CD not regonized as CD-R(W)

I've been through all the posts and see lots of folks have CD-RW issues.
I'm not sure if mine is unique, but I can't seem to find a similar
situation.

My CD RW drive will not recognize a CD-R or CD-RW disc unless I boot system
with CD in the drive. In other words, if the CD drive is empty and I put a
disc in, my system doesn't think it's a write-able CD. If I re-boot with
disc in, it does. I use XP's own writing software and have never installed
any other.

Any Input??? TIA