I upgraded to vista and now my Hp dvd reader 1040i wont read any disk it doesn't even recognize that there is a disk in the drive. It worked perfectly in xp. please help.

Did you use an upgrade version or full install version where you have to reformat then install Vista from scratch?

Is the drive listed in My Computer and Device Manager?

When you say "it doesn't even recognize that there is a disk in the drive" are you referring to a blank disk or a disk that contains data, music, or movie?

Do you have dvd decoding software installed that's compatible with the new OS? This is needed to play dvd movie disks and avi or mpeg files (combined with WMP). WMP will not play dvd movie disks or video files without a compatible dvd decoder installed.

i used the full install version

the drive is listed in both with no errors listed

i tried multiple disks all games or software

no dvd decoder installed

With no dvd decoding software (ie: WinDVD or PowerDVD) installed, you won't be able to play dvd movie disks or play any video files. And when the drive is listed in both My Computer and Device Manager (with no flags), but will not work, it's usually a bad or flaky drive.

However, drive problems can be associated with programs that are installed on the machine. This usually happens when a piece of software is uninstalled and doesn't remove all its connections to the drives, which you didn't even know it had installed. And this can normally be fixed by performing the "delete upper and lower filters" registry fix. Instructions can be found in about 75% of the threads in the CD/DVD Request forum that have been posted for the last 5 years.

I'd suggest trying that fix first to see if by chance it will fix your problem. If it doesn't then the next thing to consider is any recently installed or uninstalled programs.
If you have recently installed or uninstalled any programs (like recording software, iTunes, or Adobe products) then those can cause the drive to stop working.

If the programs have been ruled out then I'd seriously consider a new drive.

Additionally, you might want to visit and read the information presented on the following web pages:

For optical drive problems in Windows Vista, read this HP web page. (h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00817052&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3752864&os=2093&lang=en) Even though it's for HP/Compaq machines, the same principal applies to all modern IDE & SATA optical drives regardless of brand.

If your drive stopped working after installing an Adobe product, please read this thread. (kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb402306&sliceId=1) Note: about 2/3rds. down the page is a video that shows how to peform the "delete upper and lower filters fix".

This is a multi-page thread dealing with issues of the optical drive and problems encountered in Windows XP and Vista. It covers a lot of issues and the most common causes and solutions. Click here (discuss.extremetech.com/forums/thread/1004364399.aspx) to read the thread.

You can get instructions for performing this fix from Microsoft at this page (support.microsoft.com/kb/314060) and from this page. (support.microsoft.com/kb/314060/nl) Even though the threads indicate for Windows 2000 and Windows XP, the same principles apply to Windows Vista OS.