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J.R. SitmanFlag for United States of America

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Toshiba Satellite doesn't see DVD drive after upgrade to Win 8 Pro

The model is C55T-A.  I've tried everything in the article, with no luck.  

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

The drive worked fine before the upgrade.  I have a CD in it now that I need to open but can't.  

I hope an EE has the solution.
Avatar of Rob Hutchinson
Rob Hutchinson
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Which sub-model?
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Off of this link:
Toshiba Drivers Link

If the drivers do not exist for the internal DVD drive, your only other option is to just use an external DVD drive via the USB ports.
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Unfortunately I'm accessing it remotely, so I can't physically check the submodel.  Is there another way to check?
Not that I know of, unless you can view it using msinfo32.exe

You can as an alternative, take the time to view all the dozen links that Toshiba has( I viewed a couple) and see if they even have 'any' driver updates for the internal DVD player.
Did you install the chipset drivers for the PC? Are you 100% sure the drive worked properly? DVD drives have 2 lasers, one for DVD's, the other for CD's. If you were previously using DVD's and those were read properly, that doesn't mean it will also read CD's, as one of the lasers can be broken.

So also test it with a DVD, and boot the PC from CD's and DVD's. If booting doesn't work the drive is bad and no driver or OS will fix this.
The laptop is "new"  I haven't installed any Chipset drivers. Yes it worked. I used it to upgrade from win 8 home to Pro.  That's what caused it to disappear.  It is not listed under "computer"
I believe buying an external drive is my best bet based on all your input and other articles I've read.  However, before I do that I'm going to upgrade to 8.1.  Downloading it now.
Sounds good. You might be right, Win7 driver support was bad until they released SP1 so good luck =)
it can be a bad cd - can you open it on another cd drive - or PC ?
test also if you can boot from a bootable cd, like the windows install cd's
the drive may have become bad...
How did you "upgrade"? Did you use anytime upgrade, or did you just reinstall Windows 8 Pro? If you installed windows 8 pro, you must install all the PC's drivers, starting with the chipset driver, with a reboot after that. The chipset are the most important drivers, and they are crucial for all the other drivers to properly install and function.
@nobus, see my previous post.  The drive doesn't even display in "Computer"
I just installed the chipsets.  When the computer reboots I can here it accessing the DVD.  When  I open device manager, the DVD shows as good, and in a few seconds it turns to yellow.  
What else can I do?

I also plugged in an external DVD and it is getting the same results
Install the rest of the drivers, then use windowsupdate to make sure everything is up-to date. Driver updates can also get delivered that way. Once everything is updated insert the DVD to see if you can use it. Aslo check under diskmanagement that a drive letter is assigned.
It is showing error code 19 when I double click on the dvd or external dvd.  Any suggestions?
did you try any of my comments   yet ?
it can be a bad cd - can you open it on another cd drive - or PC ?
test also if you can boot from a bootable cd, like the windows install cd's
the drive may have become bad...
Don't think it's a bad DVD since he also tried an external drive with the same results?

Maybe try contacting Toshiba Support as 'if' this is a common problem with this model laptop, they might be already familiar not only with the problem, but also with the solution.

Sounds like there is some driver missing for a couple of reasons:
1) The internal DVD drive was working okay 'before' you upgraded.
2) You tried another external drive, and got the same results.

What might also be a factor:
The laptop does not fully support Windows 8, and the DVD driver is not available.
The external DVD player you tried is not supported by Windows 8 either.
You don't need "DVD" or "CD" drivers for any OS from Windows NT and above. But as I mentioned earlier, the chipset driver are the essential drivers for all other hardware and drivers of the PC. Some common chipset drivers can already be included with some OS's, but many aren't, so that is always the first drivers to look for.
@rindi you say install all the other drivers.  Could you be more specific?

@nobus, you're not reading my posts correctly.  "The drive doesn't appear in Computer"  Hence it has nothing to do with a bad CD

@WiReDNeT, I also found those articles in Google and I've tried them all.

It's odd that both the internal and external drives show OK when I open device manager, but later turn yellow.
Download all the drivers for your PC from the PC manufacturer's website, and install them.

Also, if you have already installed 3rd party software, like tools that write to DVD or emulates DVD's, uninstall those completely, some may not be compatible with your OS and can cause such issues. Particularly if they include packet writer's like Nero (those packet writer parts should never be installed anyway). When you do install such tools, make sure they are OK for Windows 8, and if necessary install any patches from their sites.
>>   "The drive doesn't appear in Computer"  Hence it has nothing to do with a bad CD  <<  im - you're wrong.if there is no cd in the drive, it won't even show up, so - if the cd is bad it can have the same result...
anyway, i suggest not to TALK about it, but to TEST it - it's the only way of knowing what is happening
As a way to test the hardware if you have an extra hard drive...just re-install the original OS to the 2nd hard drive, and see if the drives work?

Can you open the drive before windows loads?

The ability to open the drive should work if you press a button on the front of the drive.

Usually, you can insert a paperclip in the little pin hole in the front of the drive to remove the DVD.

I'm curious as to why you cannot remove the DVD from the drive.
@nobus, OK, I've done as you requested.  I put the CD in my home computer and it loads just fine.  See attachment.
cd.png
@WireDNet not sure why you thought I couldn't open the drive.  I can.

This is going to confuse everyone.  

I booted in Safemode.  Uninstalled both drives.  Did a scan for hardware changes. Both drive appeared with no errors. I inserted a DVD and it worked.
Booted normally  and the drives were gone.
Uninstalled them and did a scan for hardware changes.  The built in drive appeared with no errors because it had a DVD in it.  However, it had  errors a few minutes later
I uninstalled the external drive.  Put a DVD in it and did a scan.  It appeared and worked.
I'm currently installing 8.1.  I'll post later.
then at least the cd is readable
this leaves us with either the drive or the driver bad
can you boot from a bootable CD?, like windows install CD ?
The install of 8.1 succeeded, but didn't solve the problem.  I know both drives are good because I can use them in safe mode.

Keep thinking guys, I still need your help.
"I have a CD in it now that I need to open but can't."

Just re-reading your original comments that you posted in your first post.
:-)
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Rob Hutchinson
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A BIG THANK YOU TO @WiReDNeT.  It was the Toshiba Optical Disk Drive service.

Also thanks to everyone for sticking with me on this.  

EE is a GREAT source.
Thanks