updates do update drivers and do security fixes on your machine. I think recently the windows updates were for security.

Some have given hiccups to some of my hardware by updating my drivers. Most of the time there is no problem, but there is the odd problem. You'd have to check to see what updates were made to your machine. Click on "Windows Update" and view your update history to make sure they didn't install any CD/DVD drivers on your machine.

It doesn't sound virus related at all. This has to do with the disc drive itself. Either there's a cable loose in there, or the entire thing is like a dirty diaper and needs to be changed.

Of course, there could be some kind of driver related issue that's causing it to not want to appear, but I find those to be a pain in the beehive. I'm no good at computery stuffs, but I've had to fight my way through a couple of these things.

However, a windows update is highly unlikely to cause your disc drive to pull a vanishing act on you. I can't see that being the case.

Someone go get Son #2! Would Son #2 come to the reception, please!

-Fred

ST38011A

Jim,

the above is your hard disk drive - sega. nothing to do with your cd/dvd drives.

If you think it was a update causing it just do a system restore.

system tools/ restore will revert back to earlier time.

First, than you one and all for your assistance; much appreciated.


Second, #2 son showed up yesterday and you may not believe what happened. He saw that the drives were missing and I had him read your posts. So, he turns off the computer, lays the CPU on its side, removes the panel, made sure the cable (which is a combo-cable with both drives plugged into the same port) was tight, removed it anyway and plugged it back in, put the panel back on, stood the computer upright and turned it on. Guess what? The disk drives reappeared! We have no idea why but I am ecstatic, to say the least. Still, maybe some of you can shed a little light on why they are back.

Well I'd keep an eye on your computer just in case it flakes out again.

The cable doesn't have to come out far for something to go wrong. Mostly plugged in is not good enough. Glad it wasn't anything serious. I've had loose cables happen to me before.

Never mind the cables - Syberia is available again!

-Fred

I'm glad it appears to be working again, but with that said:

I still strongly advise you to backup anything you deem valuable, be it pictures, company records of any kind, music files, anything you don't want to lose or struggle trying to regain...

Computers do flaky things sometimes, but it could still be a sign of the computer on its way out... Back your stuff up and do it soon, just to be on the safe side...