So I dare not do anything else with the computer during a burn. And thanks to its 2X speed, I do most of my burning just before bedtime or before leaving for the office. Despite this precaution, the burn still frequently fails. After all, I'm using blank CD-R disks made by Imation, and rated good in drives up to 16X speed. There's your problem, said a helpful engineer from Roxio Corp., maker of the popular CD-burning software Easy CD Creator.
Burners are surprisingly finicky devices.
Some will work with all brands of blank disks, while others will consistently reject a particular brand. In addition, older, slower CD burners often won't work with the new 16X-rated blanks. Try several, he said, and stick with what works. So I ducked out to a Radio Shack and bought some blanks rated at a mere 12X. Bingo - a perfect burn. Louis Armstrong and Claudio Monteverdi, together at last.