Over the last few days I've experienced problems playing audio CDs using my computer's disc drive. The sound is distorted by regular popping whose volume seems to coincide with the volume of the music being played.

I've used System Restore to return to an earlier point in my computer's life and this seems to cure the problem for a while, but it soon returns, so I suspect I have some kind of driver conflict, though I'm not sure what.

I'm running an E-Machine PC with 240Gb memory and more than ample RAM. XP's the operating system and the sound programmes I have installed include I-Tunes, CD Architect, Acoustica, Exact Audio Copier and CD Burner XP, and Real Player.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.