You may encounter I/O Device Error when the computer is unable to complete an input/output operation on the drive that you are accessing.

Possible Reasons for this Error

This error may be attributed to one or more of the following factors.

• Windows is currently using a transfer mode that the DVD or CD drive is unable to use.
• The particular hardware that you want to use is not in a working condition or has failed to initialize.
• The drivers for the device on the hardware have flaws or are not compatible.
• There could also be connectivity issues, such as a bad cable or network configuration issues.

Changing the Transfer Mode

One method of resolving the problem would be to change the transfer mode in the IDE channel properties as described below.

• Go to the “Start” button, and then right click on “My Computer” and then go to “Manage”.
• Go to the “Computer Management (Local)” tab and click on “Device Manager”.
• Expand “IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers” on the right side.
• On where the CD drive channel is located, select “Properties”
• Proceed on the “Advanced Settings” tab and on the “Transfer Mode” box, select “PIO Only” option and then press the “OK” button.

If the problem is not resolved by now, it could be because that the DVD/CD drive is not located there. Change the mode back to “DMA if available”, and repeat the procedure for the other IDE channels. You should try each of the following options in the given order until the problem is solved.

• Secondary IDE channel, device 1
• Primary IDE channel, device 1
• Secondary IDE channel, device 0

Checking for Device Failure

If this still does not work, you may try checking the status of the device in the “Device Manager”. Perhaps it is not working properly. Double click on the device and check the Device Status box which will display the problem (if any) that the device is experiencing. You could see the code for the problem and the suggested methods of resolving it.

Driver Updates

You may try contacting the manufacturer of the hardware and asking for any device driver update that you could be missing. Most often, these are available online. Performing a Clean Boot Yet another method of resolving I/O Device Error is by performing a clean boot of the computer. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to perform a clean boot. You can find articles online that will guide you to perform a clean boot if you have no idea on how it is done. When you are done with the clean boot and it actually resolves the problem, this could indicate presence of an incompatible program or driver on your computer.

Faulty Media

It could also be that the computer is well functioning but the media or device that you are using is faulty. A simple and quick way of finding out whether this is the case is to try accessing the media or device on another well functioning computer. You should also make sure that all the cables are well connected, as they could be the cause of the problem.

For more information on the I/O Device Error, read
What is I/O Device Error?
I/O Device Error