cd icon always blinking next to mouse

[rocketman14]

i have this cd icon blinking next to my mouse constantly. it's not like that right now, but it pops up eventually. I have no cd in my drives. it's getting to be really annoying, does anyone know how to get rid of it? thanks

 

[helpmeout]

Just a guess-- Don't know what burning software you're using, but do you have a file/files waiting to be burned?

 

[VirtualLarry]

I had that problem once when setting up XP on an ancient MediaGX system with a 6X IDE CD-ROM. XP either didn't like the mobo/chipset/IDE channels, or the CD drive that I had attached, because it somehow constantly triggered AutoPlay for the CD drive, the little CD-disc icon would appear next to the cursor, and overall, the entire machine would be running really slowly.

One solution might be to disable DMA mode for that particular IDE device in the BIOS setup, and set it for PIO. Another would be to disable both AutoPlay, and Auto-Insert Notification for that drive. (If you install CloneCD, even the trial version, it has an option to change those settings easily with a checkbox.) The third would be to install a more modern CD drive into the system. Forth might be to simply try swapping in a brand-new IDE cable.

What kind of CD drive do you have, btw? Is it an older one, or newer? I'm willing to bet it's probably older.