No DVD-ROM

[Forgo]

I have a Compaq Presario...
512 MB DDR SDRAM mem;  80 GB DMA hd.  I use Windows XP.

I haven't used my DVD-ROM for probably 3-4 months.  Last night I tried to install a new program and also tried running music CDs but found it inoperable.  The indicator light goes on, and I can hear it running but it is otherwise dead, with no error message whatsoever.

About a month ago I got rid of a virus which perhaps this may be a lingering result of.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated... Larry

[patio]

A virus won't affect hardware...
Travel to Device Manager and locate the drive in the listing...right click it and select remove/uninstall.
Re-boot the machine and try it again.
If it doesn't work you need to swap it into another machine to see if the drive has failed.

[Forgo]

Sorry for the delay,  had to leave for a while...

It seemed like it un-installed OK, but obviously takes it upon itself to reinstall as I get a reminder that "a new program has been installed" without me prompting it to do so.  It also indicates that the DVD-ROM running properly...nevertheless the problem still exists...