Windows 7 'hangs' when a CD or DVD is inserted

I recently upgraded my fully functional XP Pro OS for Win7 Home, but I am having major problems with the pc hanging or crashing whenever I insert a blank or written CD 7 DVD. At first I thought it was my optical drive so I replaced that with a compatible LG drive, but the same thing happens. When I inser a disk the drive gives off a horrible noise, then the pc hangs. If I leave it long enough the drive starts to function sometimes, other times it just locks. I am able to burn to the drive once the system stabilizes itself, but this can sometimes be a lengthy process when I have my fingers crossed that the burn is successful.

My new drive has the latest firmware installed. At the moment I dare not use any other software when the drive is in use for fear of crashing.

Anyone else had the same problem? Please help if you can.

Seems I may have answered my own question here having read various threads on this site. I just changed the power connector with a spare and I'm ripping and burning and using email and browser at the same time which I could never do before. Looks like a faulty connector all along.

Nice trouble-shooting, thank you for the info !