Help me CD -ROM of my computer is not working properly?

For the past two weeks, my computer is behaving strangely.Its 3.06Pentium 4 with 256 RAM. but now it processes like Pentium -PII.

I think it could b bcoz of any virus from any software downloaded from internet sites ,as I dont use any Anti virus bcoz it reduces the speed. Later on I used "String" Macaffee to clean it but it could only provide solution for time being after 1 or 2 days problem comes back again.

But cd R/W is troubling me the most.all of a sudden it stops detecting the cds in the drive n shows drive is empty while there is cd in it.when I restore the computer to some back date when it was functioning allright CD drive works well but after 1 or 2 days problem is there again.I also used a Lense cleaner CD to clean the lense nearly 2 weeks back. Is this may b a root cause of all the problems.

Pls help me to combat these problems and provide solution for some better online available Antivirus for future ref..Pls mention

Help me CD -ROM of my computer is not working properly?virus scan

As I understand it your CD ROM works sometimes, and doesn't others..You really need to have protection on your unit. Your right it sounds like a bug.. Restore to a point where the CD Rom worked. Then go to www.download.com There is a search bar at the top. Type in :

AVG FREE anti-virus download it then update it.. Then look for SPY BOT Search and Destroy..download it and update it.. After you update Spy Bot , click on "Immunize" on the main Spy Bot page.. let it run ..A window may pop up telling you, so many things have been blocked and there are so many that can be blocked... if it does , then click immunize at the top. This loads the definitions. Click block pages silently also.. Look for and download , Zone Alarm free fire wall also..You need one of these too. Then go to www. lavasoft.com and look for AD-Aware SE personal edition..Download it and then update it... These programs are all free..Then run all three programs. The Firewall runs itself.. You might want to get yourself a 512 Ram card or higher too.. You really need more than the 256 you have. You will need to run all three programs at least once a week..The AVG protects constantly. And can be set up to automatically update, and scan for problems. But you will have to open and check for updates and run the programs manually for the other 2..