One of the common issues many Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 users are experiencing is missing optical drive icon. According to users, after installing the operating system or upgrading to Windows 10/8.1, Windows 10 or 8.1 doesn’t recognize the DVD drive. Because of this, the DVD drive is not appearing neither in Windows Explorer (File Explorer) or nor in Device Manager.
Even though we are not sure about the root cause of the issue, you can try out the possible fixes given below to restore the missing DVD drive in the File Explorer of Windows 10/8.
NOTE: If you have installed Windows 8 or Windows 10 on a newly assembled computer and experiencing the problem, we suggest you check optical drive cables for loose connections before following any of the given methods.
Method 1:
Step 1: Launch Command Prompt with administrator rights. To do this, switch to Start screen, type CMD and then simultaneously press Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys to launch elevated prompt. Click Yes for User Account Control prompt. You can also try other methods mentioned in our how to launch a program with admin privileges in Windows 8 guide.
Step 2: In the elevated prompt, paste or type the following command and press enter key:
(You can simply right-click on the prompt and select paste)
Step 3: Exit the Command Prompt, reboot your PC. You should now see the DVD drive in Windows Explorer as well as Device Manager.
Method 2:
For some users, the above-mentioned procedure may not work. If the above-mentioned procedure isn’t working for you or if you are too lazy to open Command Prompt and execute the command, download and run the free utility named CD-DVD Icon Repair (click here to download).
CD-DVD Icon Repair is a portable tool that helps you when Windows doesn’t recognize the CD/DVD drive. Even though the program was designed for Windows 7, it works perfectly fine on Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 as well. Launch the tool, click Repair CD-DVD Icon button and then restart your PC.