I have a hypothesis that a cd with a finger print on the bottom may have triggered something, but:

I can't burn dvds. After two failed DVD-R data cds, I decided to not burn anything until it passes the simulation sequence -- no dice. It runs to about 20% or whenever, and then fails. I've tried different discs, so I feel less certain it is the fault of the cd. Are there any software related tests I can run? Or any other potential solutions?