When attempting to open a CD, which has been inserted while Windows is running, the following message appears: ‘Windows cannot read from this disk. The disk might be corrupted or may be using a format that is not compatible with Windows’. However, if the computer is started with a CD already in the drive, I can open the CD with no problems. The computer has the latest CD/DVD drivers. Reformatting and reinstalling Windows works for a while, but then the problem returns. The computer is running Windows XP Professional.

This problem could be caused by a conflict with a running application/service on your computer. To check if this is the cause, try starting Windows in Safe Mode. Even though this mode does not load any non-essential drivers or applications, it should still load the CD-ROM drivers. To start in Safe Mode, reboot your computer and just before the Windows splash screen appears, press the F8 key. This should bring up the Windows boot menu. From this menu, select ‘Safe Mode’ and press ENTER. Windows should boot into Safe Mode. Once Windows has finished loading, check whether the problem persists. If it does not persist, the problem is related to some program or process which is loading during Windows startup. Reboot your computer (this will start Windows back into Normal mode). Then go to the ‘Start’ menu > ‘Run’ and type ‘msconfig’ (without the quotes) and click OK. The System Configuration Utility will appear. Click the ‘Startup’ tab. This contains a list of all the programs and processes which start when Windows is loaded. Try disabling one of these items, restart and see if the problem persists. Continue to disable items until the problem ceases and you have discovered which program is causing the problem.

On the other hand, if the problem continues when using Windows in Safe Mode, another possible cause could be a conflict with software you have loaded for your CD/DVD drive (e.g., DVD movie viewing software). Try uninstalling any such software. If you are still having problems, try to think whether you did anything after reinstalling Windows immediately prior to the problem occurring again. If you can think of any possible software you loaded, or other procedures undertaken, please let me know.