Hi there I have a difficult problem and I am hoping you can helping me with it.

I purchased a Yamaha CDRW (CRW8824E) two years ago. It burns CDRs well and I am able to listen to these on my home stereo, car etc. However, it will NOT play back CDRs which it burns. To play CDRs (burned on the Yamaha CDRW) on my computer I have to play them on my other drive CD/DVD player. Howver, the Yamaha burner will play back CDRs and CDRWs burned on other computers. I have tried installing the burner on two other PCs and get the same results -- not able to playback the CDRs it burned.

The second issue is that it has never been able to record CDRWs.

I have tried the following different CDRWs: Sony, TDK, Yamaha, and Memorex. I have tried mostly 4X disc but also some other faster discs.
I have also tried different recording programs (Roxio, Nero, and others). The programs go through the recording process ( I can see the progress window) and I can see the recording light flickering. When the process is completed the recording light goes off. Now when I try to play back the CDRW the results are these:

a) either it just spins the cd (like it's always searching) and eventually locks my computer OR
b) it asks me to insert a blank CD OR
c) it tells me the CD is not recognized


I have tried installing the burner on two other PCs and get the same results.

The same happens when I insert the burned CDRW into the CD/DVD player or into other computers.

I am able to play CDRWs burned on other burners on other PCs.

Please help. Many thanks.