XPS 8700 Internal HDD shows as BD-Rom and is inaccessible

Sounds like it left a changed remnant ... like a system .ini file or maybe in the Registry.

@Tesla1856​ I suspect you're probably right, but I am at a loss as to where to look.

I would try Googling the scenario you have found yourself in.

https://www.google.com/search?q=windows+10+drive+shows+incorrect+icon

SysInternals AutoRuns might point to something useful (but be careful using that tool).

@Tesla1856​ I'm not sure my first post was clear.  It's not just displaying the drive as a BD-Rom, it's identifying it as a BD-Rom, it's not identifying it as a hard drive with available space.  I have done several searches to try to find a post about a similar issue and a fix, but so far nothing I have found has resolved the problem.

Boot the pc using a Win 7/10 install dvd and enter advanced mode then delete all partitions on internal hdd. This is more effective  than format which does not delete phantom partitions created by virtual cd mounting software. https://i0.wp.com/pureinfotech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/windows-7-choose-installation-type.png?w=660&quality=78&strip=all&ssl=1

another internet reported cause of hdd appearing as dvd is bad hdd, but since OP did not report very long boot time and issue occurred after virtual cd mounting, likely cause is messed up partitions. 

@redxps630​ Not sure this would be a good route for me to go, as this device is not my boot drive and was simply being used for file storage.  The PC is running fine in spite of the issue with this drive and boots quickly, my boot drive is an SSD.

Hi

Perhaps if you dis-connected your boot drive and ran something like System Rescue and wiped/formatted or deleted the problem drive,then reboot into normal windows?

ELSE .............

The safest fix is usually to remove WinCDEmu’s virtual-drive leftovers, reboot, and then reassign the real HDD’s letter back to it. WinCDEmu has a cleanup utility, and Windows also has built-in tools for clearing stale drive-letter mappings such as mountvol /r and diskpart drive-letter changes.

What likely happened

WinCDEmu installs a virtual CD/DVD driver and can leave behind a stale mount-point or drive-letter mapping after a bad unmount or driver glitch. That can make a normal volume appear as a BD-ROM device in File Explorer and Disk Management even though the physical disk itself has not changed.

Fix it in order

1. Uninstall WinCDEmu from Apps & Features or Programs and Features.

2. Run the WinCDEmu cleanup utility wcdcleanup.exe, if you can get it from the vendor’s cleanup link, then reboot.

3. Open an elevated Command Prompt and run mountvol /r, then reboot again; this clears stale mount-point and registry entries for volumes no longer properly tracked.

4. Open Disk Management, find the HDD, and use Change Drive Letter and Paths to assign a normal letter such as D: or E:.

5. If Disk Management will not fix it, use diskpart, list volume, select volume <n>, then remove letter=<letter> and reassign the correct one.

If the letter still looks wrong

Check Device Manager and BIOS/UEFI to confirm the drive is still detected as a SATA hard disk rather than an optical device. If the mapping remains corrupted after cleanup and reboot, a Windows restore point or registry repair of HKLM\System\MountedDevices may be needed, because persistent drive-letter assignments are stored there.

@anne_droid​ 

I was unable to obtain a copy of wdcleanup.exe, it doesn't appear to be available anymore, although it is surely needed with the amount of files it leaves behind.  I did attempt to manually clean up as much as possible, including the registry entries and drivers for BazisVirtualCD, which is installed a left behind by this utility.

I ran mountvol /r - no change after reboot.

I tried running diskpart, the drive is not listed.

The drive does show up in the BIOS, but not in Disk Management, I even tried moving the SATA cable to a different connector on the motherboard, no change.

Just for fun, I ran the Dell BIOS utility and it came up with the following:

Error Code 2000-0151

Validation 73381

Msg: Hard Drive 0 - S/N Z1D8QT62, incorrect status = 32

No additional sense information

I do not have an existing restore point to work from, is there a way to repair things manually? The device does not seem to show up under mounted devices in the registry. 

If the drive reporting the incorrect status is the one in question, the issue is clear now -- it has failed.  You will need to replace it.

Hi

I use Gparted and Paragon Partition Manager in Linux and Windows respectively.

I suspect that if the flags were examined, and possibly changed that could solve the issue.

So if you can manage a screenshot............

The disk does not show up in Paragon Partition Manager, only in the BIOS.  When it was showing up as a BD-ROM in Device Manager, I uninstalled it and since removing the drivers installed with WinCDEmu, it has not show up again anywhere, other than the BIOS.  The drive was working fine until WinCDEmu was installed, so I don't believe the drive failed, although I do fear that I will not be able to get it back because of whatever changes were made.

A quick easy way to wipe the internal data drive hdd is to disconnect the boot drive ssd, boot pc from Windows 7 or 10 dvd, go inside advanced (custom) mode to delete all partitions on that hdd, but do not click next to install anything, then shut down pc and reconnect boot drive SSD, boot from ssd.  Go to disk management.  Hdd should appear as “unallocated”.  Create new volume on it to make it D:

@K_A_P72​ ,

1. The disk does not show up in Paragon Partition Manager,  When it was showing up as a BD-ROM in Device Manager, I uninstalled it and since removing the drivers installed with WinCDEmu,

2. it has not show up again anywhere, other than the BIOS.  The drive was working fine until WinCDEmu was installed, 

1. If it doesn't show in Windows, Device-Manager, Disk-Management, or Paragon-PM ... sounds like it is gone now.

2. Where exactly is it showing in BIOS? If you mean toward the last-pages where it shows possible Boot-Drives ... those are user customizable in BIOS area, so you would just delete it.

@Tesla1856​ Here's a screenshot.  I'm about ready to give up on this drive, I think it just may be one of those things.

@K_A_P72​ ,

So what's wrong with it?

Is it that you only have ONE optical-drive, but it shows both P3 and P1?