computer cant boot up because the CDRW light is on as if it is being read

[paul4]

Have tried disconnecting the Cd player but still won't boot, if the light on the CD goes off then it boots up. I have tried disconnecting the CD but to no avail. I have wiped the hard drive and reinstalled XP.  Nothing works whilst the light is fixed on even the CD player.

[truenorth]

I find your post somewhat confusing. If i understand correctly you had a problem in that your computer would not "boot" because a light on the CD burner was constantly on. If that is the case how were you able to install the o/s ? How were you able to "wipe" the HDD? When you say you "disconnected" the CD unit--what actually did you do? When this CD burner light stayed on for the 1st time what were you doing at the time on the computer? Why did you feel it was necessary to take the drastic step of wiping the HDD and reinstalling the O/S? truenorth

[quaxo]

If you disconnect the CD drive and it still didn't boot, then the problem isn't the CD drive.

At what point does the booting process stop? Does the system get past the POST? Does Windows begin to load? Are there any error messages? You need to be more specific. Remember, we can't see what it's doing so you have to provide as much detail as possible, even if those details seem irrelevant.

Best guess right now, could be the hard drive or the memory or even a number of other things. Can't say without more info.