This document pertains to HP and Compaq Desktop Computers using Windows 8, 7, Vista, or XP.

HP and Compaq Desktop computers come with CD and DVD drives from different drive manufacturers. Use the information in this document to identify the CD or DVD drives installed in your computer, and to check the firmware versions in use. It is a good idea to use the latest firmware to address known issues and increase performance.

  note:

The type of drive installed in the computer can also be found in the product specifications for your model of HP computer.

The Device Manager utility in Microsoft Windows provides information on the devices installed in your computer. Use the following steps to determine drive types and firmware versions.

1. Open Device Manager.
   • In Windows 8, move the cursor to the lower left corner of the Start screen, right-click and select Device Manager in the menu.
   • In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, click Start , and type Device Manager into the Search field.
   • In Windows XP, click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties, Hardware, Device Manager.
2. In the Device Manager window, double-click DVD/CD-ROM drives to display a list of CD and DVD drives installed in your computer.
   Figure : Device Manager listing showing two drive names

   
3. Double-click a drive name to open the drive Properties window.
4. Click the Details tab.
5. In the Property field, click the down arrow and from the drop down menu, select Device Instance Path or Device Instance Id (whichever is available for your version of Windows).

     note:

   The configuration of these values might vary depending on the version of Windows.

   In the Value field, the first part of the Value identifies the drive type followed by a long series of underscores, and then the firmware version number. The rest of Value is not needed.
   In the following graphic example, the first part of the value shown identifies the drive type as "IDE\CDROMHL_BDDVDRW_GBC-H20L", followed by the firmware version number of 1.B8.
   Write the version number down.
   Figure : Drive Properties window

   
   Now that the drive type and firmware version number are known, you can check if there are any firmware updates available for this drive.

Firmware updates might be available online from the HP Web site. Follow the steps below to check if there is a newer firmware version available.

1. Go to the HP Software & Driver Downloads Web page.

     note:

   If the main Get software and drivers page opens, type the exact model name of your HP or Compaq computer in the field provided, and click Next .

2. Click the name of the operating system that is installed on your computer.
   A "Select software and drivers" Web page containing a list of drivers and software opens.

     note:

   If the computer has Windows Vista, you need to know if the operating system type is Vista or Vista 64-bit . To find out, click Start , right-click Computer, select Properties , and read the System type.

3. In the center of the Software & Driver Downloads Web page, scroll through the table to the section titled "Firmware".
4. In the Firmware section, find the name of the drive that matches the drive name that you found previously using Device Manager.
   Figure : Example of the firmware section for an HP Media Center m7260n computer

   
5. Compare the firmware version listed in the Firmware section with the version you wrote down earlier. If the number in the firmware section is greater than the version on the computer, you should download and install the firmware update using the instructions on the download page.