Question:

The Emachines/Vista combo has worked pretty well except when I try to burng DVDs.  I use DVD maker and it gets to about 16-22% and the whole system crashes – as in powers off completely.  Not so much as a blue screen.  I just tried again and ran system monitor and can see the system pretty much pegs to 100% CPU during the DVD writing process.  Is there any way I can tell the system to not use so much CPU in creating the DVD?  e.g. is there someway to tell it to write to DVD slower and thus presumedly burn less CPU?  I am guessing during the prolonged period of 100% CPU that the CPU is overheating and that crashes the system.

I don’t have time to go out and replace the CPU or add a cooling system.  So any other suggestions on how to get the DVDs burned would be appreciated.

Solution:

You might try running msconfig and disabling all startup items and all non-microsoft services and rebooting.  I would also recommend that you pop the side off the case and put a fan on the MB to help remove the heat from the CPU.  I would also check the CPU heatsink and use a can of compressed air to blow away any dust/lint that might be blocking any airflow.
You might eventually need to try a different DVD burning software package.  That one might not be very efficient or optimized for Vista.