What is the model # of the device? I would suspect a hardware failure. The drive is starting to go. Check for a firmware update from Lite-On. Click on the properties of the device in device manager and select the details tab, hardware ids in the drop-down. The last numbers should be the firmware revision. The second link is the direct download for the firmware update utility from Lite-On. http://us.liteonit.com/us/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=152 http://www.liteonodd.com/en/service-support/download/doc_download/22--smartpack-firmware-auto-upgade-program-for-optical-storage-products Check Event Viewer-the should be an error or something reported when it fails. Did you install any new software?

Thanks for the reply: The model # is Lite On DVDRW SHM 165P6S. Firmware MS0R, which is the latest firmware - checked using the utility link you provided. No relevant errors in the event viewer at the moment. No new software installed, but I did update the computer bios recently Derek

Since you have two of these drives try switching them with each other. If the issue stays with the orginal drive its defective. If the issue starts with the switched drive, then its not the drive itself.There are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who dont.

Hi, Thanks for the post. You may try the suggestion provided by Shrevelaw. Also, the following link is for your reference. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929461 Regards, Juke TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tnmff@microsoft.com. Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

My computer has 2 DVDRW drives installed which have operated without any problem for the last year. In the last few days when I first boot up my computer my LiteOn DVD drive shows as a CDROM drive - also I can't open the drive using the button on the drive or eject by right clicking the icon in my computer. The drive is unuseable! If I look at device manager it shows as a LiteOn DVD device. The BIOS recognizes the LiteOn DVD Device. However My Computer shows the device as a CD ROM. I have checked the connections on the drives and replaced the IDE cable to the motherboard with no effect. The only way I can get the drive to function is to carry out a System Restore to an earlier date and on the reboot after the restore, the drive is correctly shown as a DVDRW drive and is now fully functional. The first time I did this, it appeared that the problem was solved, but the next day when I booted up the computer the drive had become a CDROM drive and was no longer functioning again! I have since carried out another System Restore and the drive is now recognized again and I have copied the relevant part of the registry, to import if I have the problem again. My operating system is Windows 7 Ultimate. I don't feel I have solved the problem and would welcome any suggestions Derek

Hi, How's going? Please feel free to give us any update. Regards, Juke TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tnmff@microsoft.com. Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Thanks for the responses. Still a problem. After another system restore, the DVD drive was correctly identified; unfortunately on start up the next day it was identified as a CD Drive again. I imported the registry settings that I'd saved (when the drive was identified as a DVD drive); but it made no difference! As was suggested in another post, I beleive that I have a hardware issue with the 'Jekyll and Hyde' drive and have ordered a replacement, which should arrive next week. I'll report back to the forum when it is installed. Regards,

If both optical drives are on the same IDE bus and cable, try setting the drives with the jumpers to master and slave. Not cable select. You cannot use the optical drive on a bus\cable with a hard drive.

Both optical drives are on the same IDE bus. I changed the jumpers from Cable Select to Master and Slave, but the problem still persisted. The 'faulty' drive is the Slave drive. Regards

Hi, Please just connect the problematic optical drive for a test. Also, you may insert a bootable DVD disk into this drive such as Windows 7 Installation disk, then try to boot from this device to see whether this drive can read it. Additionally, please try the following Automatical diagnostic. http://support.microsoft.com/mats/cd_dvd_drive_problems/en-us Regards, Juke TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tnmff@microsoft.com. Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread. ”

Hi, I replaced the 'faulty' drive with a replacement DVDRW drive and so far after 2days the drive is correctly displayed as a DVDRW drive. I shall continue to monitor the situation for a few more days, but it does appear to be a hardware problem with the original drive. I will post what happens. Regards

Hi, Thanks for your update. According to your description, this issue should be a hardware issue. Since this is a hardware issue, so I will mark your reply as "Answered". Meantime, please keep monitorring this issue, if you have any further finds, please do not hesitate to get in touch. You may also choose to ummark this thread. Thanks for understanding. Regards, Juke TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tnmff@microsoft.com. Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread. ”