Just installed an LG GSA-4163B multiformat/layer DVDRW.
Installed OK, Windows recognises it.
However, I cannot boot properly from a Win CD. I was going through the routine of testing the dvdrw drive, and as I needed to format a hdd, I put an XP CD in, planning to format from there.
The 'checking system' screen appears, but when it gets to the next screen it just freezes. This has happened with more than one CD (I've got several licences and disks including SP1 & SP2)

I was able to successfully use Ghost to create an image of one of my hdds (using ghost 2003) so I know it isn't an OS problem (Ghost uses PC-DOS)
I was also able to start the system using the Ghost image from bootup (boot from the Ghost image on DVD)

Any suggestions about why a Win cd won't play nicely during bootup?

Huh - I don't care if no-one wants to help :D

Sorted it.

The problem was with my old friends - the excelstor hard discs.
These have been a pain in my backside since I bought them.
I have a setup with two removable hdds, 1 fixed hdd and 1 optical drive. Formerly it was 2 removable hdds and 2 optical drives.

The Main HDD is on IDE0, and the optical drive is also on IDE0. With an excelstor disc as my primary HDD the fault occurred (the dvdrw would not read win OS cds, and wrote to dvds as slowly as a 3 legged dog with a hernia)
Removing the excelstor from ide0 and substituting a WD or Seagate solved the issue.
I had cloned the excelstor to a WD, (that's the purpose of the removable hdds) and everything seemed fine.
Just to check the dvrw drive I substituted it for an identical model, and everything was just he same, so it's another thumbs down to excelstor - I have had problems cloning them before, which is why I had to make sure the second removable hdd was never on the same IDE channel as the first.

Anyway - that's it. If anyone else has problems like this, check the make of your hdds and where they are on your ide channels.