I think my cd driver is corrupted.  Can I remove the driver from the hardware devices section and then, will the computer reinstall the 'missing' hardware when I reboot?

computer:  XP home / HP dv Pavillion dv 5000 / recovery drive installed / copy of win xp disk copied to c:\ drive also (for files if needed).

thank you

If you can identify the make/model of your CD drive in the device manager, then visit the manufacturer website and look for their support page and download the most up-to-date driver.
Follow the manufacturer's instructions for installing the update and you should be right back in business.

   To answer your question, yes, that is what should happen, but sometimes it doesn't.  Sometimes when XP goes looking for the driver, it doesn't find anything.
   If you make a Restore Point in WinXP or registry backup with WinRescue XP (http://superwin.com/rescuexp.htm) before you make any changes, you will be able to get back to the way it was before, just in case it does not work.

Thanks for the input.  I finally had the big "C" - (crash).  Thanks goodness for backup utilities.  Long story short - computer is working fine again and I have miles of smiles.

This web site and you folks are great.