I found the following fix at the link below. HTH.

To solve this Code 39 error, follow these instructions:

NOTE: After removing these registry keys and rebooting, it may be necessary to reinstall any CD or DVD recording applications.

1) Close all open programs

2) Click on Start, Run, and type REGEDIT and press Enter

3) Click on the plus signs (+) next to the following folders

* HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
* SYSTEM
* CurrentControlSet
* Control
* Class
* (4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318)

4) This folder is the DVD/CD-ROM Drive Class Description in the registry. Look for any of the following names in the right hand column.

* UpperFilters
* LowerFilters
* UpperFilters.bak
* LowerFilters.bak

5) If any of the above keys shown in step 4 are listed, right-click on them and choose Delete

6) After deleting the keys, close the Registry Editor

7) Reboot your computer

8) Open My Computer and check to see if your CD or DVD drives have returned. You may also want to open Device Manager and verify that the yellow exclamation and error code on the CD or DVD drive is gone.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to fix Code 39 error with DVD/CD-ROM drives in Windows XP or Vista

Cathy; am I reading your post correctly that you are running Vista with only 502MB of memory.
I find it amazing that it will run at all. If it does run, it must be real slow as I beleive the recommended min amount of memory for Vista is 1G

marooma- I tried your suggestion but there were no upper or lower filters come up.

genes- yes thats right.

wow I am with genes here I can not believe you can even begin to run Vista on that small amount of RAM.
Have you considered adding some RAM? it is very cheap and easy to install. You are definitely going to be running into problems if you aren't already.
Which version of Vista are you running?

Have you tried going to the cd burner and selecting to find a new driver or install a new driver?

Yes I tried finding a new driver and updating a driver.
I am running Vista Basic.
Also I probably will add more RAM. Thanks.

I uninstalled Roxio Creator and went to recovery manager and installed it again. that fixed my dvd player/burner.

Ok, I followed the instructions suggested by marooma, and my computer is still not showing either of my cd drives. I also then thought I would try unstalling Roxio as Cathy had done, forgetting that I couldn't install it from my CD because neither one of my cd drives are working, and I don't know where to go to the recovery manager to install it again. Any suggestions?

Would appreciate any help!! Thanks!

Do you know how the problem started, did it just start out of the blue?

What version of Vista?

Have you considered a system restore to a time when the pc was working ok?

Wow you posted this on may 10 the original problem so I don't think system restore is an option now.

Check the BIOS see if the drives are showing there,

Restart the computer press f2 to enter setup ok you're in the bios look around for the drives, make changes if necessary--then save changes and exit.

type in recovery manager in your search on your computer.

zep516 - Ok, it was showing both drives in the BIOS

cathy - I tried that and nothing came up

Thanks to both of you for your suggestions. I have pretty much decided this is beyond my skill, and it's time to take it to a professional!!

When you say both DVD players are not working what does that mean exactly? When you insert a CD or DVD and close the drawer does the activity light on the front of the DVD player activate? This will decide if power is getting to the players or not.

You could shut down and remove the side panel. Then with the power cord removed from the rear of the tower you could make sure both the 4 wire power connector and 40/80 pin ribbon cable are both firmly attached to the players. Also follow those wide ribbon cables back to the motherboard and make sure it or they are seated properly there too.

What make and model is this computer?

owbist - the activity lights will come on right when you put a cd in both drives, but then after a little bit it goes out. I also took the cover off and checked to see if they were both connected like you suggested, and everything was ok there. My computer is a Dell Dimension 2400.

Thank you for your suggestions.

So with the activity light coming on we now know the power is there on both drives. Normally after that period of slower flashing it would/should start to flash much quicker indicating it is reading the CD but you do not get that.
Try checking the Device manager
click Start
click Control panel
click System
click Hardware
click Device manager

Now in this new window look for yellow exclamation or question marks. Double click on any if they are present and see what it brings up. If no yellow marks then look for and double click on DVD/CD ROM drives, click the various tabs looking for error messages or it telling you the device is working properly.

When you try a CD are you using a music CD or some software program? Try a music CD then open Windows Media Player and see what happens when you try to play the music. We might be clutching at straws here but if you exhaust all avenues before spending your money on a repairman it might be worth it.

owbist - Ok, when I did that, I did have the exclamation marks for both of them and when I clicked on them the device status was showing that code 39.

I have been just trying both of them out using a music CD, also tried your suggestion about putting a CD in and opening windows media, but I couldn't get it to play

I appreciate your time helping me with suggestions!

Just wanted to followup w/ this. I ended up taking my computer to a professional, and it seems that a virus was the cause of the drives not working. I don't really understand it, but the important thing is that they are both working now!

Thanks again for all of your suggestions!

Thanks for posting an update on the situation Downtime64, it is always good to hear the final result whether we are able to help or not.

You are running an anti virus program of course? Do you have any other protective/security programs installed?