It sounds as though both your hardware & softw & media are sound. Although I did read in a pc magazine a few mths ago about a cd burner review that revealed that many don't burn accurately at the speed as specified (some as much as 10% or more under) or reliably at the higher speeds. It was their research not mine! And that media varies like audio-tapes do; from talk tapes to hq audio tapes! Choose your quality I guess & how long it lasts for; 2-3 yrs or 20-50yrs!