Dvd drive not seen in bios - Acer Aspire 5742Z-4200 Notebook

Your computer's BIOS is an critical part of your system when it comes to hardware integration. This especially true when it comes to setting up hard drives and optical DVD drives. You can access your BIOS settings menu during the boot process of your computer. Different computers have different protocols when it comes to accessing the BIOS settings but many can be accessed by pressing "F1" or the "Delete" key before the operating system is loaded up. Consult your computer's documentation or pay close attention to your boot prompts displayed on the screen to enter the BIOS settings menu.

Turn on or restart your computer system. Press the appropriate key during POST in order to load the BIOS settings screen. You will have a short window of opportunity to press the appropriate key before the operating system loads. Search your BIOS menu settings for the appropriate menu concerning your attached hard drives and CD/DVD drives. If you are not sure where to navigate, consult your computer's owner manual. Check the drive menu to see if your DVD drive is listed. Many BIOS manufacturers give the user the option to scan for attached drives if the component does not appear to be listed. If the DVD drive does not appear after the hardware scan, turn off and disconnect your computer, take off the case cover and double check the data and power connections to the drive. Check the jumper settings on the back of the drive if it is of the IDE variety; SATA drives do not have any jumpers to set. There are three jumper settings for IDE based DVD drives: "Master", "Slave", and "Cable Select". Make sure the jumper is set to "Cable Select". Put the computer back together and plug it in. Turn on the computer and re-enter the appropriate BIOS settings menu. If the DVD drive shows up on your drive list, your computer has recognized it properly. Enter the boot settings menu of your BIOS. Change the boot order of your DVD drive to the first position so the computer will read it first during start up. This step is optional; however, you may wish to have this arrangement in case your computer needs to be started from a DVD boot disk later.