Disc Drive Not Showing Up? 7 Easy Ways You Can Follow

An issue with your DVD, Blu-ray, or CD, such as the disc drive not showing up, is a total nuisance. For instance, you’ll get some of the listed errors in the Device status:

• Code 41: Windows successfully loaded the device driver for this hardware but cannot find the hardware device.
• Code 39: Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing.
• Code 32: A driver for this device has been disabled. An alternate driver may be providing this functionality.
• Code 31: The device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device.
• Code 19: Windows cannot start this hardware device because its configuration information is incomplete or damaged.

Regardless of what code error message you get, it’s necessary to address the issue right away! Thus, to help, this post introduces seven easy ways to fix your ‘DVD drive does not work’ problem with one great tip. Learn everything in the following parts.

Why Is Your Disk Drive Not Showing Up

Know that the ‘disc drive not showing up’ problem of yours, whether for DVDs, CDs, or Blu-rays is done because of several grounds. You’ll eventually know that it is not detected if it doesn't appear in the File Explorer, shows Disk Unknown, or the drive contains a yellow exclamation mark. Hence, symptoms like these are caused by the following:

• The file system itself isn’t supported, or it might be corrupted.
• Problematic network connectivity.
• A hard drive letter issue.
• The used hard drive is outdated, damaged, or unallocated.
• You might have installed or uninstalled a disc recording program.
• The Windows OS is upgraded.

How to Fix Hard Drive Not Showing Up

No matter what symptoms you get, this Windows 10/11 not recognize DVD drive error can be solved! Start by fixing the internal hard drive on your computer yourself using the simple tutorial below, which applies to your most common situation.

Way 1. Update the driver if the hard drive contains a yellow exclamation mark.

Step 1.Search "Device Manager" on your Windows search bar, then select it. Navigate to the "Disk drives", click on its arrow to expand, and see your problematic drive.

Step 2.Right-click on your internal drive, then choose the "Update driver" option. On the new window, favor the "Search automatically for updated driver software" option.

Way 2. Alter the drive letter if the ‘disc drive not showing up’ is due to a letter conflict.

Step 1.Press the "Windows + X" keys to open "Disk Management", and then right-click on the drive that is marked as "New Volume". Favor "Change Drive Letter and Paths", then go for the "Change" button.

Step 2.Appoint a new drive letter to your internal drive before clicking the "OK" button.

Way 3. Change the format to NTFS if a corrupted file causes the hard drive issue.

Step 1.For Windows 11/10/8, press the "Windows + X" keys and choose "Disk Management", while for Windows 7, use the Start button and search "Disk Management".

Step 2.Locate your drive, right-click, and pick "Format". There, set the file system to NTFS, check the "Perform a quick format" box, and click the "OK" button.

4 Ways to Solve External Drive Not Showing Up

Meanwhile, for external drives, though they get their power from a USB port, some may require an external source, which may be among the reasons why DVD, Blu-ray, and CD drive not showing up on Windows 10/11. So, read on for complete, simple steps to solve the disc drive not working or missing.

Way 1. Ensure the external drive is powered on.

As said earlier, some external drives have two ports requiring you to connect an external power supply or a USB cable. After that, ensure that it is powered on. Otherwise, press its "Power" button or push the "Power" switch to the "On" position.

Way 2. Update your system’s driver.

If your external drive is turned on, yet you still have the disc drive not showing up pr detected issue, the drive might be at fault. Hence, updating the driver for external storage is a must! See below the following steps.

Step 1.Work with the "Windows Search" bar to discover the "Device Manager" window and open it. To view your drive on the list, drop towards the "Universal Serial Bus controllers" and click its arrow.

Step 2.Right-click on your drive’s name and click the "Update Driver" option. Later, make sure the "Search automatically for updated software driver" is chosen.

Way 3. Verify if your drive is enabled.

Though your external hard drive is powered on, you might have to do it manually on your system in Disk Management. See how to perform it to fix the disc drive unable to read or recognize a disc using the given detailed instructions.

Step 1.Make use of the "Windows Start" menu button, then search for "Disk Management" in the above search bar. Under "Best Match", click "Create and format hard disk partitions".

Step 2.If your hard drive is in the list and contains the "Offline" label, please enable it by right-clicking your driver’s name inside the Gray box on the right pane and clicking "Online".

Way 4. Uninstall the current drive and then reconnect the external hard drive.

Another simple method that may be effective in solving disc drives not showing up is reconnecting your hard drive. Often, the loaded driver may be corrupted, which results in showing an Unknown device only, so here’s how to uninstall it and, later on, reconnect your external hard drive.

Step 1.Access the "Device Manager" window through the "Windows Search" bar, then right-click on your drive under the "Disc drives" grouping and select "Uninstall drives".

Step 2.Afterward, unplug the USB, wait for a while, then reconnect it; the external hard drive must be loaded on your computer; check it on "File Explorer".

Bonus Tips to Play Repaired Discs with High-Quality

You’ve thankfully discovered the key to your search for ‘disc drive not showing up’. Now, a good yet affordable player, like AnyRec Blu-ray Player, will carefully check whether your disc can be played. With no limitation, this fantastic program can play all videos on Windows and Mac computers, including DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K videos with high quality. It also offers easily accessible playing features, like volume adjustments, video effects, screenshot capabilities, and more. Additionally, it applies highly advanced algorithms to provide your media files with immersive audio-visual quality.

Step 1.First, open AnyRec Blu-ray Player on your computer and insert your disc into the drive, which is fixed with no showing up problem. Click the "Open Disc" button to add your DVD.

Step 2.After you’ve opened it, you can choose the audio track and subtitles. Moreover, you can boost the volume, take screenshots, etc. Click the "Play" button to start.

FAQs

• What causes the ‘DVD player is not working’ problem?

  The DVD player may not work due to the disc tray or the laser being worn out. If you have no idea how to fix it, you should go to a nearby repair store and replace the drive if needed.

• Why is my DVD not recognized in Windows 10?

  The optical drive may not be recognized under the Device Manager, which is why your Windows 10 computer is not reading your DVD. Or, the data surface may be damaged or scratched, making the disc too hard to read.

• What’s the best thing to do if my hard drive is physically broken?

  Suppose your drive has been physically damaged. It’s nice if you won’t use it to avoid damaging the data, so contact a professional or a specialist who can help you recover the data or repair the drive.

• How do I open the disc drive?

  Simply open it by pressing the drive door button gently. Otherwise, close all apps that use the drive, then press the Windows + E keys to access the File Explore; right-click on your optical drive, then select the Eject option, and the disc tray will be opened.

• How can I check the disc drive information?

  To check on your disc drive information, press the Windows + R keys, then input msinfo32, and press the Enter key. Afterward, you may go down to the Components, Disks, Drives, or Storage to get details about your disc drive.

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