Random BSOD and CD won't read data

OK, done. I think I'm about ready to declare victory over both the BSOD problems and the malware infestation. Thanks for all your help with this.

Regarding the CD drive problem, I don't know enough about how these devices work. I find it odd that Windows does recognize a bootable data CD, but no other type. About all I can think of is to start replacing drivers, but I don't know how to do that, or even which ones are needed. For example, see the attached list of everything called "cdrom" on this machine. Just uninstalling the drive and then letting Windows reinstall the drivers automatically doesn't work.

I suppose there's also still an outside chance that it's the drive itself. Is there some strange failure mode of optical drives that can cause this sort of behavior? How does that work?

Windows CDrom driver is installed by Windows itself
There's no update to the driver, and no driver disc received even if you purchase a new drive

But if you suspect that there may be possible missing Windows System files you can do this. But I would uninstall any live protecting softwares as well (ie Antivirus\personal Firewall\Spyware resident applications

Start->Run-> SFC /RUNNOW and then press OK
You may need your Windows CD if any Windows System files are found to be missing or corrupt and require replacing with the working original

Try that

Or just replace the drive

Already ran sfc. See way back in post no. 1, item no. 6. In fact that was a real adventure. You need your Windows CD to run sfc. But my CD drive doesn't work, remember? Anyway, that doesn't even matter because Alienware never gave me a Windows CD. Not that even that would have helped because I'm now running SP3 and when the machine was new they were up to SP nothing, and sfc wants a disc with the same level you're running.

So I had to slipstream SP3 from Microsoft onto the hard drive, then make a merged i386 directory with the partial one I already had in C:\Windows, and then mod some registry key I don't even remember to point sfc to C: instead of D: just to get the program to run at all. Then after all that, it didn't find anything to complain about.

I suppose I could replace the drive. They're only like $35 used on Ebay. I'm just afraid that won't help either. Then I'll still be stuck with the same problem, and I'll be out the 35 bucks.

One thing I still have not been able to find on the net is whether CD drives have some hardware failure mode that still lets them read audio but not data, except from a bootable disc. Sounds far-fetched to me.