Burner Not Reading Discs to Burn

I've been using my burner pretty regularly for several months: music CDs, data CDs, movie DVDs and data DVDs. Suddenly, this morning, it stopped recognizing media I put in to burn. iTunes never gets past "Checking Media" after I insert a blank CD and when I try to burn data through the Finder, the "Insert CD" prompt never goes away. However, if I insert a CD with data or music on it, the computer recognizes the disc just fine.
Any ideas for diagnostic or repair? Does this seem like a hardware issue, as I suspect? Or could it be software? Is there any easy way to look into this without involving Apple? (and losing my computer for a week or two...)
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
iMac G5 (not Intel) Mac OS X (10.4.8)

To Apple Discussions!
"I've been using my burner pretty regularly for several months:"
Have you been repairing permissions after your burning sessions?
Have you tried different disc brands?
Make sure your CDs & DVDs are not scratched, dirty, smudged, etc.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=50448 How to Handle and Clean CD and DVD Discs
Your drive may need cleaning. You can purchase cleaning kits from any store that sells CD/DVDs.
Have you checked the OS Help Menu for any troubleshooting suggestions?
What makes you think you have a hardware issue? Did you run the Hardware Test CD? If so, the results of the test?
"Is there any easy way to look into this without involving Apple?"
If your computer is still under warranty and/or you have AppleCare, letting Apple take care of your issues and/or problems is the easiest way.

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