Ok so here's my "new" problem. I bought a 100 stack of blank Reitek CD-Rs. My old burner (Lite-On LTR-48125W 48x-12x-48x) used to burn them at either 24x or 32x. That burner has since had an "accident" involving a door and its drive tray. So I have purchased an OEM burner off pricewatch (Lite-On LTR52327S 52x-32x-52x). Now whenever I try to burn one of the Reitek CD-Rs in this burner, Nero Burning Rom says I can only burn these discs at 16x,8x,4x,2x. Why the sudden burning speed change? And how do I set it back? I’ve tried uninstalling Nero 5.5.9 and installing 6.0. I’ve updated the Lite-On LTR52327S firmware from QSO9 to QSOB. I’ve also updated my motherboard (MSI 6380E) firmware. I’m running out of things to update. Little help requested from all you computer gurus… Thanks!

Is DMA enabled on the drive? I don't know if that affects the burning process, but I would suspect it does. I was told by Newegg that Lite ON didn't actually manufacture their drives. If that is the case then I would guess that the quality of the unit is inferior. I have an ATI 7500AIW. Part of the installation process checks hardware for compatibility. It tells me that my Lite On 16x DVDrom is a problem. DMA is enabled. I don't care about it because I don't use it as a DVD player. The point is I'm not sure about Lite On anymore. Had to RMA one of their DVDroms recently also.

I suspect the drive works because when I put my blank Memorex CD-Rs in the drive I'm allowed to burn them at 32x (which seems appropriate considering I bought these blank disc about 2 years ago). Today I will “barrow” a Memorex 40x CD-R from my company and see how my drive recognizes its speed. I will also read up about DMA and see what effect if any it could have. Thanks for the ideas. Anyone else thinking?

This is a common problem, I would recommend a few things. First off, Nero is a horrible piece of software. I would HIGHLY recomend using Roxio Easy CD Creater for its ease of use, and simplicity. Secondly, I don't use Nero, but I know there is an option on Roxio to specify the speed of the cd write. Instead of autodetecting the speed, try manualy setting the speed higher. Be very careful, because if you set it TO high it will buffer the majority of the data, and could cause a bad disk write. It is best to let it auto detect, because it determines the best speed to write at with minimal errors, BUT it is worth a shot to change the speed manuely, let me knwo if this helps.

Adam, For some reason, I've settled in with NTI CD Maker for almost all my burning chores. My old drive came in a LiteOn box but is recognized as a NEC NR-7800A...it's never burned over 16x but it's never hiccuped. Don't believe I've burned 5 coasters in the last two years. I think the coasters all came out of a hundred pack of media I bought from CompUSA for twenty bucks. Skip

And here are the results. I "barrowed" a 52x from work and tested it in the drive. It got recognized as being 52x, so that's cool. I'm still curious as to why my old blank media is recognized at 16x as opposed to my other drive seeing it as 32x. I was told that it might have something to do with the sensitivity of the drive I own. Since it is newer it's probably more sensitive to the quality of the media I put in. And I admit, Reitek is not exactly right up there in quality with Memorex. As for the Software, I've heard really good things about Nero (and personally I like it) so I'm not gonna switch over to a different software package. I can't find a place where you can select your own burn speed in it so that might be one answer. Oh, and my Lite-On is indeed being recognized by my system as a Lite-On.