When I install a program or a game that features music during the installation, it is often very sluggish and the music stops and plays. The installation process is as fast as it should be, but somehow, my CD-ROM seems to be affecting audio.

EVEN when I LOAD a CD-ROM and, for example, let Windows search for missing .DLL files it will also cause any music playing in the background to stop and play.

What could be causing this?

1024mb DDR RAM (333 Bus)
52X Max CD-ROM
CD-Reader/Writer 48x12x48x
80 Gigabyte Maxtor harddisk (Master)
30 Gigabyte Seagate (SLAVE)
Trust 514DX 5.1 Sound Surround (+ 5.1 Sound set speakers)
what directx have  you got on your pc..nice system  but its  a shame  you have a maxtor?run sisoft or aida32 diagnostics..i suppose it happens in the other drive as well?It never used to happen on the Seagate. Which is an older harddisk and without an 8MB cache.

Direct X 9.0B was installed. However, if the problem occurs once I have formatted and reinstalled I will report back.

I would have bought another Seagate, but it was not avaible. Why would it be a shame? I have heard that Maxtor fabricates decent harddrives.  What do you recommend if I were to BUY a new harddrive?http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd3N1YmNhdGVnb3J5X3NlYXJjaA==&cat_uid=4   seagate  i reckon....have load of failures with maxtor?I was ASSURED that Maxtor was a very decent brand. And I have yet to see any type of issue.

What you showed in the link was a Western Digital. Is that a better brand than Seagate?scroll down the list you can also see the reviews on hard drives...of i think that hardrives will so be a things of the past...like floppy drives the way to is RAM sticks memory cards....Even after formatting, my CD-ROM player still causes music to 'crack' and my computer to act very sluggish.  The installation, however, proceeds at normal speed but it slows down everything else.Apparently, installing Chipset drivers has solved the issue. I thought I had properly installed them but only unpacked the necessary files to run the setup.