DVD drive works fine EXCEPT not a blank

Hello,

DVD Drive problem

When drive is empty, it is listed in "my Computer" as
DVD/CD-RW Drive (E:) As it should be !

When I load a blank DVD R disk the title changes to
CD Drive (E: ) It is no longer a DVD drive, why ????
If I click on the icon , I get an error message

E;\ is not accessible, Incorrect function

This makes sense since because, with the blank DVD R
is not a CD and is not recognised as a a CD.

So as things stand now, I can not record video or add colour
slides to a DVD disc. But I have done it many times.
Have some settings been changed ?? I looked at "properties" but it told me nothing. Trouble shooting ? Nothing on this problem !

However : I can Insert a CD -RW and it will indicate a CD-RW is in the drive.

Soooo. Something causes the drive software to not
only NOT to recognise a blank DVD R it switches the drive to a
CD drive only.

However.... Insert a DVD with video on it and it will play normally.
Also a DVD disc with still pictures can be played in anyone of the picture programs.

Oh! I wondered if the Sony DVDs were the problems , so I tried a
MEMOREX disk didn't help ,same problem. IT IS THE DRIVE, OR THE SOFTWARE.
Thus it appears to be a software problem not hardware

Thanks in advance