possessed disk drive -- help

Running Win XP, IE 6, all security/ad-ware running regularly and all updates done frequently

So -- before I launch into the story, here's how I can describe my "sound ": After you've ejected a disk (A:/ drive) and then go to open a program it will sometimes automatically try to open the A:/ drive again it makes kinda that weird grinding noise for a second, and occasionally you'll get the stupid "Cannot read drive A:/.." etc msg that we all know and hate.

OK -- My disk drive seems to be possessed by that noise. When I try to save something onto the disk, it saves fine. Then I eject the disk (After closing the program/document/whatever I saved, etc) and whatever the NEXT task is that I do (File open, shut down a window, etc), the disk drive makes that horrible gridning noise -- like it's trying to perform the task from the A:/ drive -- but it doesn't stop. It continues to go until finally all my programs on my taskbar start to close one by one and I get like multilple "End Program" boxes all in a row, and I have to shut down from my tower or the madness doesn't end.

HELP -- what is wrong with the thing??

 

Hi BAM,

Things I would try:
Remove any floppy in the drive, go to my My Computer and try to open A:, if it makes the same sound it is a problem with the drive, not the floppies.
You could remove the Floppy Disk drive in Device Manager and make Windows reload the drivers on reboot.
Borrow someone's drive and try running it, just to make sure that it is a problem with the drive itself.
Floppy drives are quite cheap, if it is the drive itself, there should not be much expense in replacing it. Take out the old drive before you purchase the new one and check the "flap" system on the front, some are made for design of the case or you may have to remove the front cover for it to fit.

Matt
PS Open the flap and check inside with a flashlight. Maybe a "mini technician" has deposited a foreign object inside

Edit: Just reread your post and picked up that it occurs when the floppy has already been ejected. Sounds a little like the continuous access problem Windows 95 had with floppy drives. Still try removing the drivers for it in Device Manager, but it may well be an OS (Win XP) problem, not hardware. I would not know any of the possible remedies in XP.

Edit #2: May help? Is it being treated as a "non removable" drive.