gegs,
First thing you need to do is to find out if the cd writer supports "BurnProof" technology. More about Burnproof and Buffer Underruns later...
Secondly, you need to answer jaeddy's question: "Is this a new problem (ie- has it worked before and now does not)?"
To help prevent Buffer Underruns on cd writers that don't support BurnProof technology:
- disable your screensaver
- CTRL-ALT-DEL for task manager and end-task on everything except explorer and systray
- then, open your CD-Writer software (i.e. Adaptec Easy CD)
- make sure all data that you are writing to the CD is on the hard drive
- with a system like yours, you shouldn't have to slow down the speed of the burner
If the problem persists, then try burning at 2x or 4x. If neither works, then it is probably a hardware issue.
About Buffer Underruns:
* when writing data/music to a cd, the cd writer first starts by caching data in its buffer. Some buffers are 2MB on older cd writers, while newer ones have up to 8MB. If the hard drive is unable to keep up at a given moment, the amount of cached data in the buffer goes down. Usually, this only occurs temporarily, and the hard drive gets a chance to catch back up and refill the buffer - hence the point of having a buffer
* when a buffer underrun occurs, the laser is still writing, but the buffer is empty. The source of the data (either a 2nd cdrom or your hard drive) is unable to "refill" the buffer in time. At that moment, the software turns off the laser and returns the error message.
* BurnProof technology allows the laser to be turned off or paused when a buffer runs dry, until the source can catch back up. In order to use BurnProof technology, the hardware must support it, and is a plus if the software supports it.
Hope all this helps,
teknikal