DVD+-RW / DVD-RW stops working or loses functionality in Windows Vista.
I recently purchased a nice new Dell for my wife as her Christmas present. I installed Windows Vista Ultimate as the OS and everything was working great. Then, I realized that the TsstCorp DVD+-RW drive that came with the system was not being correctly recognized and only had functionality as a CD-ROM Drive.
That was very annoying.
After much research and attempting to delete UpperFilters/LowerFilters/AirFilters/VoiceFilters or whatever, I decided to look at what had been installed on the system since the original installation of Vista.
The culpit -- iTunes.
It turns out that Apple iTunes has its own CD/DVD Burning engine that comes with the entire package. This engine is not yet compatible with Windows Vista but the great people at Apple say they will have updated and compatible Vista drivers when Microsoft launches the new OS in the retail sector.
So, I uninstalled iTunes and all of a sudden my TsstCorp DVD+-RW drive was back.
Annoying.