That must be normal because I don't see the DVD drive in the left pane until I load a CD or DVD.
I just checked my desktop computer. It has an internal Blu-Ray Burner. The drive also doesn't show up in the left pane until a CD or DVD is loaded.
AMD Ryzen 7 6800H with Radeon 680M GPU (486MB RAM)
Memory
Crucial DDR5-4800 (2400MHz) 32GB (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA RTX 3060 Laptop (6GB RAM)
Sound Card
n/a
Monitor(s) Displays
15.6-inch
Screen Resolution
1920x1080 300Hz
Hard Drives
2 x Samsung 990 Evo Plus (2TB M.2 NVME SSD)
PSU
n/a
Mouse
Wireless Mouse M510
Internet Speed
2100Mbps/300Mbps
Browser
Firefox
Antivirus
Malwarebytes
Operating System
Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (26200.8246)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom build
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi II
Memory
G.SKILL Flare X 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4
Graphics card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-RTX3060TI-08G-V2-GAMING (RTX 3060-Ti, 8GB RAM)
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung G50D IPS 27"
Screen Resolution
1440p/180Hz
Hard Drives
SAMSUNG 990 EVO Plus (2TB] M.2 NVME SSD
SAMSUNG 990 EVO Plus (4TB) M.2 NVME SSD
PSU
Corsair RM750x (750 watts)
Case
Cooler Master MasterCase 5
Cooling
Scythe Mugen 6
Keyboard
Logitech K520 (MK540 keyboard/mouse combo)
Mouse
Logitech M310 (MK540 keyboard/mouse combo)
Internet Speed
2100 Mbps down / 300 Mbps up
Browser
Firefox, Edge, Chrome
Antivirus
Malwarebytes (Premium)
Other Info
ASUS Blu-ray Burner BW-16D1HT (SATA) || Western Digital Easystore 20TB USB 3.0 external hard drive used with Acronis True Image 2025 backup software || HP OfficeJet Pro 6975 Printer/Scanner
So it receives enough power and always is properly detected. For models with a single cable that need more power the solution is to replace the cable with a Y cable (rare to find) or use a powered USB hub (much better solution).
The external DVD I have comes with both a USB-C and a USB-A Y-cable. I selected this model because of this. Most drives don't come with both cables. Fortunately, I have never needed the Y-cable. That is I only needed to use one of the USB-A connectors on the Y-cable. Of course, my laptop with Windows 11 has 2xUSB-C and 1xUSB-A on one side and 1xUSB-A on the other so I couldn't use both USB-A connectors on the Y-cable anyways.
I suspect that the USB-A Y-cable would only be needed on an older laptop or on one that couldn't supply enough on its USB-A port to power the drive.
I used to have an old HP laptop (2004) that sometimes had problems powering an external 2.5" HDD. I used a powered USB 2.0 hub to solve that.
AMD Ryzen 7 6800H with Radeon 680M GPU (486MB RAM)
Memory
Crucial DDR5-4800 (2400MHz) 32GB (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA RTX 3060 Laptop (6GB RAM)
Sound Card
n/a
Monitor(s) Displays
15.6-inch
Screen Resolution
1920x1080 300Hz
Hard Drives
2 x Samsung 990 Evo Plus (2TB M.2 NVME SSD)
PSU
n/a
Mouse
Wireless Mouse M510
Internet Speed
2100Mbps/300Mbps
Browser
Firefox
Antivirus
Malwarebytes
Operating System
Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (26200.8246)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom build
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi II
Memory
G.SKILL Flare X 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4
Graphics card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-RTX3060TI-08G-V2-GAMING (RTX 3060-Ti, 8GB RAM)
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung G50D IPS 27"
Screen Resolution
1440p/180Hz
Hard Drives
SAMSUNG 990 EVO Plus (2TB] M.2 NVME SSD
SAMSUNG 990 EVO Plus (4TB) M.2 NVME SSD
PSU
Corsair RM750x (750 watts)
Case
Cooler Master MasterCase 5
Cooling
Scythe Mugen 6
Keyboard
Logitech K520 (MK540 keyboard/mouse combo)
Mouse
Logitech M310 (MK540 keyboard/mouse combo)
Internet Speed
2100 Mbps down / 300 Mbps up
Browser
Firefox, Edge, Chrome
Antivirus
Malwarebytes (Premium)
Other Info
ASUS Blu-ray Burner BW-16D1HT (SATA) || Western Digital Easystore 20TB USB 3.0 external hard drive used with Acronis True Image 2025 backup software || HP OfficeJet Pro 6975 Printer/Scanner
Finally solved the problem of some allocated drives not showing in file explorer. Had to tick the 'show folders' option. One of the mysteries of Microsoft and Windows 11.
Finally solved the problem of some allocated drives not showing in file explorer. Had to tick the 'show folders' option. One of the mysteries of Microsoft and Windows 11.
