SATA DVD drive boots 3.6 but not 3.8.2 (n00b)

Hey folks! Another newbie here ... just trying to learn Linux ...

So I thought I'd get a look at 3.8 but boot process halts after detecting USB devices and dumps me to a limited shell:

Went through standard precautions: downloaded ISO, checked MD5 sums, burn CD from ISO image at 8X (test & record).

Then booted up 3.8.1 on a Dell Optiplex at school w/ no cheatcodes and no problems.

But with my own pc, I get above problem. I tried failsafe but no good either!

System: Athlon 64 3000 on MSI Neo2 Platinum w/ SATA DVD drive.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.