I don't just get the issue with CD's. I also have issues with installers from the internet and my external hard drive

You may have a deeper operating system file corruption issue then. It would help to know some more specifics about your 5150. For instance, what version of Windows are you running on it?

zepart949,
Have a look at this, paying particular attention to the last two paragraphs.

All right. Have you attempted running system file checker ( Start | Run sfc /scannow) to determine if any OS files are damaged so the utility can replace them?

I'm running XP with SP2.

I didn;'t know that tool exsited. I'll try it.

It is occasionally useful. Do post back to let everyone know the outcome.

I ran the utility. After about 10 minutes the progress bar hit the end and the the window closed. Nothing else happened. Does this mean my system is OK? Does the utility write a log file some where?

It means either there were no corrupt OS files or system file checker found & automatically replaced any it did find with clean original versions from the OS CD. The utility doesn't show any kind of prompts or interactivity unless it encounters corrupt files while the OS CD isn't in an optical drive. Now you'll just have to test the system out to see if the problems continue or not.

There should be either a Sfclog.txt or sfcdetails.txt file created.

Sorry it took me so long to get back. I've tried installing several items, and I'm getting the same errors.