Sometimes it happens that when you try to install the seventh version of the Windows operating system (and only this version) at a certain stage, instead of starting the installation, the system displays a message that it cannot find a driver for the optical drive. Windows 7 is a rather moody OS in this regard. But the saddest thing is that the installation can be done from a regular flash drive, and the optical drive can be absent altogether! Where is the logic? This issue requires a deeper and more careful study, therefore, we will consider what can be done if the necessary driver for the optical disc drive is not found (we take Win 7 as a basis).
Previously, everyone complained about “Vista”: they say that the system looks absolutely raw and incomplete, but then, as it turned out, the turn came and the “sevens”, also not immune from various kinds of flaws, which, to the chagrin of many users, are still at the stage installation. There are not so many solutions to this problem, but some of them can correct the situation. And for a start, we will understand why such an error appears, and only then we will make a decision about how to deal with it.
The essence of the error "The required driver for the optical disc drive was not found" (Win 7)
Actually, the point is not even in the installation distribution, although sometimes it plays an important role. Here the so-called pre-installation environment Windows PE (Pre-installation Environment), which is responsible for starting the installation and is built into the kernel of the system, is to blame.
And the appearance of a notification that the necessary driver for the drive was not found, just indicates that there are problems with it. As a rule, it simply cannot recognize the USB drive, considering it an optical drive (although there is no drive). But sometimes this can really apply specifically to optical drives (it will be further understood why). And far from always such a situation can relate specifically to PE, since you can meet quite a lot of completely different cases when this environment has nothing to do with this problem, by and large.
Possible causes of the problem
As for the reasons in connection with which a notification is issued that the driver for a laptop drive (of any type, because the USB port is also a drive) or a stationary PC can be quite a lot, but the following are usually distinguished among the most common:
- incorrect drive connection;
- Using USB 3.0 without support from a flash drive
- sudden removal of a disk or flash drive (or loss of contact in the port) during installation;
- installing the system from a disk with custom firmware;
- incorrectly recorded ISO image;
- corrupted ISO image;
- damaged or defective media (disks with the noname attribute);
- drive clogging with dust;
- damage to the drive or port.
Based on the above reasons, we will seek a solution to resolve the problem. All of them are quite simple and do not require any special knowledge.
Checking drive connectivity
To begin, consider how to connect a drive, if we are talking about an optical drive. Everyone knows that it needs to be inserted into a special compartment on a stationary terminal, laptop, or using an external connection. But installing a drive is not the most important thing. The main thing is the correct connection of loops to it.
Please note that the loops for the hard drive and drive are the same, but the whole point is in the Master / Slave jumper. Remember: the hard drive is always connected only through the Master (of course, if the system has only one hard drive), and the drive - exclusively through the Slave. In passing, pay attention to the interface used (IDE, SATA, etc.) and the position of the jumper.
How to connect a drive, of course. But why, then, nothing happens when you insert a disc into it? In theory, when the reading process begins, the LED should flash on the drive, but the drive does not show signs of life.
Device activation in BIOS
Here the problem may consist in the fact that in the primary system this device is simply not activated, therefore it is not accessible to the main system (an error related to the lack of a driver for a DVD drive may be issued in this case as well).
To check when restarting a computer or laptop, you must enter the BIOS settings, and then check in the hardware section whether the drive is visible. If so, you may have to enable it (select Enabled in the device line). After that, you can reboot and look at the result.
Problems reading optical discs
But it often happens that the drive is recognized, active, and the drive cannot be read. The system again displays a notification that the driver for the CD drive is missing.
In this case, the problem may be that in the drive itself dust fell on the optical lens or it simply failed. But most of all, the problem is caused by poor-quality media. In this situation, you can try just to write the image to another disk and try to install from it.
On the other hand (and this is confirmed by a sufficiently large number of users and specialists), most often the message that the necessary driver for the drive was not found is received by all those who recorded the image in the UltraISO program. And this applies equally to optical disks and USB-drives. Why this happens is not known for certain, but the fact remains.
Another kind of problem when the system reports that the necessary driver for the drive was not found is a damaged installer image. In this case, we are talking about a situation when it was downloaded from the Internet. Perhaps you should find another resource and download the image from there, and then write to the desired medium.
The same, incidentally, applies to unofficial custom repacks. In theory, the system during the installation process installs the necessary drivers from its own database automatically, and in such firmware the necessary driver may be absent as such. The solution is to download the official distribution kit (if activation is required, you can always use the tiny KMSAuto Net utility, although this is illegal).
Finally, the reason for the message that the necessary driver for the drive was not found may be a completely banal situation when the disc was burned at maximum speed. It is believed that the best option for recording is the minimum speed supported by both the drive and the optical medium itself (it is best to use 2x, if possible, 1x or at least 4x, but not higher).
Functional check in the "Device Manager"
But, perhaps, the drive itself for some reason does not work. In such a situation, you can simply connect it to another computer with an already installed system and check its performance there. If the OS does not install the appropriate software, in the “Device Manager” (devmgmt.msc in the Run menu), the drive will be marked in yellow or designated as an unknown device. In this case, there is nothing left but to download the necessary driver.
Where can I find a driver for a drive?
Here, many begin to have problems. If the drive is detected in the system, but the driver is missing, on the Internet you need to not just find it, but contact the manufacturer’s official resource. Downloading it from anywhere is not worth it, since it is commonplace to catch a virus.
But there are so many drivers on the manufacturer’s website that there can be dozens of them even for one device or similar devices. To select exactly what you need, in the “Device Manager” you should use the properties section, called via RMB on the drive line, and go to the information tab, select the equipment ID in the drop-down menu at the top and use the longest line containing DEV identifiers for an exact search and ven. In principle, you can refer to special sites that are created in order to find drivers for this data. After loading the driver, along with the image, it remains to write to the USB-drive and install from it, and if an error occurs, specify the path to the driver on the removable device.
Installing the system from a USB drive
But here the user is in trouble. A message about the absence of a driver may appear even in this case.
First of all, just try to remove the USB flash drive from the port and insert it back (you never know, maybe the contact disappears). If this does not help, use a different port. Finally, look at which port the drive is inserted into (Windows 7 does not support USB 3.0). The port itself is usually painted blue inside.
BIOS settings and options
If this option does not work, you must use the BIOS again. Here we are interested in several important settings.
First of all, the HDD operation mode needs to be switched to AHCI (without this, installing any system is simply impossible).
If the computer really has a USB port 3.0, there, in the settings, you need to disable it for a while. In addition, for USB, you need to deactivate XHCI mode, and set the USB emulation settings to Auto.
After completing all the steps, of course, you need to save the changes made (usually use F10 + Y or the “OK” button), then boot from removable media and install again, without forgetting to put the flash drive first for loading.
This technique, judging by the same reviews on a variety of forums, works flawlessly. In the end, you can simply completely format the media and change the program to record the installation image. You never know ...
Sometimes the above settings are completely impractical. It is enough to simply reset all the parameters to the factory state and try to install again. Who knows, maybe this option will give the desired result. In any version or modification of the BIOS, you can find a line like Load Setup Defaults or something similar, use it and agree to change the parameters.
As a last resort, if nothing happens with the BIOS settings, and the message about the lack of a driver appears again and again, you can try applying the latest solution, which is to download and install a newer firmware for the primary I / O system. True, if on some systems the update point is already built into the shell itself, there will be no problems. But for all other modifications, the firmware will have to be downloaded and installed independently, but you should be extremely careful, because with inappropriate firmware or even interruptions in electricity during its update, the consequences can be disastrous.
Problems with the drive in the installed system?
But suppose the system is still installed from a USB device. It so happens that users complain that the drive is not visible in the Explorer and immediately start to panic. Not worth it, as this is a normal situation. The fact is that some models of optical drives have such accompanying software that hides the drive in file managers until the disk is inserted into it.
If the drive is not visible even when the disk is inserted, you should check its definition in the "Device Manager". If it is not there, you need to expand the list using the display of hidden devices. Perhaps for him the driver itself was installed incorrectly. To correct the situation, you will have to either update the driver (in the PCM menu or on the corresponding tab by pressing the button of the same name), or remove the driver or device completely, and after Windows reports that new hardware has been found, but an error occurred during the installation of the driver (such also happens), install the appropriate software on your own, specifying as the source the very USB flash drive on which the driver was recorded at previous stages. In the end, you can simply copy it to your hard drive and select a location there.
However, these are all standard situations that can be corrected quite simply. But it may be such that the drive in the system is working properly, but for some reason the drive does not read the disks. What to do in this situation? There may be several options: a damaged disk, a dusty or broken drive (although visible in the system). In the first case, just insert a normal medium and look at the result. In the second - you can blow the drive a little, so to speak, or remove dust and dirt from the main leaving pocket. If none of this takes effect, the drive will have to be repaired or even replaced altogether. At the same time, you should not buy any specific models for which the driver system may not appear in the database, but give preference to common brands. The system will install, as it seems to her, the most suitable driver, but in fact the drive will not be able to work under its control.
Brief conclusions
So, here are all the situations that may be associated with errors that indicate the absence of the necessary drivers for the drives. As you already noticed, this problem does not apply only to DVD drives, because even if they are absent, it can appear when you try to install Windows 7 from USB drives or even external HDDs, which are also classified as drives by the system.
It is believed that with the missing optical drive, the most effective solution is to set the above parameters in the BIOS, plus use only the USB 2.0 interface, since the third modification in the "seven" is not supported.
If we are talking exclusively about optical drives, the most likely causes may be incorrect connections and problems with installation images or unofficial distributions, not to mention, of course, purely technical failures.
Accordingly, in identifying such problems, one or more of the above solutions should be applied. At least one proposed technique, but will help.