I have the EXACT same problem happening to my Compaq Presario as in this older message dated a year ago... view it by clicking going to this link... http://www.computing.net/windowsme/wwwboard/forum/37094.html . I bought the cpu around Aug of 2001, close to when this other guy got his (wondering if its a known defect). I found that by opening the computer and unplugging the CD-RW drive altogether stopped the sporadic freezing of my system (which seemed to occur after the CD-RW light came on or the tray popped out), however the Activity Light stays on (whereas it should be blinking). I had updated to Windows XP, tried re-formatting, virus/ad/spyware removal, patches, zonealarm, etc. but nothing seems to work. The cpu is running okay, except that I don't have a CD-RW drive anymore b/c its unplugged and the Activity light is ALWAYS on (prob not a good thing). I was wondering how this problem was fixed, if it was at all... Any help is GREATLY apprecitead, thanks for your time. -Matt

Not sure which cable You unplugged from CD-RW, but if lights are stil on, then You must still have the power connector, connected to the device, to avoid seeing the light on, remove the power connectyor from the devce, Also, have You tried changing the data cable, of the device, sometimes they too tend to go bad. or at the least, check for updated divers, and reinstall the device.

No the Activity Light from my hard drive will not turn off not the CD light. The activity light is always on and is solid. The CD/RW has been unplugged and no lights are on that anymore, thank god (because everytime a light for the CD/RW came on, I'd here a clicking noise (no CD in there)- then my computer hard drive activity light would come on shortly after and freeze the system (even the mouse) so its nonresponsive to EVERYTHING for like 5 minutes. then it resumes for another 5 minutes, then freezes again... that was when i opened the computer and unplugged the CD/RW drive. after that the system never freezes, but my hard drive activity light is always on (and solid). i'd just like to know how this could have happened and if there is a way to get the CD/RW plugged back up and working w/out freezing the computer. could this be the affect of a worm on the system? i got the worm off (which i picked up from college dorm room LAN) and virus scanners/ad-aware, spybot, and avast antivirus dont find anything anymore so i'm pretty sure its gone now. -Matt