Jim, thanks for the message. I am using only Windows Defender. I have used this program for many years with good results and no complications with installed programs. In fact the only program other then Windows 8.1 is the latest iteration of MC. I can't say for sure how far back the ripping problem started for me. I have to defer to the original poster that it was version .62. I do find it interesting that I can correct for the ripping issue by rolling back the USB 3.0 driver. A couple of other points not made yet. First, I can see my two drives in the MC left panel under Drives and Devices. When clicking on the drive in use, no metadata appears even though a CD is in the drive. If I click on the rip function in MC the drive tray opens even though a CD is in the tray, and I get a message something like please insert a disc. A similar thing happens on the Windows desktop when clicking on the drive with the CD inside. I would think if this was a universal problem you would have had many more questions already. I think one poster said he mentioned the problem several weeks ago so perhaps not enough folks have discovered it yet. I like your ripping function a lot. Perhaps many others are using db poweramp (is that the title?) instead.
I hope this adds a bit more to the problem solving at your end. You have brilliant people on call there and I am sure the problem will find resolution soon. Regards, RKH