Something wrong with my DVD drive burning

[Ben321]

I have an HP DVD writer drive. The model is DVD300i. I am running Windows XP. The problem is that when I used any CD or DVD burning software (I have tried both Roxio burning software and Alcohol 120%), the computer spontaneously reboots just as the burning process begins. I'm not sure whether this is a hardware or a software problem. If you can help me with this I would be very glad.

[photolady]

What computer is this drive installed in? It could be overheating or something else entirely.

[Ben321]

It is in the computer that it came in. The computer is an HP Pavilion 7865. The odd thing is that the DVD writing drive actually used to work. Then one day it started having this problem. It has been having it ever since.

[photolady]

Will it read any disks?
Does device manager show any problems with the drive?

What are you burning?

[Ben321]

It will read disks.

Last time I tried to burn either a CD or a DVD of anything, this spontaneous reboot of my computer happened. This means I can't backup any of my files. If the whole computer goes dead now, I will lose gigabytes of games and videos. Please just tell me how to fix this problem.

[photolady]

I can't outright tell you how to fix it until I've asked certain questions. Usually, and most often, burning doesn't cause a system to restart, there would be underlying problems associated with a system rebooting while burning. These symptoms are usually caused by a failing harddrive, or a failing power supply, or faulty ram. Or your burner is going out.