Just wanted to thank every body that tried to help me recently. My problem is solved. It was my cd/dvd rom that was bad. I went and bought a new one and reinstalled windows 7. I kept the old cd/dvd rom hooked up to see what would happen after a clean install. Well, I still have the same problem. I guess it is on its way out. FYI-I have had this Dell computer less than 3 years and I've already replaced a hard drive, and now a cd/dvd rom. In my opinion, Dell is over rated. I will not invest in them on my next computer purchase. Thanks again for all your help......mrcando