I have a new Lenovo Yoga 7i Laptop.  Device Manager shows it has no DVD/ROM drive.  I tried to use a 4-year-old DVD USB drive but it's not recognized.  I downloaded and installed VLC Media Player to see if that would install drivers but it still can recognize the USB DVD drive.  I am considering purchasing a newer USB DVD drive but since a lot of these drives say they are plug and play that would not solve my problem of adding a DVD/ROM drive to System Devices.  Any suggestions?

MOD: Title edited to add details - Doc

Welcome to the Community Forums @WaltH,

Would this four year old USB-DVD drive work as plug-and-play too when connected on other laptops? You might want to check the manufacturer of this third party equipment for any required drivers before setting up.

I think you made the point already on that part, some of the recent USB DVD drives released today were plug and play.

Regards.
Dex

To add to @Dex_Lenovo's post..

It might help to have the make and model of the external DVD player. Some may require external power as they draw more than your Yoga's port supplies. For those, a Y-adapter may be necessary.  Here's an example, not a recommendation:

Amazon.com: StarTech.com 3 ft USB Y Cable for External Hard Drive - USB A to Mini B - USB Cable - USB (M) to Mini-USB Type B (M) - USB 2.0 - Black (USB2HABMY3) : Electronics

Doc

Doc,

Super Slim Drive

Portable USB 3.0 interface drive
TOPCHU External CD Drive
Manufacturer: Smallcar
Model No:  ODP1202
Purchased from Amazon.com on Jan 7, 2018

It's not a power supply problem as the device will light up and I can open the tray but the device does not show up in Windows Explorer.  It won't play anything.

Skimming through the questions and comments on Amazon, it does appear to require two ports to get enough power. One cord it ships with is power-only, no data lanes. If that's the cable you're using, it would explain the symptoms. 

Still, I'd go with Dex's solution. The specs for that particular drive show compatibility up through Windows 8. You may have only had the drive a few years, but it could be that the design is over a decade old. Pick up a new one. Perhaps one that can handle Blu Ray discs, as well.

Doc

Thanks, Doc I was considering a newer model.  Just for my curiosity, do you think the fact that System Devices does not show an optical drive installed could that present a problem with even a newer plug and play model?

I had no problem with the older Lenovo Laptop I purchased around 2015.

@WaltH wrote:

Thanks, Doc I was considering a newer model.  Just for my curiosity, do you think the fact that System Devices does not show an optical drive installed could that present a problem with even a newer plug and play model?

I certainly hope not. I have one BD DVD burner/player that I've plugged into every one of my laptops. Works fine on all of them.

Doc

I have a feeling that because System Devices does not show an Optical Drive is installed is the main problem. As previously mentioned a lot of these USB DVD external drives are plug and play, there are no drivers available. If they had drivers for download and I installed them, wouldn't that make System Devices show that an optical device is installed thus an external player would work?