TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-L633M CD/DVD Reader Fix

Warning: This post contains very specific technical language that may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors. Viewer discretion is advised.

My friend recently bought a new HP ProBook 4710s. The first thing he did when he first booted it up was install Norton 360 (shut up you open-source imperialists, Norton works). He put the CD in, it spun and… Nothing. He checked “My Computer” and the drive wasn’t even there. He brought it back to Staples and all they could think to do was re-format for $80.00. My friend decided to leave it there so they could see what they could do without charging him (for some strange reason, wherever a computer’s really screwed up, system restore stops working and it’s not covered by your warranty). The next day, Staples called him and said there was nothing they could do. He took it back and called me. Why I was his last resort, I will never know. I fixed it anyways.

If you have the same problem, here’s how to fix it:

1. Open “regedit” (Start -> Run -> regedit, or in Vista, Start -> type in “regedit”)

2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_<MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

3. Click UpperFilters in the right pane.

4. Back up the key by selecting it and clicking File -> Export.

5. Now, delete the key from the registry (but not UpperFilters.bak)

6. Under the same directory, click LowerFilters.

7. Back up that key.

8. Delete it.

9. Reboot and hope for the best.

Note: If you need to re-add those entries to the registry, double click them. If you go a week without problems, delete them to avoid accidentallyre-adding them (and re-creating the problem).

Funny story, a week later he got a call from Staples telling him that his computer has been re-formatted and was ready to be picked up. My friend told the man he already had his computer, and a quick check of ID numbers confirmed they had wiped the wrong computer…

It would suck to be the guy who asked for a battery replacement and got an empty hard-drive.