[RESOLVED] CD-Rom Installation probs - pleez HELP!

This is a bit of a long-shot as it may not be my CD Drive, but I'm desperate!

Basically whenever I am trying to install a large (100mb+, usually) program from the Cd drive the computer freezes and a have to manually reset. Now this has happened on various CDs and at various points in the installation (u can't imagine how annoying it is to get to get to 98%, then freeze...) so its not consistent and not a prob with the CDs themselves. The problem has happened since I bought the computer...also, it never crashes at any other time - only when installing large programs from CD. I usually can get the programs installed, but only after several times (e.g. usually 20+ when I tried to install FF7 game)..

Erm..the drive is a 32x LG CRD-8320B, the Motherboard is a Daewoo S7 jobbie (CB581x-VI) . 64mbs of RAM. K6-2 400 proc. Trident 975 Video card (+voodoo2). Oh and a ESS 1869 Soundcard...

Any help would be great!

Thanks

Good Afternoon!

First thing I would check is to make sure everything is set right on the hardware. Meaning, make sure you got your master/s;ave settings all right, and check your cables (UDMA66 only work one way, etc). Next, check your BIOS and make sure all the settings are correct. Make sure that if you are using !in9x, that the drive isn't being set-up in MS-DOS Compatibility mode. After that, check your DMA settings (I alwys have them on, some people always keep them off...your choice), and last thing is to check for a firmware update (Which is pretty un-commom on regular CD drives). That's about all that comes to mind right now...good luck!

also try copying contents of cd to disk the running the install from disk ( if it allows you copy of it to disk...)

How much space is left on your harddrive? It could be a space problem. Specially if the harddrive was partitioned in an odd way.

Thanks everyone...I did try the various things you mentioned, IntheWay (I even found a firmware update!), and the idea about installing from the HD is a good one (as I can just transfer the program in small bits)..the HD is only half full and has one partition, but I dont know whether that is a weird one - how would I know? I also check my system with Sisoft Sandra and it came up that I could only run the m/board test if I disabled the SPD EEPROM thingy, which (apparently) has something to do with the transfer to RAM...so poss. looking like a m/board bugger-up (checked mem and switched it around a bit and it was fine)...sadly enough I'm a bit scared of doing things with the BIOS (which is really a good thing)...so I havent checked that...hmmm...perhaps time for a trip to the repairers? Again thanks for giving me your time..anymore suggestions would be appreciated..

This is really basic , but maybe overlooked , have you run a CD-ROM lens cleaner ?? Often a dirty lens will give random errors like this

I don't know if this is related to your problem but try it ,
MY COMPUTER
CONTROL PANEL
SYSTEM
DEVICE MANAGER
CD ROM
SETTINGS
ENABLE SYNC DATA TRANSFER
RESTART

[This message has been edited by TRICKPLAYER (edited February 27, 2000).]

Yet another thingto keep an eye on is temp files. Goto My Computer, Windows, Temp. Anything in this directory is safe to delete. If it gets to full it can cause a variety of problems, including data transfer errors, lock-ups, and printing errors. When you try to delete the items in this folder, Windows may worn you that certain files are programs or that some aplications may not run correctly if you delete them. You should ignore this. I repeat, ANYTHING in this directory is safe to delete. Occasional emptying of this directory along with running ScanDisk and Disk Defragmenter is good maintenance and will improve the overall performance of your PC. When running scandisk, using the Standard setting is easiest. Check the "Automatically fix errors" box. Under the Advanced settings, Display Summary: Always; Log File: Replace Log; Cross-linked files: Delete; Lost File Fragments: Free; Check files for: Invalid file names and Invalid dates and times. Doing these three things may solve your problem. If they don't, at least they will improve the speed and performance of your computer.