New problem has emerged on my computer;

I run Windows XP and I've got a Samsung Writemaster SH-W162C DVD/RW. I've put media on some DVD/RW discs over the last two years. No problems. Today, when I try to copy media off of any of those discs, my computer displays a blue screen with a bunch of stuff on it that I can't read fast enough because it reboots after maybe 2 seconds. One thing I've managed to catch, though is the message "BAD_POOL_HEADER." I've googled this and none of the places that matched this phrase had any solutions, just people complaining about similar problems. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the disc writer's driver and tried to use Windows Troubleshooter, but they have nothing that matches up with this problem. Does anyone have any knowledge they can share?

Yes.

Go into the system properties (right click "My Computer"), and on the advanced tab, choose startup and recovery. Un-check the automatically restart option, so you can see the bluescreen properly. Write down all the words you can understand in the on-screen dump (usually just the top line or two) and then shut down by holding in the power button, then restart. Google the issue again with more info from the bluescreen and see if that helps. After this, you will want to go back in and reselect the automatically restart option.

If that doesn't help, try reseating the cables attached to the drive, and trace them down to the motherboard and reseat them there too.

Thanks Jeff. I'll try that thing with the bluescreen. I have an update also... the thing works fine while the computer is in Safe Mode.

Refresh my memory. What are the differences between Safe Mode and normal mode in terms of what's enabled and what isn't?

Safe mode loads only the drivers absolutely required for Windows to run (and networking, if you choose "with networking). No video drivers, sound drivers, etc.

Hmmm... I wonder if it's a non-dvd player driver...