IBM Thinkpad without optical drive cannot recognise Benq external dvd-rewriter

[Elliah]

i have this old IBM thinkpad X30 that does not have a built in optical drive..so I tried to connect my Benq dvd-rewriter to it and the first time round it installed and ran ok...but after I rebooted the laptop, the dvd drive was recognised only as a USB storage device and not an optical drive. What could be the problem?

 

[wakasaki]

Hi Elliah,

I'm no computer expert but I will try my best.

What is your operating system? And is your Benq dvd-rewriter compatible with that operating system?

Is "Benq dvd-rewriter" the exact name of your dvd rewriter? Or is it something like,
BenQ DW1670 DVD ReWriter?

I tried to find drivers for your dvd rewriter but I think I need more information.

I'm thinking this may be a driver problem, but I'm not sure.

When you plugged your dvd rewriter into your computer for the first time did your computer have to go online to find drivers for it? Or did it start working with drivers that came with your operating system?

Also you can try these steps if the above information didn't help.
1. disconnect your dvd rewriter from your computer
2. Locate your dvd rewriter driver in the Device Manager and Uninstall it.
3. Reboot your computer, plug in your dvd rewriter and see what happens.

I'll look up more information about this tomorrow, it's really late now sorry.