Whenever I insert a DVD or CD into an external DVD burner, connected via USB to the computer, the entire computer freezes. However, this only generally occurs if the DVD or CD has data – it does not happen for blank discs. Originally I thought that this may be a problem with the computer, so to narrow down the issue I connected the device to another computer. Interestingly enough, the problem also occurred on the other computer using the same DVD burner. At this point I made the assumption that the DVD burner was faulty and purchased a new internal DVD burner. Frustratingly though, the same problem also occurs with the internal DVD burner. This is quite an annoying problem, as I use the PC quite a bit to make DVDs but cannot subsequently use them. The computer is running Windows XP.

This is quite an interesting problem, as logically if the same problem occurred with the external DVD burner on another computer then you could assume that the issue lies with the DVD burner itself. However, this is obviously not the situation in your case since the same issue arises when using an internal DVD burner to read the CDs and DVDs. As such, I am thinking that we have two distinct issues at play. The first being something wrong with the external DVD drive, which is why the problem occurs when that drive was connected and tested to a different computer. The second is something else wrong with your computer which is preventing CDs and DVDs from being read and accepted. You would be correct in saying that this is quite a coincidence – having two separate problems at play. However, from your description of the issue, and testing completed thus far, this seems to be the only logical explanation for the problem. At this point we will not deal with the first issue of the faulty external DVD drive, as there is not much that we can do to resolve that issue (since it is likely to be a hardware fault). Instead, we will focus our attention on dealing with the possible greater issue that your computer is unable to read CDs and DVDs.

We can assume that the DVD burner drive is connected to the computer correctly, as it has no problems reading blank CDs and DVDs (and thus presumably writing to CDs and DVDs as well). Therefore, the problem itself is getting it to read CDs and DVDs with data, rather than getting it to work at all.

The first possible cause of this issue is something running in the background which is attempting to read the CD or DVD, but is having some trouble and locks-up your computer. To check whether this is the case we will need to close all background programs and processes and then check whether the problem continues. Go to the “Start” menu > “Run” and type “msconfig” (without the quotes) and click OK. This will open the System Configuration Utility window, allowing you to configure exactly what programs, processes and services will load on Windows startup. Click the “Startup” tab to list all the programs and processes which load on startup. All the items in the list which are ticked are enabled, meaning that they will load on startup (conversely, any items which are not ticked are disabled and will not load on startup). Write down all of the items which are ticked (enabled), as you will need that list later. Then, disable all of the items by clicking the “Disable All” button. This will disable all of the listed programs and processes from loading on startup. Click OK to save the changes and then restart the computer. Once the computer restarts no non-essential background programs or processes should start. At this point, insert a CD or DVD with data and check whether the problem occurs. Be aware, when you restart the computer a message may appear informing that your computer is running in Selective Startup mode. This means that you have selectively configured how to startup Windows, by specifically telling Windows not to load particular programs and processes. You can safely dismiss this message (and also tick the box to not show that message again, if you like).

Should the problem not occur, then one of those background programs or processes was the cause. At this point it will be a case of trial and error to narrow down the program or process causing the problem. Go back into the System Configuration Utility to the “Startup” tab. Using the list of enabled programs and processes, which you previously recorded, re-enable one of the processes. Click OK and then restart the computer. Once the computer has restarted, insert a CD or DVD and check if the problem occurs. Repeat this procedure until the problem occurs. Once this happens, you know that the most recently enabled program or process is the one causing the problem. At this point you can re-enable all other programs and processes, but keep the problematic one disabled. However, this is not a particularly long-term solution as you need to determine what the program or process does, and whether you need the functionality that it provides. I would suggest that once you have all the other programs and processes re-enabled, with the exception of the problematic one, that you write down the name of that problematic one (which is displayed as part of the entry for that program or process on the Startup tab of the System Configuration Utility) and then conduct some research on that item using Google to determine what it does and whether it is needed. Should you find that it is not needed, you should just be able to leave it disabled. Even better, if the item is associated with a particular installed program or application on your computer, which you have deemed that you don’t need, then if you uninstall the associated program it should hopefully remove that startup program or process entirely.

Moving onto the other side of the coin, if you find that you do need the functionality which that problematic program or process provides, then you should also conduct some research on that item using Google but looking towards a resolution, such as an updated version of the program which does not have the issue, or alternatively some other kind of fix for the problem.

In the scenario that you have disabled all the items on the “Startup” tab, yet the problem still continues, then a background program or process is not the cause of the problem. At this point before going any further you should re-enable all of the startup items which you previously disabled, so you are back to the same point where you started before moving onto the next procedure.

It is also possible that a background service is interfering with the ability to read CDs and DVDs. In the System Configuration Utility window, click the “Services” tab. In case you are not familiar with the different terminology, a service is an executable (program) file which is designed to run for a long-time and perform a specific function without requiring any user interaction or intervention. This differs from a program or process, as these run in the background and can generally be interacted with by the user. To check whether a service is causing the problem we are going to complete a similar procedure to that undertaken for the background programs and processes. On the “Services” tab tick the box “Hide All Microsoft Services” as we do not want to disable any Microsoft-based services, as these are generally critical or otherwise important to the operation of Windows. Once this has been done, write down all of the services which are ticked (enabled). Once this has been done, click the “Disable All” button to disable all of the non-Microsoft services. Click OK to save the changes and then restart the computer. Then, check whether the problem still occurs. If not, re-enable one of the services and then restart and check again. Keep following the same procedure as outlined for the “Startup” tab troubleshooting above until you either locate the problematic service, or determine that services are not causing the problem.

If you find that services are not causing the problem, again, before going any further make sure that you re-enable all of the previously disabled services. At this point there are few other suggestions which I can offer for resolving this problem except some relatively generic solutions. As such, I would suggest that you run Windows Update (windowsupdate.microsoft.com) to download the latest updates for Windows. It may also be worthwhile running the System File Checker (SFC) utility to scan the computer for any missing or corrupt Windows system files. To run the SFC utility go to the “Start” menu > “Run” and type “sfc /scannow” (without the quotes, but mind the space between the “sfc” and “/scannow” portions of the command). The SFC utility will immediately commence scanning the system files and replace any which are deemed to be corrupt or missing. Make sure that you have your Windows XP CD handy during this process, in case any files need to be extracted from the CD. Once the SFC has completed operation it will exit silently with no user feedback, at which time you should restart the compute and check whether the problem remains.

If you reach this point and have not resolved the issue then I would suggest your next best option is to complete a clean reinstallation of Windows XP. This will be a destructive process, so it is vitally important to ensure that you backup all data (such as documents, email, etc.) which you wish to keep prior to commencing the reinstallation, as all data stored on your hard drive will be lost during the process. I suggest that you actually have two backup copies, just in case something happens to one of the copies. Once you have backed-up all of your data, you should be able to boot from the Windows XP CD and commence the reinstallation process.