Several Devices won't work

[MakBaby]

I have a homemade computer (custom?) the person I bought it from is gone so I can't ask him for help.  The problem is the drives on the front of cpu.  floppy and multi-card reader have never worked though the light on multi-card reader shows power.  the CD and DVD writers work sometimes.  othertimes, they show in MyComputer but won't reveal the disk that is in them.  Nor will they play what is on them, whether music or data.  Everything else on the computer works great.  Help please.

thanks,
MakBaby

Below is what I got from the device labels and in MyComputer.


DVD Writer - TSST Corp, Lightscribe SH-S202      driver vers 5.1.2535.0
CD ReWritable - Mitsumi CR-480ATE              driver vers 5.1.2535.0
3.5" Floppy – Alps                                    Floppy disk controller driver vers 5.1.2600.0
Card Reader w/USB - Generic
Power Supply - 420W DiabloTek
Hard Drive - Seagate Baracuda 7200.10 250gb
Video - EV3A GeForce 8600 GT 256mb
Processor - AMD Athlon Dual 64x2  2.51 Ghz
Motherboard - MSI K9N6SGM-V      driver vers 5.1.2600.2180    Serial # 7C10012779  BIOS A7309NMS v1.90 0873107
   (I have MSI Live Monitor for updated MSI Motherboard bios)
RAM - 2gb
OS - XP Home Edition w/SP2

[Zylstra]

Have you attempted to run Windows Update? Often Windows Update alone will resolve many driver issues.

Also, sometimes devices not working can be due to viruses and other malicious programs. What Antivirus do you have installed?

[MakBaby]

Actually, this has been like this since I loaded the drivers for the first time.  There wasn't any possibility of virus' at that time yet.  I install all updates for windows when they are avail.  But honestly, I don't have anti-virus yet because I don't know what to use.

[Zylstra]

For Antivirus, its best to go with (for free protection) either

Avast www.avast.com
or
AVG www.free.avg.com/

For Spyware protection, if you happen to be a fan of downloading, SUPERAntiSpyware is one I know EvilFantasy and a lot of Malware Removal Specialists on CH recommend http://www.superantispyware.com/ (Dont judge the software by its website!)