The problem lays in the Thompson drive. Microsoft didnt make it a requirement that the DVD drive plays CD-Rs, so the Thompson drive doesnt for that reason. It does, like mentioned, play CD-RWs.
Older Samsungs are the best, along with new phillips drives, reading CD-Rs most of the time, along with most other formats. New Samsungs and Old Phillips are still alright though, with many reading CD-Rs if its on decent quality media.
