600X does not recognize CD-Rom - Help!!

[jtlo38]

I have a Thinkpad 600X, 2645-4EU, running WinXP-SP3 The 'Device Manager' insists on showing a 'floppy' drive when none exists and will not recognize the CD-ROM that is installed. I have tried everything I could find, but to no avail. I have updated BIOS from Levono, enabled CD-R and disabled Floppy on Configuration, yet only Floppy is displayed on "Device Manager."

The CD-ROM was working several months ago, then disappeared and the 'floppy' was listed, and the CD-ROM would not run.

Can anyone help me on this? This is driving me nuts!!

Thanks.........John L. (jtlo38)
jlongmir@bellsouth.net

[AlphaKilo470]

I have a 600X as well. For most ThinkPads made in the 1990s, Windows will register a floppy being present regardless of whether or not there really is one attached to the system. That floppy drive detected is actually the external floppy drive port on the side of the laptop.

Try booting from the cd rom if you have any bottable CDs. When opening the device manager, do you see any devices flagged as being disabled or having errors?

[jtlo38]

Thanks for the reply........but you failed to notice that my CD-Rom has stopped working and is not listed on the Device Mgr. I cannot run any CD's and do not have a Floppy Drive.

Again, thanks for the reply. I am at my wits end !

John... jtlo38
jlongmir@bellsouth.net

[rkawakami]

Problem could be hardware or software. Attempting to boot the system with a known good boot CD would eliminate Windows as being a (the) problem. A cheap replacement CDROM can be had for around $10. Currently on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0336533602
(used "(ibm,thinkpad) 600* (cd,cdrom,cd/dvd)" as a search)

Also, with the system powered up, does the LED on the bottom of the laptop light up? If not, then perhaps the drive is dead (or receiving no power from the motherboard). Have you tried physically removing the Ultrabay drive and re-installing it? If there's a bad/dirty/loose connection, this might (temporarily) solve the problem.

[jtlo38]

The LED 'is' lit and I have inspected the 'socket' for any problems, but found none.

I have replaced the drive with a old spare that I have, but no help. Also, I have a replacement CD-Rom on order. I will post again when it is received. Hopefully, that will be the fix.

Thank you for the reply,
John....jtlo38
jlongmir@bellsouth.net

[jtlo38]

I have now replaced my CD-Rom with a new one and still have the same problem. Removed the unit, restarted the computer, cut computer off, inserted new CD-Rom and restarted the computer. The unit was still not recognized. I have updated BIOS and no help. May just have to get another laptop

[rkawakami]

It's not clear to me that you took Alphakilo470's and my advice about attempting to boot the system with a known good boot CD. I understand that Windows is not recognizing the drive but Windows itself might be the reason it's AWOL. Successfully booting the system via the CD drive will say that the problem is a Windows configuration issue. Not being able to boot from a CD could say it's a hardware issue with your motherboard or drive(s).

edit: Be sure to also verify that the BIOS' "Start up/Power-on" menu has the CDROM drive specified before the hard drive. Use the "Reset" button to clear the boot order and then select the CDROM device before HDD-1. There is a somewhat common issue with CD and DVD drives going missing in Windows (has to do with a registry entry), but I'm hesitant to throw that into the solution pile if other diagnostics are (easily and safely) available. The Windows problem has been documented by Microsoft but it requires editing the registry. If you're not careful, you can cause more damage to Windows than what you already have.

[jtlo38]

Hi Ray,thanks for the response.

As my laptop does not recognize the CD-ROM, it will not read a CD, so cannot boot from a CD.

I have updated BIOS from 'Lenovo', and have reset the boot sequence, but it was no help.

If you know anything that would help, by entries to registry, etc., I would appreciate the knowledge. I know enough to be careful when delving in 'regedit' or with 'msconfig', so am willing to make the attempt.

Thanks again,
John ...jtlo38
jlongmir@bellsouth.net

[rkawakami]

Okay, but the Windows issue with a missing optical drive should not prevent the system from booting from it. The fix has to do with the UpperFilters key in the registry and can be found here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060

I doubt that this is your problem, given your description of not being able to boot from a CD.