Vista - No CD-RW or DVD-ROM. How can I reformat without a CD-ROM?

My computers has lost the drivers for the CD-RW and the DVD-ROM. This
happened after installing vista. I followed the instructions to delete the
upper key filters and the lower key filters (which I never found), but
nothing has worked. I would like to use my original restore disc to go back
to XP, but the computer can't boot from the CD-RW because it doesn't find the
driver.

I've got my Vista disc and my old XP discs and would like to try installing
again, but I can't use it because all the computer will recognize to boot
from is the 3.5 diskette drive.

Any ideas on a way to restore my computer to pre-Vista state?

awhatley wrote:
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..
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> I've got my Vista disc and my old XP discs and would like to try installing
> again, but I can't use it because all the computer will recognize to boot
> from is the 3.5 diskette drive...

This has nothing to do with Vista. The BIOS of your computer determines
what hardware devices will be available to boot from.

To fix the problem you need to enter your BIOS config utility during the
next boot. The usual way is to hit the DEL key during the boot.

Once in the BIOS config, you will be able to change the order of boot
devices.

"awhatley" wrote
> My computers has lost the drivers for the CD-RW and the DVD-ROM. This
> happened after installing vista. I followed the instructions to delete the
> upper key filters and the lower key filters (which I never found), but
> nothing has worked. I would like to use my original restore disc to go
> back
> to XP, but the computer can't boot from the CD-RW because it doesn't find
> the
> driver.
>
> I've got my Vista disc and my old XP discs and would like to try
> installing
> again, but I can't use it because all the computer will recognize to boot
> from is the 3.5 diskette drive.
>
> Any ideas on a way to restore my computer to pre-Vista state?

This is not a Vista issue. It can't impact access to the CD/DVD when the OS
isn't even loaded. When starting the computer you need to press whatever
key press is necessary on your system to enter the BIOS (setup) and change
the boot order so the DVD drive is the first boot device.

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]