Audio Stutters when accessing DVD/CD

[Ben Foster]

Recently when the computer is accessing my DVD/CD drive, any audio which is
playing through the speakers stutters really badly, sometimes even sends it
out of pitch for some reason. I don't know what could be causing the
problem, as I don't see how the DVD Rom drive and audio are related, but
guessing its because of performance problems. I've checked the usual
suspects (Virus checking, adware check, defragmenting etc.) but to no avail.
Does anyone know what could be causing it, or have any suggestions as to
fixing it?

PC Specs:
AMD Athlon XP 2700+
512mb DDR RAM
120gb Hard Drive
Geforce FX 5900XT 128mb Graphics Card
Windows XP Home SP2

Any help would be mostly appreciated,
Ben Foster

 

[Rich Barry]

Ben, is the Dvd/Cd drive on a cable by itself as Master and do you have
on-board Audio chip or a PCI Sound Card?

 

[Ben Foster]

The audio is provided by an on-board audio chip, which is a Realtek AC97
Audio chip. The PC is a Packard Bell iExtreme Power 6000 if that helps.
Here's a link to the product's page:
http://www.packardbell.co.uk/products/node1601.asp?partNumber=P852002501
Don't know how the DVD drive is connected, though having now thought about
it would I be right in saying its possibly connected as the slave? I guess
thats what would be causing the slow down?

Is there anyway I can check whether its on a separate cable or not without
opening the PC up? Will it mention it in the BIOS?
Many thanks,
Ben Foster