DVD being accessed like mad at boot

[jeana]

Unable to leave well enough alone (and planning to try 2.4V to see if would push my C300a over to a stable 504) I flashed the BIOS of my Abit BX6 v2.02 with the latest version available, BX6_LW.BIN. I followed Abit's instructions verbatim. First of all, it told me that I don't have enough memory. I reset CMOS memory anyway and was able to get my 2.4 volts (didn't help my overclocking).

I believe that it was after this time that my Pioneer 6X SCSI DVD player started accessing wildly at bootup (even before the SCSI BIOS shows a message). It makes a scary thumping noise not evident after the SCSI BIOS and Windows have started. It works all right otherwise.

I'm not 100% sure that there is a connection, however. I keep changing things around. Any ideas?

Thanks...

P.S. (after edit) Wow, I'm a member now! It tells you how much trouble I've had setting up my Frankenstein's monster... which by the way rules the land in these parts now. Thank you so much, everyone.

[This message has been edited by jeana (edited 07-19-99).]

[jeana]

Okay, bad news...

The BIOS wasn't the problem because the Pioneer DVD-ROM doesn't work at all! I guess I haven't used it in a while, but I'm now unable to insert any disks in the drive more than a quarter of the way. If I try to press "eject" the drive just thumps and shudders.
This has been going on all day.

Great googly moogly! I just tried to insert a disk this moment and it worked!! Seems to be reading okay, as well. This is very bizarre. The drive still sounds a bit ill (clacks a bit, while it used to have a smooth whir). I'm worried that if it wasn't broken before, I did injure it trying to force disks inside. Hope the problem doesn't come back. Any ideas what caused it?

Here's the real question: typically, what type of abuse can a drive get before it voids the warranty? Mild overclocking and weird BIOS settings aside-- in a rash of optimism, I painted the face plate of the drive black with auto interior spraypaint (YES, I did carefully remove it before painting so that paint in the drive is NOT an explanation. NO, this was not as stupid as it sounds because the drive did seem to be working all right, albeit the odd accessing at boot time). Would a manufacturer or reseller hold it against me?

Oh yeah, I still get the "insufficient memory" message when trying to flash my BX6 v2.02 BIOS.

How many of you have heard the following "advice" from your spouse/significant other/friend/coworker/random bystander:
"If you keep tinkering with that computer you're eventually going to break something"?
These are the same people who kept saying earlier, "Cool computer. Pity the drives don't match the black case." Aargh!