Drivers? Win Explorer Crashes? - Not spyware!

Hi Everybody!

I've been referred here by Phillie Pan cos we couldn't resolve the problems I posted in the Hijack This bit of Spyware Warrior:
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/viewtopic.php?p=108394#top

Symptoms:
DVD drive recognises CD-ROMs, but not DVDs
Windows explorer ocassionally hangs and needs End Task
WMP takes an age to fire up a video clip and sometimes reproduces the clip erratically or not at all
I run Scandisk with all programs closed and get an error message telling me that Scandisk couldn't run because something is writing to the disk, and would I like to scan on the next restart.
I tried rebooting in safe mode, but XP never fired up and just showed a black screen with a white flashing cursor in the top left

The User Accounts on this PC are Administrator (which is what I normally use) and Guest (which is deactivated).

If anyone can help, I'd be very grateful
Cheers
Hagbag69
PS: Here's the Everest log of my PC.

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition (c) 2003-2005 Lavalys, Inc. ]------------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v2.20.405
Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Report Wizard
Computer PC-79678145F994
Generator Stewart
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2005-12-28
Time 19:10


--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name PC-79678145F994
User Name Stewart

Motherboard:
CPU Type AMD Athlon XP, 1350 MHz (13.5 x 100) 1500+
Motherboard Name Shuttle AK35GT2(R) (6 PCI, 1 AGP, 4 DDR DIMM, Audio)
Motherboard Chipset VIA VT8367 Apollo KT333
System Memory 512 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award (04/12/02)
Communication Port Puerto de comunicaciones (COM1)
Communication Port Puerto de comunicaciones (COM2)
Communication Port Puerto de impresora (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 (64 MB)
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 (64 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440
Monitor Compaq V55 [15" CRT] (845BF26AA920)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter C-Media CMI8738 Audio Chip

Storage:
IDE Controller Controladora IDE principal de bus VIA
Floppy Drive Unidad de disquete
Disk Drive Maxtor 6B160P0 (160 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
Optical Drive PIONEER CD-ROM DR-A01S (24x CD-ROM)
Optical Drive SONY DVD RW DW-D22A (DVD+R9:2.4x, DVD+RW:16x/4x, DVD-RW:8x/4x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/24x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 156319 MB (53010 MB free)

Input:
Keyboard Teclado estándar de 101/102 teclas o Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse Mouse compatible PS/2

Network:
Network Adapter NIC Fast Ethernet PCI Familia RTL8139 de Realtek (192.168.1.3)

Peripherals:
Printer Canon MP360 Series Printer
Printer Microsoft Office Document Image Writer
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB2 Controller VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Device Canon MP360
USB Device Compatibilidad con impresoras USB
USB Device Dispositivo compuesto USB
USB Device Logitech QuickCam Express #2


--------[ Debug - PCI ]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B00 D00 F00: VIA VT8367 Apollo KT333 Chipset - System Controller

Offset 00: 06 11 99 30 06 00 30 A2 00 00 00 06 00 08 00 00
Offset 10: 08 00 00 D0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 20: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 06 11 99 30
Offset 30: 00 00 00 00 A0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 40: 00 18 88 80 82 44 00 00 18 24 88 80 82 44 00 00
Offset 50: 16 F4 69 EA 20 05 20 20 F1 11 10 20 20 20 20 20
Offset 60: 02 AA 03 20 E6 99 00 16 71 ED 54 D0 10 51 00 00
Offset 70: 82 48 00 01 00 01 10 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 02
Offset 80: 0F 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 03 00 06 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 90: 16 F4 69 EA 0F 1C F1 1B 21 FF 00 00 21 32 74 00
Offset A0: 02 C0 20 00 17 02 00 1F 14 01 00 00 2F 08 14 99
Offset B0: 7F 99 18 00 80 00 00 00 C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 8C
Offset C0: 01 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 9A 77 9A 00 00 9A 00 00
Offset F0: 00 00 00 00 00 94 94 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

B00 D01 F00: VIA VT8367 Apollo KT333 Chipset - AGP Controller

Offset 00: 06 11 99 B0 07 01 30 22 00 00 04 06 00 00 01 00
Offset 10: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 01 00 F0 00 00 00
Offset 20: 00 E8 F0 E9 00 D8 F0 E7 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 30: 00 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0C 00
Offset 40: 81 C0 80 44 24 72 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 50: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 60: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 70: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 80: 01 00 02 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 90: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset C0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

B00 D0C F00: Realtek RTL8139 PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter [A/B/C]

Offset 00: EC 10 39 81 05 00 90 02 10 00 00 02 00 20 00 00
Offset 10: 01 D0 00 00 00 00 00 EA 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 20: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 30 30 32 50
Offset 30: 00 00 00 00 50 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 05 01 20 40
Offset 40: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 50: 01 00 02 76 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 60: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 70: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 80: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 90: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset C0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

B00 D10 F00: C-Media CMI8738 Audio Chip

Offset 00: F6 13 11 01 05 00 10 02 10 00 01 04 00 20 00 00
Offset 10: 01 D4 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 20: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 97 12 35 A2
Offset 30: 00 00 00 00 C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 05 01 02 18
Offset 40: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 50: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 60: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 70: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 80: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 90: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset C0: 01 00 02 06 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

B00 D11 F00: VIA VT8233(A) PCI-ISA Bridge

Offset 00: 06 11 47 31 87 00 10 02 00 00 01 06 00 00 80 00
Offset 10: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 20: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 06 11 47 31
Offset 30: 00 00 00 00 C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 40: 44 00 F0 00 00 00 00 00 0C 20 00 00 04 00 0A 08
Offset 50: C5 0D 09 00 00 B0 B0 50 03 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 60: 00 00 F0 40 00 00 08 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 70: 06 11 47 31 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 20 00 00 00
Offset 80: 20 84 59 00 FA 30 00 00 01 40 00 00 D8 00 00 00
Offset 90: 00 FF FF 88 C0 4C 00 00 00 FC 1F 00 00 00 00 00
Offset A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset C0: 01 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset D0: 01 50 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset E0: 00 00 00 00 00 08 80 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

B00 D11 F01: VIA VT82C571 IDE Controller

Offset 00: 06 11 71 05 07 00 90 02 06 8A 01 01 00 20 00 00
Offset 10: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 20: 01 D8 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 06 11 71 05
Offset 30: 00 00 00 00 C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF 01 00 00
Offset 40: 0B F2 09 05 18 1C C0 00 20 20 20 20 FF 00 B6 B6
Offset 50: 07 E2 17 F0 0C 00 00 00 A8 A8 A8 A8 00 00 00 00
Offset 60: 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 70: 02 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 01 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 80: F8 4E 39 02 00 00 00 00 18 08 39 02 00 00 00 00
Offset 90: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset C0: 01 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset D0: 06 00 71 05 06 11 71 05 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

B00 D11 F02: VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller

Offset 00: 06 11 38 30 07 00 10 02 23 00 03 0C 08 20 00 00
Offset 10: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 20: 01 DC 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 25 09 34 12
Offset 30: 00 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 05 04 00 00
Offset 40: 00 12 07 00 00 00 0F 00 00 03 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 50: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 60: 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 70: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 80: 01 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 90: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset C0: 00 20 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

B00 D11 F03: VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller

Offset 00: 06 11 38 30 07 00 10 02 23 00 03 0C 08 20 00 00
Offset 10: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 20: 01 E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 25 09 34 12
Offset 30: 00 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 05 04 00 00
Offset 40: 00 12 07 00 00 00 0F 00 00 03 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 50: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 60: 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 70: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 80: 01 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 90: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset C0: 00 20 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

B00 D13 F00: VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller

Offset 00: 06 11 38 30 07 00 10 02 50 00 03 0C 08 20 80 00
Offset 10: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 20: 01 E4 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 25 09 34 12
Offset 30: 00 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0B 01 00 00
Offset 40: 40 10 03 00 C6 00 30 C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 50: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 60: 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 70: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 80: 01 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 90: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset C0: 00 20 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

B00 D13 F01: VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller

Offset 00: 06 11 38 30 07 00 10 02 50 00 03 0C 08 20 80 00
Offset 10: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 20: 01 E8 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 25 09 34 12
Offset 30: 00 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 05 02 00 00
Offset 40: 40 10 03 00 C2 00 30 C0 00 08 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 50: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 60: 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 70: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 80: 01 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 90: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset C0: 00 20 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

B00 D13 F02: VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller

Offset 00: 06 11 04 31 07 00 10 02 51 20 03 0C 08 20 80 00
Offset 10: 00 10 00 EA 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 20: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 25 09 34 12
Offset 30: 00 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0B 03 00 00
Offset 40: 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 50: 00 5A 00 80 00 00 00 00 04 0B BB BB 53 00 00 00
Offset 60: 20 20 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 70: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 80: 01 00 0A 48 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 90: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset C0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

B01 D00 F00: nVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 Video Adapter

Offset 00: DE 10 71 01 07 00 B0 02 A3 00 00 03 00 F8 00 00
Offset 10: 00 00 00 E8 08 00 00 D8 08 00 00 E0 00 00 00 00
Offset 20: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 30: 00 00 00 00 60 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0B 01 05 01
Offset 40: 00 00 00 00 02 00 20 00 17 00 00 1F 14 01 00 1F
Offset 50: 01 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 CE D6 23 00 0F 00 00 00
Offset 60: 01 44 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 70: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 80: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset 90: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset C0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Offset F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00


--------[ Debug - Video BIOS ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

C000:0000 U.~.K7400.L.w.VIDEO ......O...IBM VGA Compatible......}.10/03/02
C000:0040 ..................~.............................PMIDj.m.........
C000:0080 ...7.NV......c...........s.........P...q(Ik.k.w.v.v............
C000:00C0 ..B.l.l.'......&.t.|.......t.................Jm.m..........:m*m.
C000:0100 ....PCIR..q.........~.......NVIDIA GeForce MX-440 VGA BIOS......
C000:0140 .............................................Version 4.17.00.63.
C000:0180 42 ...Copyright (C) 1996-2002 NVIDIA Corp......NV17 () Board....
C000:01C0 ..................Chip Rev A2...................n..z..y..t..i..a
C000:0200 ..x..b..7..rR.g..f..h..c).eX.q..l..k..j..o..u..v:.9..8U.1..2..4H
C000:0240 .3..6..5..I..f`...&.................u..fa....f`3....fa.2..,.....
C000:0280 C......:.u...T.2........M.u...&2.....u...t..Q........(Y.f..7....
C000:02C0 ..f.#....f........u.....f..7...f........u.....f..7...f+.........
C000:0300 u.S...[....f`f........f..f....@.f...f..@f...f...xi<.u...7....u..
C000:0340 .4Rf...h..[.f..f...............2...f...f3.Zf...f..f..f.2...f3.f.
C000:0380 .f........f.....f.q......fa.........".C...C..u............C..u..
C000:03C0 ........f......C.T%."'C..'C..u...B.J..f............f......C..'C.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

 

If that DVD drive isn't a writer, there is a decent chance its bad. Have you tried Safe Mode?

In fact, Safe Mode can be tried for the Windows Explorer problem too.

Chkdsk (not scandisk) cannot be run from within Windows properly. What it told you was true, the drive is in use. You have to do it on next reboot.

 

Hi Adrynalyne

It is a DVD writer. It was installed six months ago, and hasn't had any major use, so I can't believe it's gone bad already!

Good to know that about chkdisk. I upgraded from Win98 a couple of months ago and still haven't got the hang of this XP lark yet..!

Have a look at the link I posted, I tried safe mode and Windows wouldn't fire up (tapping F8). The screen went black with a white flashing cursor top left. I wouldn't know what to do in Safe mode anyway!!
Incidentally, I use S&D, Adaware and CCleaner, have done for ages, but then I installed SpyCatcher Express and I think I deleted a driver by mistake. Any ideas?
Hagbag69

 

Well, maybe we can kill two birds with one stone. What DVD writing software are you using?

 

Nero 6.6.1.15
I think!

 

Uninstall it and see if you can read DVDs.

 

Adrynalyne? You still there?

Sorry for the delay in replying, but holiday season and all..!

The problem's not with reading DVDs. If I insert a pre-recorded DVD it plays fine. The problem is when I insert a blank DVD-R to burn in Nero. I uninstalled Nero anyway and reinstalled it, but still no joy. I hit burn and it spits out the blank DVD and tells me to insert a valid DVD-R, and I've tried with 5 or six out to the same box with the same results.

Hagbag69

 

Excuse me for jumping in briefly, but have you tried another brand?

Not all brands of media are compatible with all drives, even if they worked in the past.

That would be my first suspicion.

 

Also, check this:

1. Open the Windows Explorer (or click on "my computer").

2. Insert a blank cd/dvd into the drive.

3. Right click the dvd/cd drive icon.

4. Choose "properties".

5. From the tabs shown go to "recording".

6. Make sure "enable cd recording on this drive" is enabled.

Steve

 

I agree with Insomniac's suggestion. I would recommend trying a DVD+R from Memorex or Maxell, and see if the problem remains.

 

Thanks for the input, I'm using Verbatim DVD-R's, same as ever, which haven't given me problems in the past. I think I've deleted a driver by mistake. How do I find out??!!

I tried accessing the writer's properties in My Computer, but Explorer locked up and I had to Ctrl+Alt+Del out and end task, which was one of the problems I initially described. I've been trying to play video clips on the TV in WMP and only the desktop image show on the TV, no video playback. The DVD not writing is the least of my worries!! I'm sure the three problems are linked because they cropped up just after I installed Spycatcher Express and deleted some files while my brain was on automatic. Any ideas welcome.

Cheers & Happy 2006
Hagbag69

 

As I said, just because they have worked in the past is no guarantee.

Drive lasers are sensitive, and if for some reason the media isn't reflective enough (especially on some CDRW's etc), they think there is nothing there. (media isn't expensive and may solve your problem)

Don't worry about drivers, Windows has native support, if it's anything it will be a corrupt Registry entry.

Anyway, you can try deleting the drive from Device Manager and rebooting and let Windows do the rest.