This is likely a problem with Brasero when there is more than one optical drive, and the first to go is actually not the recorder with a blank cd inside. I'll try to recreate the problem on an old computer where the dvd-rom is the first target for cdrecord and will report results. In the meantime look at bug 181703 (people reported the same issue when using the second optical drive) and at bug 502143, when someone observed disc detection issue with an old drive.
This is likely a problem with Brasero when there is more than one optical drive, and the first to go is actually not the recorder with a blank cd inside. I'll try to recreate the problem on an old computer where the dvd-rom is the first target for cdrecord and will report results. In the meantime look at bug 181703 (people reported the same issue when using the second optical drive) and at bug 502143, when someone observed disc detection issue with an old drive.