I get "medium write error" when trying to burn cds

I tried to burn a playlist from iTunes and it burned one copy, then when I tried to burn a second copy my computer made alot of noise during the "initializing/finishing" stage, spit the cd out and said "medium write error" - i've tried another cd, and tried burning another playlist with the same results. Any idea what's wrong or if there is anything I can do about it???
Thanks

First, try quitting all other applications except iTunes.
Second, try burning at a slower rate.
Then try a different brand/batch of CDs.
I believe the default burn setting is 'as fast as possible'.
Today I got perfect results at 20x or slower on my mid-2007 Core2Duo MacBook SuperDrive, and about 1 out of 3 at 24x and faster with a major brand name media labeled 'up to 52x'.
Yeah, it takes a little more time to burn each disc, but if you only have a 50% success rate with a faster speed, you're not really saving any time.
The reason I suggest quitting all other applications is that heavy CPU use seems to diminish my burn success rate on all of my computers, including the Windows boxes. Your mileage may vary.

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