atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Computers & Programming Computers, Software, Accessories PC reboots when accessing the DVD drive.

Carl -

I don't think there's anything wrong with the hardware. I base this assumption on the fact that after a reboot the unit functions perfectly.

To me (and please correct me if I'm wrong) but a reboot cleans out the software hooks - it doesn't reset the hardware. A power down would do that.

For the moment it's not that crucial for me. I don't push a lot of disks through the machine. When I have to these days. I groan, grit my teeth, save anything serious and go for the gusto.

Sam

Here are two links for you to the Roxio CD Creator 5 Support:

The first link will help you install the latest updates to CD Creator 5. This is a two-step process. First you must update to version 5.3.5. Then you must apply the post-5.3.5. updates.

If this does not help, then you need to get rid of CD Creator 5. Here is a link to a page explaining how to do a clean uninstall of CD Creator 5. :

Reaper -

Thanks -

I'll check what release level I'm at and work from there.

Sam

my guess would also be Roxio. I would completely uninstall it and run things for a week to see what happens. Another thing...how much memory do you have in the system? What OS?

my guess would also be Roxio. I would completely uninstall it and run things for a week to see what happens. Another thing...how much memory do you have in the system? What OS?

Z-man -

Win XP Home, Service Pack 2, all the upgrades, 1.5 GB RAM.

Grim -

This is the weekend to whack on Roxio.


Sam

Have fun.

If nothing changes after the upgrades, then I highly suggest The Grim Reaper's clean uninstall & install of any one of many free programs.

I use InfraRecorder , whenever I have to use Windows for recording... I've never had one single problem with it

A nice new Linux distro install could work wonders too

Either way, GL!

Silversam,

Very interesting issue. I have services hundreds of pcs over the years and never seen a issue like this. Have you googled the issue and seen a possible result? As somone in here may have sugested it was perhaps a hardware issue?

Perhaps the driver for the CD is corrupt in HAL?

Perhaps the OS should be replaced or try a different CD drive. One other possbility is the Voltage regulator on the motherboard is perhaps faulty and takes a power nose dive when accessing the CD. But then again, it would do it all the time. IF this was the case, a drop in power would be like activating the reset pin on the CPU causing it to reboot.

Put a DMM on the CD +12 volt wire and see if the voltage drops. It should not. If it does then the voltage regulator cannot handle the normal 250 to 400 watts consumed in total by the devices.

Another posibility is the total devices wattage consumption is equal or greater then the power supply.This would possibly cause a reboot when one more device is used. However this is perhaps unlikely since it only happens once accessing the CD for first time on startup.

Also, was there any changes in hardware/software before this issue occured?

Do you have a total list of all devices that are a part of this system? I would like to see them.

Surdel -

The situation has now worsened. Any activation of the CD/DVD drive reboots the system and if the disk is not removed, as soon as the BIOS comes up (and, I assume, checks for a bootable CD) the system continuously reboots till the disk is removed.

I have SCSI working on the system and I plugged in an external SCSI CD-Rom. it works fine.

Even without accessing the drive the system still reboots fairly constantly - sometimes 6 or 8 times a day. Sometimes it'll run for a day or two without rebooting. Everytime I think I have it fixed it fools me.

It's starting to look like a hardware problem. Or a combination of hardware & software. I'm leaning towards multiple issues because it's such a PITA.

I like the idea of checking the 12V supply when accessing the drive. I'll try that.

The situation is less critical now because I bought a Macbook a few weeks ago and have not used the PC much. Repairing it has moved down to a lower priority.

I'll look at home for a full list of devices, but there's not much. External US Robotics Modem on the Serial Port, SCSI Card with an HP Scanner & now an IBM CD-R. HP 5M Printer on the Parallel port (I may change it to Network only for the hell of it).

There were 3 Hard Drives, but I unplugged one to see if the power drain was too much - no difference. 3.5" FD. The Floppy is almost never used, but occasionally the drive light will come on as if something is trying to access it.

I'm going to try changing out the DVD drive and then swapping out the Power Supply.

Then if all else fails - an excorcism.

Sam