Cdrom drive won't burn cds

I'm trying to get my old laptop to create a cd (I'm trying to burn a .iso file to a Verbatim CD). So far all it does is go through all the motions, but at the end the cd is still blank (if it tries and fails, is the cd trash?)
The laptop is an Acer 5315, running Vista with sp2 installed. The drive is a Sony Optiarc CRX880A. I've tried updating the firmware on the drive using a firmware flash utility from the Optiarc website (Optiarc-CRX880A-KX11.zip), and modifying a registry subkey (as per support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929461). The driver I'm using is cdrom.sys from Microsoft. I forgot what all programs I used for the burning, but it's been 4-5 different ones. I haven't tried cleaning the drive with a cardboard copy of a cd yet, but... (grin).
Is there a diagnostic utility out there I can use to do a more in-depth test on the drive? The drive itself could be bad, but I want to be sure before I go tearing into a laptop.
Any help/suggestions would be appreciated!
 
Removing the CD drive is usually just a matter of taking out the correct screw and pulling on the drive so just google your laptop. This should be very easy to do. Replacement DVD drives which would also upgrade your laptop are often cheap to buy on eBay.
 
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While there is the question, Does mine support R/W, the usual problem is the USB settings.
Search TS for "USB Connections", I know this has been discussed, but don't recall the topic.
 
I've brought seemingly dead cd drives back to life with just a good cleaning of the lens. The store bought cleaning CD kits are crap, they may even make the problem worse. You can clean the lens with a soft cloth or even Kleenex. Wet the cloth with rubbing alcohol and gently wipe the surface of the lens. A little pressure may depress the lens on its spring but won't harm it. Then try reading or burning again. It has worked miracles for me.
 
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