Gaming CD/DVD Reader Driver

[TheTwoR's]

Hey all.
I was having issues with my CD/DVD drive not being able to read disks.
I searched the laptop model and error message and some douche internet troll advised to "uninstall the reader's driver".
I found that crap ridiculous, so I didn't.
Then today I wanted to put a CD in, and I was seriously fed up because it wasn't read.
I don't know WTF I was thinking, but I actually went and removed the driver.
*facepalm*
Yeah now what?

I don't know the CD/DVD reader's name but I know it's a TSSTcorp and that's about it... :/
How should I know which driver to get? And from where?
I know, ridiculous question but I seriously need help.

 

[Originality]

Search the laptop manufacturer's website for software/drivers for that laptop. Amongst them should be the driver for the laptop's specific DVD drive.

Normally when DVD drives start acting up, there's 3 courses of action: update/reinstall the drivers, update the drive's firmware (e.g. from 1.00 to 1.03), or clean/replace the DVD drive. The problem usually stems from either badly scratched discs (the test is to try another computer and see if it reads) or from the lense being dirty/worn out.

 

[TheTwoR's]

Search the laptop manufacturer's website for software/drivers for that laptop. Amongst them should be the driver for the laptop's specific DVD drive.

Normally when DVD drives start acting up, there's 3 courses of action: update/reinstall the drivers, update the drive's firmware (e.g. from 1.00 to 1.03), or clean/replace the DVD drive. The problem usually stems from either badly scratched discs (the test is to try another computer and see if it reads) or from the lense being dirty/worn out.

I already checked it :/
They only have drivers for the mouse, card reader, speakers, webcam and etc. but nothing related to my disk reader

Thanks anyways...
Is there any way to at least tell which reader is IN my laptop so I can search drivers for it on the internet?

 

[Originality]

The normal method is to look at the Hardware ID in Hardware Manager, then find out what the ID actually means (it'll be unique). I don't know any more than that though.

 

[TheTwoR's]

The normal method is to look at the Hardware ID in Hardware Manager, then find out what the ID actually means (it'll be unique). I don't know any more than that though.

I appreciate the help

... but that opens up more questions..

1) I searched Windows for Hardware Manager, didn't find it. Is it a software to download? If so, where do I get it?

2) Where do I go to decode the ID?

 

[shamiko_]

It's not that difficult really, just re boot your computerand windows will find it
Btw its called device manager.
chances are, that its a dvd rom,with rewritable disc functionality so there will be no drivers for it,
If it still does't work try talking out the drive and put it back in again

 

[Hakoda]

Open up Device Manager. Right click on the DVD drive, click "Properties". Go to the "Details" tab and select "Hardware Ids" under "Property". Copy the first line into Google or here so that we can search for it.

 

[TheTwoR's]

Well I did restart the computer and the driver magically managed to re-install itself. (I can see it in device manager

)
But the problem persists.
It's the millionth time now.
I'm running Windows 7 and I'm inserting a DVD+R wanting to burn some files onto it but a stupid error message comes up "Make sure the disc uses a format that Windows recognizes. If the disc is unformatted, you need to format it before using it".
This happened for every DVD+R I tried, and there's no format option anywhere. I even tried right-clicking to look for a format option but nope... It magically expects me to solve this issue on my own -.-
Thanks guys btw

 

[Originality]

Device Manger - my mistake. Also there are DVD drive drivers, although I don't know anything specific about them - I just plug-n-play, using Windows default drivers.

 

[TheTwoR's]

Well as I said in my above post, after restarting the laptop the CD reader now shows up, and when I go to device manager, it tells me I already have the best driver. But I still can't format the stupid DVD? (And no it's not a bad batch this happens to any DVD I try..)
Thanks guys.

 

[Rydian]

There's no format option because CD/DVDs don't work like that.

Have you tried a burning program like CDBurnerXP (which does DVDs and works on Vista/7)?

 

[yesjohn]

It's posible to format cd-rw. Im not sure about dvd-rw. I never used them

 

[Rydian]

RWs yes (both), but not R.