Computer freezes when inserting a CD/DVD

Question

Well, the last couple of months, nearly any time I insert a CD or DVD into either of my drives, my entire system freezes up and I have to manually reboot it (the mouse won't move, and CTRL/ALT/DELETE or CTRL/SHIFT/ESC does nothing either). This happens using Media Player, iTunes, and even the Roxio software that came with my Dell. I've searched for new drivers and firmware, and tried installing what I found on the Dell website, but that hasn't helped. What is really frustrating is that BOTH drives do it. Even when I insert a blank CD-R into the burning drive, same thing.

I have a Dell Dimension E521 and run Windows Xp Home Edition. The drives in question are a Philips DVD-ROM DROM 6316 and a HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GSA H31N.

I would certainly appreciate ANY help at all!!!:smileysad:

osprey4 · Answer

This is generally an autoplay problem. Try turning autoplay off. Open My Computer, right click your CD drive and select Properties. In the autoplay tab, select each media type and under options, select 'take no action'. Hit Apply after each selection.   I disable autoplay for all of my systems, since I'm not necessarily doing the same thing when I pop a disc in the drive. For example, if I put in a music CD, I might want to play it, rip it or copy it. So I just avoid the hassle and turn it off.

Tei · Answer

Yeah, I was advised to do that.  That doesn't help at all.  A friend of mine thought the computer was trying to run some application, like it was getting hung up figuring out which program it was supposed to use.  I even uninstalled some extra Nero software that I had, but that still doesn't help.    I think there is somehing really wrong with my computer.  Suddenly, I lost my ability to go into Device Manager (somehow got that back), my Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer suddenly kept getting errors so I had to uninstall that, and now some programs that have always worked fine are telling me the infamous 'has encountered a problem and needs to shut down' message!   Is there any chance that the DVD drives need to be replaced?   Thanks for your help in any event!

WalterC · Answer

My problem was very similar but not quite the same as you describe. Review this thread for the solution that worked for me.   http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=dim_cdrom&message.id=138551#M138551   WalterC

Tei · Answer

Hmmm...maybe just uninstalling the software (Nero) will help after all.  I guess it is possible for the computer to get confused as to which program it should use...   I installed Nero to have some DVD burning software, but it would not recognize my DVD-RW drive.  Provided I get my drives straightened out, and suggestions on some good DVD burning software?  I'm not trying to pirate anything...but for some of my projects at school, I have made some DVDs, and I would like to be able to make copies of them for potential employers (as well as backups for myself), but the burning software that came with my Dell only allows me to burn DVDs of data or music, not video.:smileysad:   I know there are things like DVD Shrink that I can use to copy my projects to my hard drive, but i'm having trouble finding software to allow me to burn them to DVD (then again, I am new at this whole DVD thing!).   I'll try to uninstall some of the extra media software I have and see if that resolves the freezing-up issue.   Thanks for all of your help so far!!!

osprey4 · Answer

Tei:   I think the gist of the thread was to remove not the entire Nero program but just InCD.

Tei · Answer

Well, I kept trying a lot of your suggestions...the computer still freezes up, but it doesn't seem to be as often as before, so i just sort of hold my breath.

Now, however, I seem to have been infected with some sort of virus. In Internet Explorer, I have my Norton Toolbar under the address box, but now there are suddenly additional toolbars I did not put there that say "Remove Popups, Scan Spyware, Security Test, and Spam Protection". I'm guessing these are fakes, and when I go to a new page, I'll also get this yellow bar/box under the toolbars that says:

Warning: possible spyware or adware infection! Click here to scan your computer for spyware and adware...

I've tried Spybot, AdAware, SUPER Anti Spyware, and Smitfraud Fix, as well as Norton, but nothing seems to get rid of it. Any suggestions out there? I'd apprecitate it!!!

osprey4 · Answer

Hi, Tei: This is out of my league. Please post the details of your problem in the virus & spyware forum.

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Computer freezes when inserting a CD/DVD

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