Not sure if this is the right place for this but here goes...
I'm trying to use my LITE-ON DVDRW-160P6S to back up my family pics (2.14gigs) but my pc is not recognizing the drive as a burner. Well, it does until I insert a dvd-r or dvd-rw, then it shows up as a cd burner. I even inserted a dvd-rw with data on it and it showed it as a cd with data. So, I've used 2 diff brand dvd disk on 2 diff computers, one running win xp pro, the other running win xp home. Also, I did update the firmware for the burner.

Any help would be much appreciated.

ps all drivers are setup on ide cables

Do you have more than one burining program installed? like Nero and Roxio. Having more than one, especially packet writing programs, can have strange conflicts.

You can try to reinstall the device.
Go into device manager, uninstall the dVD burner from the list, restart the computer and let windows find it again.
Windows XP: How to Troubleshoot Hardware Problems with Device Manager

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs.

For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 (How to back up and restore the registry in Windows ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

Note Before you use this method, uninstall all CD or DVD writing or recording programs. Deleting the corrupted registry entries might cause problems with any other CD or DVD writing or recording programs that are installed on your computer. Uninstalling these programs before you start will help you avoid any problems that removing the registry entries might cause. You can reinstall these programs after the problem is resolved.

This method provides step-by-step instructions for how to use Registry Editor to delete the following corrupted Registry entries:
UpperFilters
LowerFilters


Start Registry Editor.

Expand My Computer, and then expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
Expand SYSTEM, and then expand CurrentControlSet.
Expand Control, and then expand Class.
Under Class, click {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}.
In the details pane of Registry Editor, on the right side, click UpperFilters.

Note You may also see an UpperFilters.bak registry entry. You do not have to remove that entry. Click UpperFilters only.

If you do not see the UpperFilters registry entry, you still might have to remove the LowerFilters registry entry. To do this, Delete the LowerFilters registry entry."
On the Edit menu, click Delete.
Click Yes when you receive the following message:
Are you sure you want to delete this value?
The UpperFilters registry entry is removed.

Delete the LowerFilters registry entry
In the details pane of Registry Editor, on the right side, click LowerFilters.

Note You might see a LowerFilters.bak registry entry. You do not have to remove that entry. Click LowerFilters only.
On the Edit menu, click Delete.
Click Yes when you receive the following message:
Are you sure you want to delete this value?
The LowerFilters registry entry is removed.
Exit Registry Editor.
Restart your computer

Quick update here. I formated and reinstalled win xp on one of the pcs. I'm gonna install just one dvd burning software on it and try this again. If it comes up with the same problem then I'm gonna replace the drive and be done with it.

thx again, I'll let ya know how it goes.

If the filters have been installed in the registry, you can replace all these drives you want to but it maynot clear up the issue. Those filters are configured to move to the next burner as well. Sometimes they will reset themselves after the installation of a new burner. Most times they do not!

OK...did not know that..thx!