I have the above drive. When I start my system all works find but if I don't use the cd-rw for several minutes, say around 45 to an hour, the drive disappears and is not listed in My computer or on the device manager.
The only way I've found to correct this problem is to reboot the machine.
There's got to be a simple way to fix this or find out if the drive is bad.
QUOTE]
gmknobl:
I've been fighting an almost identical problem

with my CD-RW and DVD-ROM drives for the last month or so, as well. Thus far, I've been unable to determine or resolve the issue(s). I posted in the PC Hardware section of this board and have had some good responses from roadworker that has been very responsive and informative. (Also posted on CD FREAKS

without any responses...) Check out my posts and responses at:
Disappearing CD-RW/DVD Drives-WIN XP
If you're still having the issues, one way to start to identify some of the problem(s) is to use the Event Viewer (START; Control Panel; Administration Tools; Event Viewer) Right Click and send to desk top as a shortcut. Open Event Viewer and double click on System. This will detail the ongoing information and Errors. If the Event Errors are the same, it may be similar causes as mine.
In my case, the CD-RW and DVD drives start failing to respond within the timeout periods and then they 'disappear' from the system entirely only to come back upon reboot. During the intervals when the drives are failing to respond, the system slows every five seconds during the unsuccessful polling of the drives.
At first roadworker indicated that it may be due to the Intel Application Accelerator (IAA) install and issues with the IdeChnDR/drivers. After removing the IAA and resetting for the bus to a standard Dual Channel PCI IDE controller, I was able to access the drives and use them for a few hours but then the system started with the atapi reporting errors with the IDE Devices failing to respond and the drives 'disappeared' all over again.
At this point, I've rebooted and used Device Manager to disable both drives until I can open my PC and disconnect each of the drives to see if I can isolate if its the drives' hardware, connections or ...??
As a suggestion, you might review my posts and see if your issues are the same or similar. Likewise, you may want to post in the hardware section for assistance. It seems, from what I've read, that CD-RW and DVD drives are susceptible to 'disappearing', especially with Intel mobos, chips and IAA. Good luck and let me know if you find a resolution on your issues...
Telecorder