Hi, I'm new here, just found this site tonight. Everyone is very helpful , so hopefully someone might be able to help with my problem. 
Ok, I'm actually having an issue with 2 problems. Most disturbing is the fact that, for some unknown reason, just out of the blue, about 2 weeks ago my DVD-rom and CD-rom seemed to have disappeared. They are no longer listed under "My Computer" or in "Device Manager". I did check the BIOS and they were listed there (but, I didn't know what I was supposed to do).
I did a search online and found some info about it possibly being a "registry" issue, but I was unable to delete the "upper filters" and "lower filters" because it did not show them (or maybe again, I did not know exactly what I was looking for.)
I did D/L a couple programs that was supposed to check and fix the registry. The first one did not make a much of a difference - when I rebooted, my CD-rom showed in my computer and in device manager but still would not work, but my DVD-rom did not show up.
The second one really screwed things up even more because it slowed my entire system down to a crawl (as in it took about 5 minutes to open any program instead of just clicking open). I ended up doing a system restore to an earlier date. After the system restore, they were still not showing up.
I tried to install new hardware and at first it wouldn't let me, because it said only one thing could be installed at a time and to wait until it was finished. (I'm assuming windows had detected them and was automatically installing them). After checking in device manager and my comptuer again, the CD-rom was once again showing. But, when I attempted to put in a CD it would not autorun, so I clicked on it from my computer - again this did nothing, then the screen sort of "blinked" and it went missing again.
I didn't particularly want to do a complete re-install with the Recovery CD but am willing to (except, that I can't from the CD because the drive isn't reading it or being recognized by windows). Both drives seem to be working ok as far as I can tell, because the doors open, and the lights come on when a CD is inside and also during startup the lights light up.
My other problem is that windows takes FOREVER to load - could be anywhere from 20-45 minutes (this has been going on for almost a month now - I'm almost afraid to shut it down because I'm afraid it won't load back up.
I am COMPLETELY computer illiterate when it comes to these types of problems. I have no idea how to even check my systems specs to tell you what I'm running, it came with very useless, generic paperwork not specific to my computer. This is what is posted on the side of the tower:
Compaq 5410us (bought new in 2002)
Intel Celeron Processor 1.3 Ghz
Windows XP
256 MB ram
40GB hd
16X DVD-rom
8X CD-rom
Integrated Direct AGP 3D graphics
I'm absolutely going crazy, so any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks in advance.
Terri
Ok, I'm actually having an issue with 2 problems. Most disturbing is the fact that, for some unknown reason, just out of the blue, about 2 weeks ago my DVD-rom and CD-rom seemed to have disappeared. They are no longer listed under "My Computer" or in "Device Manager". I did check the BIOS and they were listed there (but, I didn't know what I was supposed to do).
I did a search online and found some info about it possibly being a "registry" issue, but I was unable to delete the "upper filters" and "lower filters" because it did not show them (or maybe again, I did not know exactly what I was looking for.)
I did D/L a couple programs that was supposed to check and fix the registry. The first one did not make a much of a difference - when I rebooted, my CD-rom showed in my computer and in device manager but still would not work, but my DVD-rom did not show up.
The second one really screwed things up even more because it slowed my entire system down to a crawl (as in it took about 5 minutes to open any program instead of just clicking open). I ended up doing a system restore to an earlier date. After the system restore, they were still not showing up.
I tried to install new hardware and at first it wouldn't let me, because it said only one thing could be installed at a time and to wait until it was finished. (I'm assuming windows had detected them and was automatically installing them). After checking in device manager and my comptuer again, the CD-rom was once again showing. But, when I attempted to put in a CD it would not autorun, so I clicked on it from my computer - again this did nothing, then the screen sort of "blinked" and it went missing again.
I didn't particularly want to do a complete re-install with the Recovery CD but am willing to (except, that I can't from the CD because the drive isn't reading it or being recognized by windows). Both drives seem to be working ok as far as I can tell, because the doors open, and the lights come on when a CD is inside and also during startup the lights light up.
My other problem is that windows takes FOREVER to load - could be anywhere from 20-45 minutes (this has been going on for almost a month now - I'm almost afraid to shut it down because I'm afraid it won't load back up.
I am COMPLETELY computer illiterate when it comes to these types of problems. I have no idea how to even check my systems specs to tell you what I'm running, it came with very useless, generic paperwork not specific to my computer. This is what is posted on the side of the tower:
Compaq 5410us (bought new in 2002)
Intel Celeron Processor 1.3 Ghz
Windows XP
256 MB ram
40GB hd
16X DVD-rom
8X CD-rom
Integrated Direct AGP 3D graphics
I'm absolutely going crazy, so any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks in advance.
Terri
