CD-ROM shows "This device is working properly" in Device Manager, but doesn't or show

[joeAgain------]

(Please tell me if I'm in the wrong area of this board)

But a friend living hundreds of miles away uses XP and ran an "unasked for" Pop-Up utility that said he had computer problems because of malware or spyware some unnamed entity had installed on his computer. Unfortunately he doesn't remember the name of the "so called spyware detector/remover", but he fell for the "Warning" and ran the program to "check" his system.

Of course, as most those unrequested detect/remover programs do...it found many "so called serious" problems. But would Not "fix/clean them" unless he payed for the program.

From THAT point on, his CD-ROM wouldn't work(which it had dependably always before)....the Device Manager that it "is there" and what make/model it is....and also says that it is enabled and working properly(but it isn't working, as before). And the Icon disappeared from from the My Computer folder. I guess that program somehow did something to it, in order to force people to pay for the program to "fix it" and othe so-called problems!

Has anybody ever heard of this?
Can you help me get his CD-ROM accessable and working dependably as before? Please??

thanks,
jA--

 

[Bob Cerelli]

If after you remove CD Burning software or making other changes, you can no longer access your CD ROM's, the following registry keys need to be deleted:

Locate and delete the UpperFilters and LowerFilters values under the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

You can download a registry file to do this for you automatically from:
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/reg/cd_restore.reg

 

[joeAgain------]

Well, it appears that trickster program did change some kind of settings. But I don't believe it uninstalled the burner software.

Should he make the registry changes you suggest, then remove and reinstall the burner software.

Or what?

 

[Colossus610]

I would recommend the changes Bob Cerelli pointed out, I work on PC's every day and have seen this issue quite often as of late, and if the Registry fixes he pointed out don't work, there's not much else that it could be, short of hardware issues.
So if you want, make sure the burning software is uninstalled, apply the registry changes Bob recommended, and then, yes reinstall the burning software.


But that's only my 2 cents, he's got a much larger post count, and therefore I suppose he's got a higher "Satisfied Customer List"

 

[joeAgain------]

thanks guys
Forgive me for being a little "dense" on this.....but are you saying the problem might be fixed solely by running that registry change program?

Is it possible the burner software somehow got corrupted also?

 

[Flags]

Joe: That's what the man said. Just run the script, problem gone. No need to uninstall the burner software.

 

[joeAgain------]

OK, I'll tell him to run that script....thanks alot!

Just got off the phone with his sister who told me something weird also started happening about the same time....and I have Zero idea what could cause this. She told me that anytime he tries to access his 401K site from his home computer, the machine "flashes" radidly and repeatedly enough make it extremely difficult to get any info.
But on other computers that doesn't happen when he accesses it.

What in the world could cause that?
(no amount of virus scans show up anything)

Has anyone got ANY idea how THAT can be happening?
(his system restore utility doesn't work either)