I recently installed a 2x/4x/8x CD writer as a slave CD drive on my PC (Windows 98 SE, 10 GB, 128mb RAM). Three audio CDs were successfully copied from my CD ROM but after that the writer only completed one track before closing the session due to a buffer underrun. When I changed the write speed from 8x to 4x (on the advice of the CD writer vendor) the same problem occurred. The vendor then suggested that I drop the speed to 2x, however, the session closed also immediately having not even copied one full track). Do you have any suggestions to fix this problem? I also appear to have the KAK worm virus. Can you provide me with instructions to remove this virus?

Buffer underrun errors are quite common on CD writers. CD writers require a constant stream of data from the hard drive to the writer. The CD writer itself has a buffer so that it can overcome small interruptions in the stream of data. However, if the stream is interrupted for too long, this can cause a buffer underrun as the CD writer cannot wait. This can happen if your computer is trying to do too many things at once. If there are several applications open on your computer at once, then the CPU allocation to your burning software may be not large enough for it to fill the buffer on your CD writer. Reducing the speed at which your writer records is the normal method to try when attempting to reduce buffer underruns. However, there are also several other tricks. Firstly, in order to make sure that you have a stable operating system, always reboot the computer before you write CD’s. It is also a good idea to close all non-essential applications in order to give the CD writing software as much CPU time as possible. Use CTRL-ALT-DEL to close all non-essential applications. Normally, the essential Windows applications include systray and explorer but there may be more on your computer. Also, if there is an option to cache the CD to your hard drive before it is written, select this, as the speed of your hard drive will be faster than the speed of your CD drive. It may also be a good idea to defragment your hard drive and run scan disk which may facilitate faster data access and thus reduce the likelihood of the buffer in your CD writer being starved of data. Finally, try a different brand of CD-R as some writers may not like certain brands of media. As always, before copying CDs, ensure you are compliant with any copyright provisions. Regarding the KAK worm virus, you can find removal instructions and an automated removal utility at service4.symantec.com/SARC/sarc.nsf/html/Wscript.KakWorm.html.