I am experiencing a problem and I need help with the trouble shooting.
On normal start up the computer boots fine.
Out of the blue, when ever you place any type of disc into the CD device the computer reboots, reboots, reboots in an ongoing cycle until you open the tray and remove the disc and the computer boots up fine.
Device Manager says that the device is working properly with no errors.
I rolled back the drivers, I reinstalled the drivers. I rolled back the computer to a time before the problem happened and nothing worked.
I opened the box and checked all the connections, I checked all the cables and I cleaned out any dirt and dust. Nothing worked.
I installed a completely new device and it still reboots reboots reboots in a constant cycle until you remove the disc from the tray and the computer boots up fine.
Any help with trouble shoots this problem is greatly appreciated
I have to take an exam which is on CD and I'm stuck.
I'm running XP Professional and the device says TSSTcorp CDW/DVD SH-M522C
HELP !!

Thanks all .

I had a failing power supply that was driving me crazy with random reboots all over the map.
Couldn't figure it out until one day I noticed that just the action of opening an optical drive tray put the machine into a reboot.
The call for a little more power to operate that CD tray was too much for the weak PS, hence the reboot.
A new power supply was the fix.

a) Download and run Speedfan...see if your voltages are within 5% +/- (max)
Keep Speedfan open and observe it while you try to operate the drive.

b) Error reports....you might want to review these and you can also set the machine to halt on errors rather than restart as it seems to be set now.

Copied & pasted: (assuming you're on XP)
It's possible your system is encountering a fatal error and simply rebooting before you have a chance to read the error. Windows XP, by default, does this.. which is really stupid!

You can set XP to halt so you can inspect any fatal/stop errors by:
1) Right-Click on "My Computer" and select Properties
2) Go to the Advanced and click the "Settings" button under the group "Startup and Recovery"
3) Uncheck the "Automatically Restart" button.
4) Click OK and keep clicking OK until you're back to your desktop.

This will force XP to stop/wait on a fatal error rather than just rebooting. It will stop/halt and wait for you to press a key to reboot. This will allow you to reproduce your issue in hopes of seeing a blue-screen error and finding out if this is indeed your issue.

If after this your system is still just rebooting (no blue-screen error at all), chances are pretty good you have a power supply or cooling related issue. I'd inspect your power supply as well as case, cpu and videocard fans/heatsinks for built-up dust or if they are even spinning.

c) Common stop messages for reference:
http://www.updatexp.com/stop-messages.html

Thanks for responding .. i did removed the auto restart and still no BSOD and no error messages ... so I'm off to try a new power suppley.
Hopefully that will do it ... thanks ... seriously thanks!

Before getting a New PS ... first you should blow out all the dust in your computer and PS....and check your heat sink to make sure the heat sink is still attached to there component that there suppose to be glued to...Also make sure your electrical connects between each components aren't loose. Cause a loost connection when the drive spin could cause a surge and restart as well...Also is you computer in or out of warranty??? But if you do all that and still restart I would try that drive in another computer and see if it happens there....to eliminate purchasing parts that weren't defective...

Could it be that the computer is set, in the bios, to boot from a CD first. When there is a CD in the Drive it trys to boot from it but can't so reboots itself. When there is no cd in the drive, it skips booting from the CD because it detects there is nothing in there to booting off the Hard Drive and hence boots ok. Maybe check the boot priorities in the bios, just a suggestion! Hope it helps,
Nathan

Yes, always do all of the easy checks first.
Don't replace hardware unless it's been tested bad.
SpeedFan (voltage outputs??)