I just got xp install and im getting problems using my CD-drive now. When ever I install any of my programs from the cd, it crashes my computer and then reboots. (Notice)-Small programs I can instll but anything big it crashes.

AMD 1800+ cpu
Gigabyte mobo model GA-7ZXE
Buslink CD-RW model 4848
128 Sdram

Thanks Matt H

Well I need a bit more info before I can Help. I need to know if you were useing this system under a different OS before you installed XP, If so were there any problems before , even intermittent ones. I need to know if you have any other crashes or BSD's that are not related to the CDRW, if so what kind and doing what?
I also need to know Is it a VIA, intel or AMD chipset on the Mainboard and have you installed any drivers and or patches related to the chipset.
Here are some things to try in the mean time:
128mb of ram is to little for XP regardless of any docs to the contrary. XP puts all drives in DMA access mode by default so go to 256mb of PC133, IF you are useing PC100 it is the wrong type for your CPU.
Some CDRW's will not work correctly as Slave, so you should have this drive as Master on the Secondary cable, A 40 pin cable is goood enough, it will not utilize a 80 pin cable but it will work any better. If you have a second cdrom or DVD it should be slaved on the primary cable to the harddrive.
CDRW's create a lot of heat and should have good ventilation, IE: not sandwiched up against another drive. The faster the drive , the faster it heats up. Next time it fails , pull the CD out and see how hot it is. If you have just put the CD in , and it is really hot, the drive maybe faulty or poorly ventilated. Try not to keep CD's in the drive when it is idle, It will spin the entire time. CDRW's above a 40x write speed will "cook" cheap cdr/rw media, always by the best quality RW media if you intend to leave it in the drive IE:for incremental baackups.
If you have followed all of the above and verified the drive is working , you should suspect your system ram. However evedence of faulty RAM would show up as BSD's in other applications depending upon the address(s) of the error(s). Bad RAM would also cause errors during the install of XP.

If you used this CD to install XP and it functioned without errors during the Install, it is fair to summize that the drive is working fine unless it has cratered since then. Assumeing its not the drive, the only thing left would be a software issue, such as Roxio ECDC/Direct CD. Be sure you have the correct XP version/update for XP as the win9x/2000 version doesnt work due to the burner application that is already in XP. There is an application that comes with Creative sound card drivers/software that also interfers directly with cdroms, and should be disabled from start up or uninstalled, I dont remember what it is called but it is a cd utility and would be present in the tray in the lower right corner of your screen.
Thats about all I can think of to help solve your problem. Try each fix, in the order I have presented them, and its probable you will solve the problem. As a last resort, reinstall XP to a freshly formated drive, looking for hints from the advice i have given to see if any of them apply during install. If errors occur dureing or immediatly after a fresh XP install, Then either the drive is faulty, installed wrong or your RAM has some errors. Be diagnostic I can give over the net, based on the description you have given. If you want, you could put some more details up and Ill see if I can spot something for you later. O_o

Have you applied the VIA patch for XP? just an afterthought after checking out you mainboard. Also CDRW issue with master/slave configuration is most common under VIA chipsets. Check the config and make sure you have the latest drivers from viaarena.com

Hey, Im going to read over your post a couple more times cause theres alot of answers to provide and apply. I got my unreal 2003 to install which is a 3GB full install. What I did is is unhooked my CD-RW and hooked up an older 8x CD-Rom and it worked fine. Maybe it was too hot on the CD-RW cause I leave the computer running all the time. I have Nero 5 installed and it burns fine. Nero came with some utilites and there is one to pick my drive speed which ill lower to decrease the heat build up. Im going to install the CD-RW and see if it works after I let it cool for awhile. Also I did install the XP with a CD and it reads data fine so I know it works. Thanks for the quick post. If the CD-RW drive fails again I will let you know with the information for you and after I go though the steps provided. Thanks again. I did update the VIA chipset from the Gigabyte web site and that might of fixed it.

Matt H :eek:
AMD 1800+ cpu
Gigabyte mobo model GA-7ZXE
Buslink CD-RW model 4848
128 Sdram pc 133
1st IDE Master Hard drive NFTS (xp)
1st IDE Slave Hard drive Fat32 (not formated yet to NFTS)
2nd IDE Master Buslink CD-RW 4848
2nd IDE Slave Toshiba DVD-ROM