Using Windows XP ... Dell Dimension 8250.
I cannot access my D and E drives (DVD and CDRW). They do not show as available drives. I see them in Device Manager, however, both have a yellow "!" next to them. I have tried to uninstall and have them found when I restart the system.

The drives are found as new hardware but an error message says the drives cannot be located ... code 41.

Any ideas?

This fix might work Restore CD/DVD Drives to Windows Explorer (http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts_desc/xp_cd_dvd_fix.htm)

Try one at a time on the ide cable. I had a cd-rom die on me recently that would make both drives (other was a cd-rw) dissappear in My Computer.

I tried one drive at a time .. to no avail. Drive would still not be recognized. I switched cables between the two drives and my hard drive. The two drives still were not there.

Remove both from Device Manager completely, attach only one to the IDE cable, (preferably the Master drive) and try it. Then try the other.

I find that CD/DVD drives usually work better jumpered as Master or Slave, not Cable Select as set on some factory machines. Check your jumper settings, use Master for the drive on the end of the IDE cable, Slave for the one on the second connector. Pictures that will help Here (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=25502) if you're not familiar with jumpers.

Might also be a good idea to try booting to a win98 start up disk and see if DOS recognizes both drives. If the boot disk sees both and Windows doesn't, let us know.

Hi Paleo Pete ... completed all tasks suggested. Removed both from Device Manager and attached only one to IDE. No luck.

I then changed the drives to Master/Slave and tried with those settings. This did not work either.

I booted from a Dell diagnostic disk and checked the drives. They both passed the Self Diagnostic, Seek and Read scan tests.

Both drives still MIA in Windows.

I pulled a working CDRW out of another PC and tried installing it into my system. Same results with the new drive.

I have found the issue, thanks for the help .. I needed to edit Windows registry :

Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
2. Locate the UpperFilters value under the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
3. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
4. Locate the LowerFilters value under the same key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
5. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
6. Quit Registry Editor.NOTE: After you remove the Upperfilters value and the Lowerfilters value, if you notice lost functionality in a particular program, such as CD recording software, you may need to reinstall that software. If the problem recurs, consult with the software vendor for assistance.
7. Restart your computer.

I wouldn't have guessed that for a solution. Did you find the fix in microsoft knowledgebase?

Someone who had a similar problem directed me to look there ..

Here is the link to MSKB for the above
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314060

Or if you have removed Adaptec Easy CD Creator and get the same/similar fault
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;270008

Or if after installing XP CD/DVD dirves are missing
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;320553

Or in the event that the Floppy drive goes walk about
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;812489

No I am not a smart a*** :p I just finished reading about this fault 30 minutes ago in an old PC magazine, and just followed through to find the others.

I have found the issue, thanks for the help .. I needed to edit Windows registry :.........The fix from Dougknox does exactly the same thing...... automatically editing the registry. :)