[BlackSpike]

Running Windows XP SP2
Whenever I put a blank CD into my DVD-RW, Windows shuts down, and when it restarts, it gets so far and then restarts again, going into a continuous loop.
If I remove the CD, it will allow me to get into Windows.
How can I fix this?

[AcaCandy]

Check the connections on the cd drive itself.

[fairnooks]

Yes it seems to indicate the drive or connection is flaky or the media detection software in Windows is corrupt and causing a fatal error.

[BlackSpike]

Connections seem fine.
It seems to be an intermittent problem, and when the PC does not crash, I can get Pinnacle Instant CD to write to the disks, but Windows CD writing (Drag'n'Drop in Explorer) does not work and locks up a process. making it hard to shut the PC down.
I did see a STOP 0x0000008E error, but investigating this has not found any solutions yet ;(

[AcaCandy]

What is the entire stop message?

You might try installing service pack 3.