What's wrong with my CD burner? (desktop, Windows, work, download)

[Eeyore1]

I have a Dell desktop computer that I bought less than a year ago. Something is going on with my CD drive. When I burn CDs, it goes through the entire program, finalizes the disc, ejects the disc, tells me that the burn was successful. I always use good quality discs. When I flip the "recorded" disc over, there is material etched onto the disc. But when I try to play it back, nothing happens. I tried four different players, but the disc didn't play in any of them. I tried three different programs to burn the disc. The last time I burned a disc (a few months ago?) it worked fine.

I don't know if this is a coincidence, but the one time it did work was when I used a CD-RW instead of a CD-R.

What's going on here?

Thanks!

[Asheville Native]

I assume you are burning audio CD's?

Can your computer 'see' (windows explorer show list) or 'play' (windows media player) them?

[Eeyore1]

Yes, I am referring to audio CDs. The computer will not play the discs.

[Asheville Native]

Originally Posted by Eeyore1

Yes, I am referring to audio CDs. The computer will not play the discs.

Does windows explorer show anything on the disk?

Have you selected the option to have the burning program 'verify' the CD after burning?

Have you burned 'data' disc successfully?

Specifically what programs are you burning with?

[Eeyore1]

Originally Posted by Asheville Native

Does windows explorer show anything on the disk?

Have you selected the option to have the burning program 'verify' the CD after burning?

Have you burned 'data' disc successfully?

Specifically what programs are you burning with?

It does not show anything on the disc. I didn't see a "verify" option, but there is a "finalize" option, which is checked. I also tried slower burn speeds, but that didn't work, either. I can't answer the third question as I am out of discs at the moment

Specific programs tried were itunes, Windows Media Player, and Roxio. I know that these programs aren't great. My husband just tried three burns with itunes. The first two worked, but the third one didn't. I had Nero on my old computer and was very happy with it. I'm going to download the trial version to see if that works.

Thanks for your help!

[aquila]

What kind of CD are you using? CD-R, or CD-RW?

It's always been my understanding that CD-Rs have to be used when making audio CDs because they can only be burned once. Hence the finalization required to 'lock them' and make them playable on your computer or stereo.

Also, when you're burning the CD, are you using the "Make a music CD" option (or similar), or are you choosing the option which simply allows you to burn data files?