Hi Andrew,
I run a similar system to yours but with WinXP. I have had two NEC drives in it, a 2500 and a 3500 series. I think they are top notch. Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see how much RAM memory your system has. I'm just thinking it may affect large jobs. I only have 512MB in that computer and burn DVD's & CD's with ease.  To troubleshoot and eliminate the heat issue, you could temporarily open the case and aim a large room fan in there. If it still shut down, that would probably eliminate the heat issue. If you're concerned about peripherals overloading your system, disconnect them and see if that helps. Good luck.


-----Original Message-----
>From: "Andrew J. Rozsa" <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Dec 29, 2006 3:10 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [PCBUILD] Computer shuts down when I burn DVDs
>
>I am running the following system:
>
>OS: Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4 (build 2195)
>Processor: 2.40 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
>8 kilobyte primary memory cache
>512 kilobyte secondary memory cache
>Board: 865-Series
>Bus Clock: 133 megahertz
>BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD 6.00 PG 06/18/2003
>Drives   Memory Modules c,d, e
>260.03 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
>120.66 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space
>_NEC DVD_RW ND-3550A [CD-ROM drive]
>Drives:
>c: (NTFS on drive 0) 120.02 GB 72.89 GB free
>d: (FAT32 on drive 1) 100.00 GB 8.63 GB free
>e: (NTFS on drive 2) 40.00 GB 39.13 GB free (SATA)
>BUS Adapters:
>HighPoint RCM Device
>RocketRAID 1520 S-ATA Controller
>Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
>Standard Universal PCI to USB Host Controller (4x)
>Multimedia:
>RADEON 9600 SERIES [Display adapter]
>RADEON 9600 SERIES - Secondary [Display adapter]
>DELL 1905FP [Monitor] (19.3"vis, s/n T611656CACF6, June 2005)
>Creative SB Live! Basic (WDM)
>
>Whenever I try to burn a DVD (ISO, mp3 collection, etc) lately the 
>computer shuts down about half way through the job. It has also done 
>that several times when I was converting large video or audio files 
>to some other format.
>
>I saw some reference to issues relating to similar problems having to 
>with how a computer accesses the DVD burner. But, could it also be 
>the audio card not being sufficiently powerful? Drivers for all 
>devices are kept up-to-date. I do have a lot of stuff "attached" via 
>USB hubs: scanner, speakers, external drives (both USB and FireWire), 
>2 printers (one on the parallel port) etc.
>
>Over the years, my experience with sudden shut-downs seemed to have 
>been related to over-heating issues. The CPU ALWAYS registers 103F, 
>even after the system has been shut down overnight. It is a little 
>crowded in the box, so maybe ventilation is not as efficient as it 
>should be, so I would consider switching to round cables.
>
>What would be the more logical (read: least expensive) way to go 
>about solving the problem? I thought of starting with taking the lid 
>off the box and keeping it off, although the added noise is a bit off-putting.
>
>I sure would appreciate help with this.
>
>Kind regards and a Happy, Joyous and Healthy New Year to all.
>
>Andrew 
>
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