Burning dvds crashes computer

Problem:

Each time I burn a DVD or CD, my computer freezes.
If I burn a DVD at 1x, the computer is noticably "laggy" but is still usable. If I burn a dvd at 2x, the computer totally freezes.
30 mins later the dvd is complete and I can use the computer again. The burn progress monitor practically jumps from 0% to 100% after 30 mins. I can barely move the mouse in between.

This situation happened suddenly. One day it was fine, the next day it wasnt. I did nothing in between that I can think of.

Things I know It isnt:

RAM: My ram is fine. I have plenty of it, and a ram monitoring program also confirms there is plenty free.
IDE Cables: I have tried switching around the IDE setup to no avail.
Software: Burning with nero/roxio/adaptec/fire burner/dvd decrypter... All freeze computer.
Drive: The drive works fine for reading, and ripping. Only burning slows the computer down. It works... eventually. Just cant use computer whilst I burn.
Media: Have tried plenty of different types and there is no change.
Have tried rebooting etc... reinstalling software.
Hard Drives: Have over 100 gb free, and plenty of space on the HD that contains any buffer files. Certainly isnt the reason.

Only thing I havent done yet (no time) is formatted my comp.


Any ideas what it could be? I dont like to format all that much.

It's good that you listed your troubleshooting efforts. Since reading from the drive is okay, then the IDE cable wouldn't be an issue. The only thing I'd suggest is something you may not like: you have another CD burner you could try? Or visit the CD-ROM drive manufacturer's website and look for a firmware update. That is likely not the problem, but something to try none-the-less.

I assume you're using Windows. Have you visited Windows Update to ensure your system has all the latest core components? Sometimes re-installing a service pack (if applicable) will solve a lot of problems because it copies a lot of core files and if some are corrupt, they will be replaced.

If all else fails, an OS reload may be your solution. You have to decide if the time and effort put into finding and solving your problem would be more efficient than just plain reloading, because in the end the result should be the same.

Good luck.

It effects both drives so im sure it isnt a drive problem. They share the same IDE, so that was my first thought. Pulled out the spare hard drive, switched the ribbons etc.. seperated them, unplugged each individually. No help.

Indeed, I am on xp.. and its all up to date. No new firmware, and as mentioned in original post, was a sudden occurance.

I agree with you, reloading windows seems the best bet. I usually do about 5-10 writes a day so I think it will be worth the few hours it would take to format and reinstall everything.
Just figured I'd ask here before hand.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Okay, I wasn't sure if you had only one CD-ROM drive.

Maybe it's just time for a reload anyway. Let me suggest that you ensure you have the latest chipset drivers after you reload. Sometimes people forget those and have problems with all sorts of things.

Good luck, and if you do find a specific problem, let us all know...

My mom had a similar problem with some Nero software. It included some carp on the systray called InCD. I uninstalled that. It was hanging in memory. Problem solved. Uninstall anything except the actual burning program, and get rid of all the other "useful" tools which are what is likely giving you trouble.

Use Start > Control Panel > Add and Remove, and select InCD.

By the way, in her case it was also causing the system to take an incredibly long time to shut down.