Whenever I put a disk in my DVD writer, the screen goes blank and I am not able to use the COMPUTER. I then have to switch off the computer and restart. If I do not use the optical drive the computer works properly. If I use the optical drive in another computer it works perfectly but yet if I connect any other optical drive in my computer, I still have the same problem as outlined above.
The optical drive I am using is an LG DVD dual layer writer, 16 speed. I am using Windows XP SP2 on a P4 motherboard with a 2.4GHz Pentium processor and 256MB DDR RAM. There have been no configuration or HARDWARE changes, but the problem just started. Prior to this, the computer WORKED without any problems for about 2.5 years.
It does not seem as if the problem is with the DVD-writer itself. I would really appreciate any help concerning what the problem could be, and how to RECTIFY it.
Thanks in advance!

I can't offer you a whole lot of help, but out of curiosity, what kind of protection do you have?  And when was the last time you did a virus scan? Quote

Whenever I put a disk in my DVD writer, the screen goes blank and I am not able to use the computer. I then have to switch off the computer and restart. If I do not use the optical drive the computer works properly. [highlight]If I use the optical drive in another computer it works perfectly[/highlight] but yet if I connect any other optical drive in my computer, I still have the same problem as outlined above.
The optical drive I am using is an LG DVD dual layer writer, 16 speed. I am using Windows XP SP2 on a P4 motherboard with a 2.4GHz Pentium processor and 256MB DDR RAM. There have been no configuration or hardware changes, but the problem just started. Prior to this, the computer worked without any problems for about 2.5 years.
It does not seem as if the problem is with the DVD-writer itself. I would really appreciate any help concerning what the problem could be, and how to rectify it.
Thanks in advance!