Help me play SafeDisc2 games (originals!)

I have the following system:
Athlon XP1500+
512 MB DDR
64 MB Radeon 7000 graphics card
Sound Blaster Live
Windows 98se with all updates applied
Cyberdrive DM166 DVD-ROM drive with most recent firmware (100B)
Sony CRX175E2 CD-RW drive with current firmware
DirectX 9.0 installed and verified
Aspi files current and working properly

Yet, I can't install and play SafeDisc2 games from either drive. The games
install, but the games won't launch -- I get the splash screen and then
nothing. It only happens with SafeDisc2 games, specifically Age of Wonders 2
and Civilization 3. I have also tried from a Benq 656A CD-ROM drive with
firmware 56ja. Are there any other possible system or CD-related issues that I
haven't considered? Why can so many others play these games but not me? Is it
possible that the CDs I obtained were not properly mastered? I'd be grateful
for any ideas anyone has. I'm reluctant to try yet a third brand of CD-ROM
drive if it's not likely to solve the problem.

Thanks in advance,
MH