Topic: CD/DVD drives not working Error code 39

[Sandra]

This applies to XP as well and comes from MS help but it seems to be happening more and more with Vista.

This is the relevant part explaining how to fix it from MS help :

Step 1: Start Registry Editor
Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK. Registry Editor starts.
Step 2: Delete the UpperFilters registry entry
1. In Registry Editor, expand My Computer, and then expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
2. Expand SYSTEM, and then expand CurrentControlSet.
3. Expand Control, and then expand Class.
4. Under Class, click {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}.
5. In the right pane (topic area), click UpperFilters.

Note An UpperFilters.bak registry entry may also appear. To delete the UpperFilters registry entry, you must click UpperFilters and not UpperFilters.bak.
6. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
7. When you receive the following message, click Yes to confirm the deletion of the UpperFilters registry entry:
Are you sure you want to delete this value?
The UpperFilters registry entry is removed from the {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} registry subkey.

Note Do not exit Registry Editor. You must have this program for the next step.
Step 3: Delete the LowerFilters registry entry
1. In Registry Editor, expand My Computer, and then expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
2. Expand SYSTEM, and then expand CurrentControlSet.
3. Expand Control, and then expand Class.
4. Under Class, click {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}.
5. In the right pane (topic area), click LowerFilters.

Note An LowerFilters.bak registry entry may also appear. To delete the LowerFilters registry entry, you must click LowerFilters and not LowerFilters.bak.
6. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
7. When you receive the following message, click Yes to confirm the deletion of the LowerFilters registry entry:
Are you sure you want to delete this value?
The LowerFilters registry entry is removed from the {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} registry subkey.
8. Exit Registry Editor.

Step 4: Restart the computer
If a CD recording program no longer works after you restart the computer, you must reinstall the CD recording program.

In case you have never been in the registry before I am adding this so that it may clarify the process a little :

Once you have the registry window open there is a list on the left hand side with lots of folders and subfolders and files inside them.
You need to expand the relevant folder by clicking on the + at the side of it then open the next folder or file in the path.
Vista doesnt use the + it just has a triangular arrow on its side so where I have written + use the triangle.
So in the first part you need to click on the + next to My Computer then look for the folder called HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and click on the + next to it to expand it.
Then look for the folder called SYSTEM and click on the + to expand it, and carry on like that until you expand Class.
Then you need to click on
4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318
Then look in the main window where you will see either Upper and/or Lower filters.
I have just checked mine and only have Lower ones, right click on it and select delete and confirm when asked.
If the upper and lower filters are in yours remove them both then exit the registry editor and restart the pc.

The MS article seems to do the upper and the lower filter removal in 2 stages.
As they are both in the same location if you see both of them just remove them both, one at a time, to save you navigating back to the same place to remove the second one.
If you only have the one filter then just remove it and exit the registry editor.