hi
i have recently built this pc and all is great now except my cd/dvd drive keeps disappearing.

originaly had an lg gsa-h55n drive installed. windows was installed using this one but it kept disappearing.

i have now got a sony cd drive installed just to keep me going thinking i was going to send the lg back for a replacement.
however this one keeps disappearing too.
both drives have used ide.
i have tried 2 new leads.
pins are on master.

if i restart the computer it turns back up and will play a music disc.
if i try burning a disc,it stops while burning and when i look in "my computer" it has gone again.

i have
asus p5kc mother board
ati radeon hd 2900gt graphics
xp pro
intel dual core 4600
sony cd/rw crx230ee(at the moment
wd2500aaks hard drive

any ideas--keep it layman please!

You say the drive is jumped as master, is the drive on a seperate IDE controller and if so..... where is it connected on the cable ?

what does the bios tell you ?

i had the same problem with mi cd/dvd drives til i updated the bios. there's some talk that the intel 1ch9 southbridge has problems. i updated the chipset drivers and the problem dint stop til i updated the bios.

the drive is connected to the mother board, im sorry i dont understand about the seperate ide controller, what do i look for in the bios?
sorry for sounding like a thicko but i`m a bit of a computer build virgin!

how do you update a bios? do i need to update the chipset drivers as well? or do you think you did not need to.

i'd suggest to read this about bios before proceeding with bios update
Wim's Bios FAQ Link


Chipset update is a windows installer the same as any other program install.
Version 8.3.0.1013 2007/09/20 update link
bottom of list

wow that looks seriously scary....if i get it all wrong is it going to be bad?

this motherboard has a couple real nice features. read your motherboard user manual for how to use them.
[url="http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us"]
BIOS Download Link[/url]
the asus web site has been very slow for me for a couple days. i managed to get the bios and if y'all have problems please let me know and i'll see that you get it.

CrashFree BIOS 3
Simply restore corrupted BIOS data from USB flash disk
The ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 allows users to restore corrupted BIOS data from a USB flash disk containing the BIOS file. This utility saves users the cost and hassle of buying a replacement BIOS chip.

EZ-Flash 2
Simply update BIOS from a USB flash disk before entering the OS
EZ Flash 2 is a user-friendly BIOS update utility. Simply launch this tool and update BIOS from a USB flash disk before entering the OS. You can update your BIOS only in a few clicks without preparing an additional floppy diskette or using an OS-based flash utility.

Have you checked the cable to make sure it's pluged in tight? If that is not it then cable could be bad.