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Did your CD-ROM drive stop working? Is it time to upgrade to a rewritable drive? Either way, installing a CD-ROM on a computer isn’t as difficult as you might think.
In fact, if you’re comfortable with opening up your computer case, this is a do-it-yourself job!
But, before you run out and buy a replacement CD-ROM drive for your malfunctioning unity, do yourself a favor and download CD-ROM drivers first. You may be able to revive your failing drive with new drivers. By doing so, you’ll save the cost of a new drive and the efforts of installing it.
Why would a CD-ROM drive suddenly need you to download CD-ROM drivers? Device drivers, including CD drivers, can get damaged like any other file on your system. In fact, device drivers often include entire sets of related files including DLL files. If just one of these gets overwritten or damaged somehow, the device can fail or generate annoying errors. In addition, the manufacturer’s original driver may have bugs in it that have been fixed with recent driver updates. Because updates address known problems and oftentimes add functionality to the device, it’s best to download CD-ROM drivers rather than using the original installation disc.
To download CD-ROM drivers, you’ll need to know exactly what type of drive you have installed and then go to the manufacturer’s website to obtain the related driver. Use the Device Manager to identify your drive by going to Control Panel, clicking System, and then clicking Device Manager. Find the category called DVD/CD-ROM Drives and expand it by clicking the plus sign. Your CD-ROM device should be listed right there. Double-click and go to the Driver tab.
Here, you’ll see all of the pertinent details including the device name (in this case Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-K17A ATA device), driver provider, date, and version. Use this information to go to the manufacturer’s website in search of updated drivers. You can also click the Update Driver button to perform an automatic search. If you already have downloaded the drivers, use the Update Driver button to browse your computer for the downloaded CD-ROM driver.
Updating the driver can solve problems that you’re having with the device. The General tab also will help you in troubleshooting the CD-ROM. It may say that the device is disabled or that drivers are missing. Oftentimes, a button will appear that launches the Troubleshooting Wizard. This wizard will offer suggestions for troubleshooting the device.
What if you simply want to install a new CD-ROM? You can do so though it takes a little time. You may still need to download CD-ROM drivers or use the installation disc as part of the installation, especially if the drive is not Plug and Play.
Installing a new drive requires physically unplugging the PC from its power source along with all of its peripherals, removing the cover, sliding out the old drive, inserting the new drive, connecting the drive to the computer’s internal power supply, putting the computer back together, and then installing the device drivers. These drivers often come on a floppy disc. They are also sometimes preloaded with Windows. Once the installation is complete, everything should run smoothly.
However, if you find that the new driver isn’t giving you the results you expected and you want to revert to the old driver, once again, you can use Device Manager. Go into the Driver tab and click Roll Back Driver. This rolls back the changes you recently made.
Not all device drivers require going into Device Manager. Some are installed by Windows automatically; others are installed by an executable file. Whether you need to download CD-ROM drivers to troubleshoot a failing drive, update an existing drive, or as part of a new installation, knowing how to use Device Manager for this task helps. Once you know how to use Device Manager, you’ll find yourself coming back for routine tasks like updating your drivers periodically.
constant-content.com | April 7th, 2008
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