Windows 7 "A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing" (I don't have a 4gig flash drive)

[ruizbujc]

Hi all. I'm getting an error, but not seeing a viable solution anywhere online. Last year, I had upgraded from Windows Vista on my laptop to Windows 7. To do this, I purchased the .iso from Microsoft's website. I burned it to a disc and everything worked perfectly.

This year, while doing my annual reformat, I got the following error message:

"A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing. If you have a driver floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB flash drive, please insert it now. Note: If the Windows installation media is in the CD/DVD drive, you can safely remove it for this step."

I have tried restarting multiple times. I have tried reinstalling Vista then doing an upgrade. I have tried using inserting the Vista install disc to load the drivers from. I have tried updating the BIOS and drivers settings, as many other forums have said. I know that my disc is valid and works, as it worked for me last year.

As a separate note: I ***do not*** have a 4gig flash drive, nor do I have the funds this year to purchase one (just had a kid and daycare is a pain). It seems like the flash drive method works for everyone else, so nobody bothered posting a fix that doesn't require additional purchases.

Any help? Thanks!

 

[whs]

Just for your info, a 4GB flash drives costs less than an outing to McDo. Pick one: Newegg.com - 4gb flash drive

 

[catilley1092]

whs is correct, 4GB Flash drives are cheap. I have a decent collection of them. Now, the 8GB ones costs what the 4GB ones did a year or so ago, of which I now have 4. The last was given to me with a Malwarebytes Pro purchase last month.

Far less costly than a quality sleeve of CD/DVD's. Also, sometimes you can go to Office Max/Pro, they're in jars for as low as 3 for $10.

Cat

 

[Saltgrass]

When you do your reformatting, what process do you use exactly. Is the drive set up as a Windows 7 install and you try to boot to the DVD to reinstall?

Can you boot to the Vista DVD without any messages?

Have you checked to see if there might be a firmware update for your DVD drive?

I have never really understood why those messages appear. Windows 7 does have some problems with older DVD drives, but most will boot and allow for an install. On my Dell, the DVD drive booted fine, but a firmware update was needed for it to work normally once Windows 7 was installed.

You can also now download a Windows 7 .iso file with SP1 included. Check the link and make sure you are getting the correct version for your system.

Link Removed - Not Found

 

[Saltgrass]

Just an update. It seems you can get the same message if you remove the flash drive just before selecting "Install". One reason seems to be, you may be using a USB 3.0 port, which is not active during the install process, after the bios changes control, until the OS drivers are loaded.

The fix is to change the flash drive to a USB 2.0 port. If that doen't work, check you bios settings for legacy USB operations.

 

[catilley1092]

That was my case. Using the Windows 7 USB DVD Tool, after creating the bootable Flash drive, it wouldn't boot with USB 3.0, but it did with a USB 2.0 port.

Seems that the best things for USB 3.0 ports is for backup use & running VM's from an external drive.

Cat

 

[Saltgrass]

Well, if you want to restore a backup using a 3.0 port, you can load the drivers. It is much faster once you get the hang of it.

But I had to install two setup (.inf) files to get the 3.0 ports working, a basic and xHXC version. Of course, this option is not available during an install.

 

[catilley1092]

The restore drivers must be built into my backup/restore CD, I have Todo 4.0 Workstation as my backup app. I can backup or restore with my CD (USB 2 or 3), it's not one of those Linux CD's, it looks like Windows 7 loading at first (Win PE is what I believe it's called), there's no really getting the hang of anything during restore or backup, just do it. I have a partitioning app that loads the same way.

Just a lot faster than USB 2.0 is.

Cat