Windows 7 Event Viewer Error ID 7026 – cdrom

After removing a CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive from a Windows 7 system, its driver’s path is still in the Windows Registry and Windows will attempt to load it during startup.

It will fail with the following Error in the Event Viewer:
Event ID: 7026
Source: Service Control Manager
Description: “The following boot-start or system-start driver(s) failed to load: cdrom”

To get rid of the error, disable the specific device in the Registry to prevent it from loading.

The Windows 7 Registry Path:
\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\cdrom

Event Viewer Error Cdrom

If you do not have a CDROM Drive install, remove the entire cdrom entry from the Registry.

This error also occurs after Windows 7 Service Pack 1 was installed on the system without a CDROM or DVDROM Drive.