Why is RealPlayer (RealTimes) unable to detect the CD in my CD-burning drive?

When you insert a CD into your CD-burning drive, you may receive the message "Please insert a blank CD to begin" or "The inserted CD is not writable." These messages may occur if the CD media type is not writable and supported, if the CD is in the non-default CD-burning drive, or if auto-insert notification for your CD-burning drive is turned off in Windows or RealPlayer.

Solution 1: Check if you are using writable, supported CD media.
 
RealPlayer will not detect your CD if it does not recognize it as writable media, or if it is a DVD; RealPlayer does not support DVD media for burning music. 
 
Please remove the disc and replace it with a writable CD of a supported media type, either a CD-RW (rewritable compact disc) or a blank CD-R (recordable compact disc).

If you have a CD-RW or blank CD-R in your drive, but RealPlayer does not detect it as writable, the disc may be scratched, dirty, or damaged. Please replace the disc with a clean and non-damaged disc.

Solution 2: Change the default CD-burning drive.
 
RealPlayer cannot detect a writable CD if the drive is not the default CD burner drive. To make RealPlayer recognize the writable CD in this drive, change it to the default CD-burning drive:

1. Open RealPlayer.
2. Click the application logo in the upper left, then click Preferences. The Preferences box opens.
3. In the Category pane, double-click CD, then click CD Burner.
4. Select the desired CD-burning drive in the Default Recordable Drive drop-down list, and click OK.

Solution 3: Make sure Windows auto-insert notification is turned on.
 
RealPlayer relies on Windows auto-insert notification to inform it that a disc has been inserted. If this notification option is not turned on, RealPlayer will not recognize a disc has been inserted. By default, this notification is turned on by Windows, but the installation of some software may prompt you to turn this feature off. To enable the auto-insert notification:

1. Click the Start button.
2. Go to Control Panel.
3. Double-click Autoplay.
4. Check "Use AutoPlay for all media and devices."