I have a system running Windows XP and an Intel Pentium 4 processor that has the following drives installed on the two motherboard channels, using the latest 80-conductor IDE ribbon cables:

Primary IDE Channel - a 60GB hard disk drive as master

Primary IDE Channel - a DVD writer as slave

Secondary IDE Channel - a 300GB hard disk drive as master

Secondary IDE Channel - a CD-RW writer as slave

I have used this configuration because I've read that for the fastest copying the source and destination drives should be on different IDE channels. The CD-RW drive came with Nero copying software.

There is no problem playing data or music CDs or DVDs in the relevant drives, but when I insert an unformatted CD-RW disc or a blank CD-R disc in the CD-RW drive and DVD-RW and DVD-R discs in the DVD writer, the whole system locks up until I remove the offending disc.

Possible solutions

There are several possible causes, so you should follow these troubleshooting steps in the order of their listing:

1. - Uninstall any software that accesses CDs/DVDs when they're inserted in a drive. The Windows Media Player, Media Match, and Real Jukebox are the most common programs that do this, but there are others. Use the software's uninstallation option or Windows' Add or Remove Programs utility in the Windows' Control Panel if the program doesn't have its own removal tool.

2. - Make sure that only one software program that burns CDs is installed, and that only one version of it is installed. Different versions could be installed to different locations. Other CD-burning software could be interfering with Nero. It is also possible that a CD-burning program that you have previously uninstalled is doing so, because the uninstallation routine did not remove all of the Windows Registry entries properly. If this is the case, the only way to remove them is to search the Registry for references to that software by entering the term regedit in the Start => Run box and then use Edit => Find => Find Next. If doing that (and none of the following steps) solves the problem, a fresh installation of Windows would be necessary to remove the offending entries. The Windows Support Center - http://www.aumha.org/ - provides information on reinstalling the different versions of Windows.

3. - Restart the system in Safe Mode by repeatedly pressing the F8 key during the start-up process just before Windows shows that it is starting to load. The boot menu that offers Safe Mode as a choice should be made available. In that mode, use the right mouse button to click on My Computer, left-click Properties => Hardware tab and then click on the Device Manager button. Click the + sign beside the DVD/CD-ROM drives heading and then select any CD/DVD drives, right-click with the mouse pointer on the entry and click Uninstall in the menu that presents itself. There may be multiple entries for a particular CD/DVD drive. Removing all of the entries can often solve peculiar problems with one or more of the drives. When you reboot into Normal mode, Windows will reinstall the drive(s) automatically. You can reboot and then check in Safe Mode to make sure that only one instance of each drive is installed. You have to look in Safe Mode because the multiple instances do not appear in Normal mode.

If you require more detailed information, try using a search phrase such as: clean + "device manager" + "safe mode" in the Google search box at the top of this page.

4. - In the Device Manager, have a look under the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers heading to see how the IDE ATA controllers are described. There should be a Primary IDE Channel and a Secondary IDE Channel, but if the description of the top (main) controller is described as as a Standard IDE Controller, then Windows has loaded its standard IDE controllers and you should install the correct controllers (busmaster drivers) created for the relevant chipset on the motherboard by its manufacturer. The correct controllers for the motherboard's chipset are usually described using the maker's name, such as ALi, VIA, and Intel. You do that by downloading the latest IDE driver file from the system's motherboard's website, or from a brand-name computer's site, if you have one. The free CPU-Z utility and Belarc Advisor can both identify a PC's motherboard. For the latter utility, look under FREE DOWNLOAD on http://www.belarc.com/. If you have the correct driver file installed but you haven't downloaded and installed the latest driver file, you should do so. Those users whose PCs have an SATA hard disk drive can update the drivers for it in the same way.

You should install all of the latest drivers for the motherboard, such as the USB Controller, and the latest BIOS file. If you have a brand-name PC, you should be able to obtain all of the latest drivers for it from its manufacturer's website, including the drivers for the video/graphics card. The method if installation differs between manufacturers, but most of them allow you to use a live-update program that downloads and installs the updated drivers. Running the standard Windows IDE controllers or old motherboard controllers can be the cause of problems such as the one under consideration.

5. - Disabling DMA (Direct Memory Access) can often cure the problem - and other peculiar problems. This is usually done via the Settings tab for a particular drive listed in the Device Manager where there is a checkbox called DMA that can be checked or unchecked. Sometimes the DMA setting has to be disabled in the BIOS, and sometimes there is no DMA setting and you have to run a utility provided by the motherboard manufacturer or PC manufacturer, or it is done by reinstalling the IDE drivers and then disabling DMA option during the installation routine. For example, the Intel 815E chipset uses a utility called the Intel Ultra ATA Companion.

6. - Some CD-RW drives will not function unless they are installed as a master drive, so, if this is not the case make it so, preferably as the only drive on the IDE cable. If doing that cures the problem, you can try other combinations of IDE drives, such as having a hard disk drive attached to the same cable. This situation does not occur with SATA drives, because each drive has its own cable.

7. - Check the CD/DVD drive/writer's manufacturer's site for a firmware update. This is not a software driver, it is similar to the programming used in the BIOS. It reprograms the programming in flash memory that is hard-coded into the drive and which is responsible for controlling its operations.

8. As a last resort, if the BIOS file installed isn't the latest one, download the latest file from the PC maker's or the system's motherboard maker's site, and reflash the BIOS. Specific instructions on how to do that should be available from the same source as the file. Note that many motherboard manufacturer's provide a live-update facility from their websites.

9. - Try a different brand of blank CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs, because some CD/DVD writers don't work with some brands. Tom's Hardware Guide has stated that it finds Verbatim discs to be the most compatible with most drives.

10. - If you have a cheap optical CD-RW or DVD-RW writer, replace it with one that has been given good reviews. Click here! to go to the page on this website devoted to CD/DVD/Blu-ray drives. It provides reviews of those drives.

You can make use of the Google search box at the top of every page on this website (with its Web radio button enabled) to look for other reviews of a particular optical drive. See the Build Your Own PC section of this website for information on how to install IDE and SATA hard-disk and optical CD/DVD drives. Note that all Blu-ray optical drives use the SATA interface. Blu-ray optical drives are installed in the same way as CD/DVD drives.

Computer diagnostics: How to solve or fix common desktop and laptop PC problems

To diagnose and troubleshoot specific and general problems with Microsoft's software (Windows 95, 98, Me, XP, Vista, Internet Explorer, and Outlook Express) using the MS Knowledge Base, visit the Diagnostics page on this site.

Click a relevant link below to visit the information it describes on this website:

1. - Recovering and repairing Windows XP when a computer crashes or fails to boot

2. - Recovering and repairing Windows Vista when a computer crashes or fails to boot

3. - Windows Vista problems: How to fix problems with Windows Vista

4. - Recover, restore and repair Windows 7 (Win7) when a computer crashes or fails to boot

5. - Windows 7 problems: How to diagnose and fix problems with Windows 7

6. - Windows XP: How to troubleshoot and fix shutdown, restart (reboot), and startup problems

7. - Typical DLL (Dynamic Link Library) device driver problems

8. - Software problems: How to fix problems with Windows, programs, and utilities

Also visit the Software pages on this site for more information on specific software-related information and problems.

9. - Motherboard and power supply problems: How to fix common problems with faulty motherboards (mainboards) and power supplies (PSUs)

10. - RAM memory problems: How to fix problems with the Random Access Memory

11. - Hard disk drive problems: How to fix computer hard disk drive (HDD) problems

12. - CD/DVD drive problems: How to fix problems with CD and DVD drives and discs

13. - Processor problems: How fix common processor (CPU) problems

14. - Video/graphics card problems: How fix common computer video and graphics problems

15. - USB and FireWire problems: - How to fix common USB and FireWire problems

16. - Network problems: How to fix common wired and wireless networking and internet problems

17. - Laptop/notebook problems: How to address or fix the most common laptop/notebook problems

How to fix problems with device drivers in Windows XP and Windows Vista and Windows 7

Although the information on the following page is specific to Windows XP, much of the advice is relevant to the earlier versions of Windows. Click here! to read Troubleshoot Device Driver Problems. Click h ere! to go to Tips for fixing common driver problems in Windows Vista. Those tips should also be applicable to Windows 7.

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Visit the Build a PC page for information on how to build a desktop PC and solve self-build problems, and visit the other pages, such as the Video/Graphics, Sound, Motherboards, and Monitors pages for more problem-solving information, all of which can be accessed via the menu items and jump menu on the orange navigation bar, or via the site search engine at the top of each of the main pages.

The Tips & Tricks pages of this site contain additional useful tips, tricks, and problem-solving advice.

The safest way to upgrade RAM memory: Use the UK and US Crucial Memory Advisors

Paul Mullen, who was the highly-respected computer guru of the Helpfile at ComputerShopper.co.uk - "I have recently been buying my memory only from Crucial Technology. I would rather pay the extra cost than waste time trying to track down the obscure program faults that bad memory can cause."

The best way to choose RAM memory for a brand-name desktop or laptop computer, or memory for a particular make/model of PC motherboard is to make use of the Crucial Memory Advisors (provided under the brief guideline on the minimum memory requirements for Windws XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7). If the Crucial memory you receive does not work, you are guaranteed a refund and standard shipping is free.

The memory requirements of the versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7

Most of the versions of Windows Vista require more RAM memory to run optimally on a computer that doesn't use memory-hungry applications than Windows XP. A video-editing application is an example of memory-intensive software. Only Windows Vista Home Basic has a recommended minimum amount of memory of 512MB, which is the same amount recommended for Windows XP. Windows Vista Home Premium, the most popular version, and Windows Vista Ultimate require a recommended minimum of 1GB (1024MB) of memory, which is twice the amount of minimum memory recommended to run Windows XP. Note that if you are using a 64-bit version of Windows, up to 4.0GB, it requires twice the amount of memory as a 32-bit version, which can only use a maximum of about 3.5GB. For more information on computer memory, read the RAM pages of this site, which includes information on the lower memory requirements of Windows 7.

UK - Crucial Memory Advisor - UK

USA - Crucial Memory Advisor - USA

How to Use the Crucial Memory Advisor

For example, if your computer has an Asus motherboard, open the menu, scroll down to ASUS, and click GO. If, say, you have a Dell computer, scroll down to DELL, and do likewise. You will be taken to the relevant information on Crucial's website.

If you don't know the make and model of the motherboard installed in your computer, here is a good free utility - Belarc Advisor - that creates an analysis of the hardware and software on a personal computer. Look under FREE DOWNLOAD - http://www.belarc.com/. Another utility that also provides detailed information on the memory itself is CPU-Z.

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