[NancyLieder]

Problem: I format a data CD with Direct CD, all seems well. I save to it, all seems well. Sometimes I can eject it but at other times I get a message that Windows has an app not done yet, please wait. This goes on forever and is never resolved. Try to shut down, or log off the user and shut down, and it seems stuck there. I must just kill the power, as on rebooting I find this grip has relaxed and I can eject. But this has cause problems a couple times, once requiring a check disc on booting up, with cookies missing afterwards. The last time an error in my Trend Micro was reported, had to reinstall, as recommended. This is not acceptable! What will get whomped next!

I tried examining with CTL Alt Del to see what was active, to kill the offending app gripping my CD. None would be active, if I had closed all open apps, so checked the processes running. Tried stopping Direct CD and explorer.exe but explorer.exe won't let me stop it. Has to finish something, which I'm sure relates to the CD, and refuses to end. The grip of death goes on.

I have only had this problem since I had someone switch out my old harddrive and install an fresh one, cleaning and using my old one as an alternate drive. C: has the operating system including Direct CD application, and all applications. E: is just used to store data. I thought perhaps it was because I used the E during a session, then the CD drive, which is D:, but this proved to be a false assumption. I was very careful to ONLY use the E during a session, then reboot by shutting down, then use the CD drive during a session, then reboot, etc, in case some pointer thing was getting confused. The CD lock still happened.

I have large files that I can ONLY save to a CD, and am frantic to resolve this problem. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

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I know from personal experience that Roxio's DirectCD isn't the most problem-free peice of software. Back when I used to use it I had the same problem as you, and after a few months I just gave up on DCD because it was too much of a hassle... As far as this problem, the best I can give you off the top of my head would be to begin using a different peice of software to burn your CD's. The only problem is, are you using DirectCD to make discs where you can go ahead and delete files off them? In that case I don't have a reccomendation of a better program, but if you're just bunring CD-R's then Nero should work just fine for you. In fact, the burner built into windows explorer should do fine.

[MikeFromNY]

I know from personal experience that Roxio's DirectCD isn't the most problem-free peice of software. Back when I used to use it I had the same problem as you, and after a few months I just gave up on DCD because it was too much of a hassle... As far as this problem, the best I can give you off the top of my head would be to begin using a different peice of software to burn your CD's. The only problem is, are you using DirectCD to make discs where you can go ahead and delete files off them? In that case I don't have a reccomendation of a better program, but if you're just bunring CD-R's then Nero should work just fine for you. In fact, the burner built into windows explorer should do fine.

[NancyLieder]

Thanks for the tip, I'll look and see if I have that burner with Explorer! And look into Nero.

[Retired Tech]

XP is usually set to shut down if you hold the power button in for 10 seconds or so, you can check this by right clicking the desktop, properties, screensaver, power then advanced. Using this will be better than just unplugging it

If you need to do this then open the CD ROM Drive as it is booting between the BIOS Screen and the desktop

Start withe first part of this, run the PC and if it gets stuck again, move through the list

Open the CD ROM Drive used to install Windows, insert the XP CD but leave the drawer open. Click start then run, type sfc /scannow then press enter and close the CD ROM Drive drawer. You will get a blue progress bar, after the bar goes, reboot. This will check for and replace missing or corrupt system files.

You can check for an improvement after running sfc /scannow then after each step until you have run through them all, if necessary

Click start then run, type chkdsk /f /r then press enter, type Y to confirm for next boot, press enter then reboot.

This will take an hour, it will appear to load normally then either the monitor will show progress or the screen will go blank, do not disturb this.

When it gets to the desktop, the system files and the hard drive will be as they should

Click start, all programmes, accessories, system tools to run disc clean up, then from system tools, run disc defragmenter.

Click start then run, type prefetch then press enter, click edit then select all, all the files in the folder will now be highlighted, right click any file, click delete, a box will appear asking if you want to delete all the files, confirm the delete then reboot

If no change

Please go here to repair your operating system

Repair XP

If you are unable to run Repair XP

Alternate XP Repair Guide

Use the last one - Windows Installation CD to repair the current installation, which uses a slightly different method

Windows XP repair feature won't delete your data, installed programs, personal information, or settings. It just repairs the operating system

After running the repair it will be necessary to install all Windows Updates