Windows Media Player/cannot rip CD

Hi everyone, I am a newbie with little computer knowledge & have difficulty understanding computer jargon, so please be gentle/patient with me. My HP Pavillion (G7 series) 500GB SATA hard drive laptop will NOT rip a cd on WMP but plays ok. When I insert a cd, I get a message on the screen as follows. [WMP cannot rip one or more tracks from the cd] My laptop crashed 6/12 and the h/drive was repaired under warranty at BestBuy. Took it back after WMP problem began & was told I had a virus (MS type???) They said I could re-load System Recovery DVD's but I would loose everything (pics, documents, photos etc.) I have a flash drive backup system but do not know how to save data....not even sure how it works. I've done some research online and discovered that codecs may be affected & I should consider downloading the K-lite software. However, If I have a virus, would that resolve the real problem? For security, I have malwarebytes & microsoft essentials (both free downloads). I purchased PC Registry cleaner & it seems to work very well. If anyone has experienced this problem how did you resolve it? BTW, periodically, the computer will shut down & restart which may indicate there is a virus on my laptop...don't know if this is related to my WMP isssue? When you respond to my thread, PLEASE, try to keep it "simple" since I am somewhat computer illiterate. Thanks Much for your input/help. PS If I should be posting this on another forum site, please advise.