Whenever I insert a CD into any of my CD or DVD roms, and as it begins to read the CD, my computer instantly reboots itself, and goes into rebooting loop until I take out the CD. This started happening a couple months back, but just got gradually worse. I've eliminated virtual drives that may have conflicted, uninstalled all burning software, defragmented, uninstalled the drivers for the CD/DVD roms, removing all but one drive - all with no success in solving this reboot problem. No matter which drive I inserted the CD into, the system would restart. I tried having only one plugged in, and tried that on all three, wtih the same result. So I don't think its a problem with a specific drive. Does anyone know what may be causing this?

Well it's some corrupted driver and it's crashing the PC. What OS are you runnning? Try uninstalling all CD/DVD drives using the Device Manager. Turn off the PC and disconnect all but one drive. Reboot and let windows find it again and install driver. Try running a CD.

To turn off automatic reboot (assuming XP), right click on "My Computer"/properties/Advanced tab/Start-up and Recovery settings. Uncheck auto reboot. Now you can see the BSOD stop code, when it happens again.

Cheers,

Yes, I am O/S is XP. I only have one drive plugged in. I've tried uninstalling the drivers and letting Windows install a new one. I even tried uninstalling the secondary IDE drivers too. I unchecked the automatically restart option, but it will still instantly reboot as soon as it attempts to read a CD, so I'm afraid I can't get the stop code.

Hmm, very strange indeed. When you look at the drive in Device Manager does it (or any other device) have a yellow ! mark beside it?

Just in case, have you done a virus scan and a malware scan with Spybot SD with the latest definition updates?

Also it could be faulty RAM or a dieing PSU. Have you run memtest or memtest86 to check your RAM? In my BSOD link below, there's a link to Howard's post about memtest and a link to ExtremePSU Calculator. The EPC link will calculate the required watts for your PC. Also note that a cheap/generic PSU never supplies the rated watts continuously. Their rating is maximum or peak power. Read my paragraph in the BSOD link. Also take a look at the PSU Label picture in my sig line below. Read the label off your power supply unit and see what amps it has on the 12 and 5 volt rails (you need to remove the side of your case and peek in at the PSU). In the picture the 12V has 28Amps and the 5V has 32Amps for example.

Cheers.

My computer is starting to degrade, as it not only reboots with an entry of a CD, but also if I have a lot of things running. I forgot to mention that my computer, when turned off, takes about 30 seconds to turn on, as during this period, the red light blinks and the CD rom/Hardware components is revving up continuously until the computer manages to begin loading. Its as if it is not having enough juice. I am thinking that the cause of everything is my power supply. Here are the specs:

AC Input Voltage Current
115/230V 8A/4A
Max DC +3.3V +5V +12V -12V -5V
Output 24A 35A 12A 0.8A 0.5A
Cmb pwr 190W 144W 9.6W 2.5W

Is this a weak PSU? When I replace it, what strength should I get? (Does it matter how strong it is?) The eXtreme PSU calculator recommended I should be running at something about 265W.

The main thing is the 12A on the 12Volt rail, that's pretty low.
If the calculator gave you 265W, then add 30% to that for a continuous power level. The value of 265W is at maximum operation of your PC, like during 3D games. So you want to operate at this level safely for hours let say. A PSU always rates itself at maximum output, but is really only designed to operate at about 70% of that continuously (steady-state).

So 265X1.3= 344.5W, so a 350W PSU is what you need minimum. Why not buy a decent 400W unit with 22Amps on the 12V rail? They only run around $40US. In my BSOD post there is a link to PSUList, it most PSU available, both good and bad. Good brand names are: Enermax, Thermaltake, OCZ, and Antec.

Cheers.

Problem solved!!!

I got a brand new 500W power supply, and now no more reboots in my system. Thank you all for the helpful support.

I have a similar problem with my computer restarting when I insert a CD. I have tested most components and I'm sure it's not the RAM, MOBO or optical drive. It's either a weak power supply or the CPU. Do you still have that link for ExtremePSU Calculator?

Thanks for your help,
Martin

UPDATE: Sorry, I have found the link now. Thanks!