I'm pretty new to computers and can use all the help I can get. The problem is--I upgraded to a new CD-ROM about a year or so ago, and it's run OK for the most part. However, there are performance problems-- (1) Music CDs play fine, but-- (2) AUTORUN--well, doesn't. The device manager doesn't list an actual CD-ROM as existing, so there's no way to activate AUTORUN. (3) Some software CD's run OK, but others--it's nearly impossible to get them to run. If I find the "start.exe" file and double-click on it, I get the error message that says "Windows cannot find..." said file. (4) The device manager lists the Primary IDE controller as malfunctioning (yellow '!' next to it). When this is double-clicked, I get "This device is either not present, not working properly or does not have all its drivers installed. Try updating driver (Code 10)." When said update is attempted, it responds with something like "Correct driver is already installed." Would an improper installation account for this? I don't have the installation instructions anymore (natch), and I'm VERY capable of doing something that dim. How would I troubleshoot the installation to see if it's correct at this late date (in layman's terms)? The only manufacturer I can make out on the casing is "EPO Science and Technology" from Taiwan--no Panasonic or any other recognizable manufacturer I ever heard of. If it's not likely to be an installation problem, what other problems COULD it be? Any help appreciated--Thanx

Take the cdrom off your sound card and install it on your IDE port.

If that was a joke, I missed something. Ron, go to start/run/ and type in sysedit. Make sure autoexec.bat is blank. Lines like a:\MSCDEX.exe /D:MSCD001 /M:10 cause problems. Same with config.sys -- blank them out and save them. Then reboot into safe mode (hit the F8 when booting to get the menu) and go to device manager. Remove all your hard disk controllers. Then reboot. PnP should make everything right.

It is possible to "hide" commands in autoexec.bat and config.sys so you can try your changes without deleting anything yet. Do this by typing the word "rem" (no quotes and put a space ) in front of the line. Then save the changes. I wouldn't delete anything without first hiding the command to see how things run. Back up those two files to a floppy incase you need to boot from a floppy and copy the original files back onto the system from an "A:" prompt. You can do this by going to an A: prompt, put a floppy in your floppy drive, type the command (without the quotations and a space between each set of letters) "copy c:config.sys a:config.sys" and "copy c:autoexe.bat a:autoexe.bat" If your computer doesn't bootup after changes you made to those files then you can boot up with your startup floppy and then put in the floppy with those two backups. At the A: prompt, just reverse the order of the a and c drives to copy the files back on to the computer - "copy a:config.sys c:config.sys" etc... P.S., I don't know much, but troubleshooting books are sure helpful!

Hi Ron My suggestion would be ... You need to get into the registry (C:WINDOWS\REGEDIT.EXE) Do a search for NOIDE and if anything comes up - delete the entry. This should then fix the yellow exclamation point and show up the CD-ROM. Good luck ! Krystyna

Many thanks to all who took time to help. I'm VERY new to computers, so I'll be moving very cautiously here. Response to-- Name: techtony Date: November 24, 2000 at 14:51:29 Subject: CD-ROM problems and primary IDE controller Reply: "If that was a joke, I missed something. Ron, go to start/run/ and type in sysedit. Make sure autoexec.bat is blank. Lines like a:\MSCDEX.exe /D:MSCD001 /M:10 cause problems." Here's what the sysedit page shows (one of them, anyway)-- On the C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT page I see: SET CTCM=C:\WINDOWS SET SOUND=C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\CTSND SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6 @echo off REM ************************************************************** REM * This line was added by IDE CD-ROM in 05/21/2000 20:18 * REM ************************************************************** LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.exe /D:IDECD001 /M:20 Should I cut everything on this page and leave it blank? (Saving to floppy, natch!) "Same with config.sys -- blank them out and save them." That's what I'll take your instructions to mean--leave both pages as part of sysedit, only blanked out--and then proceed with the remainder of your instructions-- "Then reboot into safe mode (hit the F8 when booting to get the menu) and go to device manager. Remove all your hard disk controllers. Then reboot. PnP should make everything right." I'll proceed as indicated. Please feel free to holler if I'm misreading something! I very much appreciate your assistance! --Ron