My computer doesn't recognize my CD/ DVD drive. How to fix this ?

[EdwardElric]

I have Windows XP, and my computer suddenly doesn't seem to detect CD drive . When I put any discs in the drive, nothing happens. When I look at My Computer, there isn't an icon for the CD drive & most often explorer.exe crashes because of this. So, I can't burn or play CDs and DVDs on my computer right now. I have no idea what's wrong or how to fix it. I am no computer genius so don't use really complicated, technical terms if you try to give me advice. Thanks!

I already tried the regedit method : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

but can't find any upper or lower filters

[Maximillian]

Try removing the CD drive then connect it back again. it is possible the drive is not being reported by the BIOS. Other than that you can try deleting these files from the system32\drivers folder:
redbook.sys
atapi.sys
cdrom.sys

then reboot the computer. Windows will automatically re-install the files. If this does not fix the problem you probably have a dead drive