My burner won't burn and I'm going quite mental.

[GWats]

It's a long line of frustration and just when I've about got it licked, this. First, the "about blank" hijack thing forces me to opt for a Windows 98 reinstall. (Understand that, for the most part, I have no idea what I'm doing and am relying on forums like this to guide me, usually rather successfully). The reinstall goes nicely but Outlook Explorer crashes, causing a new Internet Explorer download, etc.. Finally, when all seems to be going strangely well, Nero won't burn. It acts just the same, has all the same songs and stuff, and says it recognizes my Creative CDRW RW8438E burner, but when I start a burn, it says "burn started" and freezes. The mouse still moves around but everything else is rock solid. So much so that Cntrl-Alt-Del does nothing the first time and goes to a black screen the second time, resulting in me having to kill the power just to restart the computer. I've tried everything I could possibly think of. I downloaded the new Nero 6.6.0.8, searched for the appropriate driver from some other site, gone to places in my computer I never knew existed. I'm desperate. I'll try anything. Give me a direction, please. Would it be worthwhile to physically remove the burner and then reinstall it? Something has to happen and I'd be grateful for any advice, however remote it might be. Thanks.

[caperjack]

?? outlook explorer crashes!! assumming you mean outlook express email program ,just what do you mean when you say crashes .
You could try removing the burner from device manager and reboot and it will reload drivers ,when you reinstall did you reload you motherboard driver from the dik that came with your computer ,

[GWats]

Sorry, yes, I meant Outlook Express. What happened was I got a "Outlook Express could not be started because MSOE.DLL could not be loaded" message (or something close to that). Downloading Internet Explorer 6 remedied that problem.
Back to the problem at hand: I just went into Device Manager and removed the [CD ROM Drive] as it was listed. After the reboot, Windows said it was loading the new driver. Sure enough, Device Manager listed Creative CDRW RW8438E in the proper spot. Oh boy! This could be it! I thought to myself. BUT.... No go. Nero still freezes as soon as the burn commences. I am baffled and so very frustrated here.
Is there any other possible thing I could try????
Is there any information that I have left out that might be relevant????
Everything has worked great for years, right up until the Windows reinstall.

[GWats]

Sorry again. The other part of your reply referred to reloading my motherboard driver from the disk that came with the computer. I'm not sure I know what that means. I used the Microsoft Windows 98 second edition disk. Is that it? There was also a Nero 5.0 / Prassi abCD / Creative disk that came with the burner way back when I bought it but although I've searched all over it, I can't find anything that has helped me.

[caperjack]

Sorry, yes, I meant Outlook Express. What happened was I got a "Outlook Express could not be started because MSOE.DLL could not be loaded" message (or something close to that). Downloading Internet Explorer 6 remedied that problem. Back to the problem at hand: I just went into Device Manager and removed the [CD ROM Drive] as it was listed. After the reboot, Windows said it was loading the new driver. Sure enough, Device Manager listed Creative CDRW RW8438E in the proper spot. Oh boy! This could be it! I thought to myself. BUT.... No go. Nero still freezes as soon as the burn commences. I am baffled and so very frustrated here. Is there any other possible thing I could try???? Is there any information that I have left out that might be relevant???? Everything has worked great for years, right up until the Windows reinstall.

First the outlook problem ,check this site and see if this helps with outlook Microsoft outlook
for the freeze problem let check for missing or corrupt system files .
Go to Start/run and type in SFC ,you may need to put the win98 disk in the drive ,when prompter to replace a missing or corrupt you will have to direct it to look in the cdrom .

[caperjack]

Sorry again. The other part of your reply referred to reloading my motherboard driver from the disk that came with the computer. I'm not sure I know what that means. I used the Microsoft Windows 98 second edition disk. Is that it? There was also a Nero 5.0 / Prassi abCD / Creative disk that came with the burner way back when I bought it but although I've searched all over it, I can't find anything that has helped me.

Usually the computer will come with a disk labeled motherboard drivers .but win98 will load most generic stuff ,when you were in device manager was there any idems marked with a yellow or red ! or x,if not you should be all right ,you just need to work on why the programs are locking up.
some specs on the computer might help .like how much ram you have and the processors speed and so on .thanks .

[GWats]

OK. Here's the latest. (the deeper I go, the stranger it gets)
1) Outlook Express is working fine since the Internet Explorer download.
2) I did the SFC thing and 4 or 5 files were replaced / fixed. It never prompted for the Windows 98 disk. Nero still freezes at the "burn" or "simulate" command.
3) I checked in Device Manager and nothing was marked with any yellow or red !'s or x's.
4) I went into Hardware Profile with the intention of copying some computer specs for you and, where there is usually a long list of specs, there is now a prompt talking about creating different hardware configuration profiles, etc. It has a highlighted "Original Configuration" with options to "Copy" or "Rename". Would this be referring to our setting up the Creative CDRW RW8438E in the Device Manager (see previous posts)? I'm afraid to do anything here without some guidance.
5) Computer specs:
Processor - Pentium III 650MHz (L1 cache: 32.0 Kb, L2 cache: 256.0 Kb) Ext.clock: 100 MHz
Memory - 128 Mb (130 424 Kb) BANK_1: 128 Mb(DIMM,SDRAM,70 ns)
Hard Disk - 20 Gb (9.66 Gb Free)
OS - Microsoft Windows 98 SE U.S. English 4.10 (build 2222 A) {07505-OEM-0089164-98807} installed: 16-Mar-2005 (reinstalled actually)
Burner software - Nero 6.6.0.8 (previously used Nero 6.1.3.25 - this was in use when the problem started, also tried my original Nero 5.0 before getting the new 6.6.0.8 but it also froze up)
6) Here's some other weird stuff that might be related. When I reinstalled Windows 98, I renamed the original Windows folder "OLDWIN" and (as advised in a forum much like this one) kept it until I was sure Windows was running fine. Last night, I deleted "OLDWIN". It took a real long time. Like 25 - 30 minutes of constant deleting. I figured I better run ScanDisk and Defrag to keep things in good running order. However, I put on Defrag when I went to bed last night and it was still going when I got up and it said "0% complete" even though it was still operating. ScanDisk stopped after 10 tries and I opted to continue trying (it said something else was running or writing or something). Even though I made sure nothing else was running (System Tools>System Configuration Utility>Startup>unclick almost everything), ScanDisk still made no progress after 2 or 3 hours.

What is my next move? I'm open for offers..... Please give my a direction!!!!!!!!

[GWats]

Oh, yea. One other thing.... When in Device Manager, I noticed that "Properties" for the Creative CDRW rw8348E had a box that said "Disconnect" which was checked off. I unchecked the box and it still made no difference. Nero still froze at the "burn" command. Bad idea? Good idea? Change it back? Leave it?

[caperjack]

Oh, yea. One other thing.... When in Device Manager, I noticed that "Properties" for the Creative CDRW rw8348E had a box that said "Disconnect" which was checked off. I unchecked the box and it still made no difference. Nero still froze at the "burn" command. Bad idea? Good idea? Change it back? Leave it?

I wish i had win98,it been a few years ,i use xp but i would leave it unchecked for now .

[caperjack]

OK. Here's the latest. (the deeper I go, the stranger it gets) 1) Outlook Express is working fine since the Internet Explorer download. 2) I did the SFC thing and 4 or 5 files were replaced / fixed. It never prompted for the Windows 98 disk. Nero still freezes at the "burn" or "simulate" command. 3) I checked in Device Manager and nothing was marked with any yellow or red !'s or x's. 4) I went into Hardware Profile with the intention of copying some computer specs for you and, where there is usually a long list of specs, there is now a prompt talking about creating different hardware configuration profiles, etc. It has a highlighted "Original Configuration" with options to "Copy" or "Rename". Would this be referring to our setting up the Creative CDRW RW8438E in the Device Manager (see previous posts)? I'm afraid to do anything here without some guidance. 5) Computer specs: Processor - Pentium III 650MHz (L1 cache: 32.0 Kb, L2 cache: 256.0 Kb) Ext.clock: 100 MHz Memory - 128 Mb (130 424 Kb) BANK_1: 128 Mb(DIMM,SDRAM,70 ns) Hard Disk - 20 Gb (9.66 Gb Free) OS - Microsoft Windows 98 SE U.S. English 4.10 (build 2222 A) {07505-OEM-0089164-98807} installed: 16-Mar-2005 (reinstalled actually) Burner software - Nero 6.6.0.8 (previously used Nero 6.1.3.25 - this was in use when the problem started, also tried my original Nero 5.0 before getting the new 6.6.0.8 but it also froze up) 6) Here's some other weird stuff that might be related. When I reinstalled Windows 98, I renamed the original Windows folder "OLDWIN" and (as advised in a forum much like this one) kept it until I was sure Windows was running fine. Last night, I deleted "OLDWIN". It took a real long time. Like 25 - 30 minutes of constant deleting. I figured I better run ScanDisk and Defrag to keep things in good running order. However, I put on Defrag when I went to bed last night and it was still going when I got up and it said "0% complete" even though it was still operating. ScanDisk stopped after 10 tries and I opted to continue trying (it said something else was running or writing or something). Even though I made sure nothing else was running (System Tools>System Configuration Utility>Startup>unclick almost everything), ScanDisk still made no progress after 2 or 3 hours.

What is my next move? I'm open for offers..... Please give my a direction!!!!!!!!

Not sure aboul all this ,but will seek help from one of the other guys who is really good at this and get him to have a look ,also go into safe mode and do the scandisk and defrag ,get to safe mode by hitting the f8 key on bootup . Just wondering the reason for the reinstall of win98 .thanks

[GWats]

Windows was reinstalled because the computer was infected with the "about:blank" virus/homepage hijack thing. I tried to get rid of it many different ways (one forum had a thread that was 45 pages long with different ways to get rid of it - I tried quite a few but none worked). By the end, Windows would almost always freeze on startup, causing me to have to kill the power and try again. It was looking rather bleak so I opted for the reinstall.

[Thong_Ispector]

I have seen three drives like this in the last 3 months.
All users were running software that creates ISO files from CD.
(Not all the same programs)

Have you installed anything other than Nero?

After reinstalling the OS I ended up flashing the drives.
I ONLY suggest this as a last resort since in general 1 in 10 result in creating a doorstop..

[GWats]

Yeah, I also installed some anti-virus and spyware stuff. McAfee VirusScan 2005, McAfee personal Firewall, SpyBot, AVG Antivirus, WebRoot SptSweeper, a few others, all the driver stuff to get things back up and running (Wingman, SanDisk, Acrobat, etc.)

[Thong_Ispector]

Anything for working with CD's...?

WInISO or ANY other Image/burning tools?

[GWats]

The only Image type thing installed recently was included (I'm assuming) with the Nero 6.6.0.8. My "F" and "G" Drives, formerly listed as where my digital camera stuff went into, now reads "Nero Imagedrive 2". I onl7y installed this new Nero as an attempt to repair the existing freeze-up problem, so the problem existed before the Nero install.

[bloodtie]

do you need a copy of Prassi abCD? I know a place ................

[GWats]

The CD's that came with the burner, way back when, have two burning programs on them. One is Nero 5.0 and the other is Prassi abCD. I had installed them both, figuring, as I was reinstalling all the other driver stuff, that if they gave them to my, I must need them. Later, I decided to remove the Prassi and guess what! I could burn again. No freeze up! After countless attempts and freeze ups, things were finally working......Once...... The next time I went to burn, it froze up again. I couldn't believe it. Since then, I've been successful one more time and unsuccessful about 20 times.
What could it be?????

[bloodtie]

What all did you install? Some drivers will interfere with Nero and / or Prassi. Was there any other cd recording software? Since it did work at one time this suggests that something has changed since then, and thew only thing you mention is that you reinstalled drivers and i'm assuming some other software.

[GWats]

Other things that I've recently put on are LAVA player, SoundBlaster Audio PCI, and MediaRing Talk because they were on the original Nero CD. Also Java Runtime 5.0 and some Yamaha XGstudio or something like that as a desperation move. Could any of these be the problem??