sony dru 530a dvd-r wont see dvds?

hello,
I have recently become the proud owner of a sony dru 530a, apparently an excellent dvd writer. thing is, it does not read or write dvds? it seems to be working exactly like a normal cd writer, but even then the audio cds it writers cant be played on anything...?
I have downloaded the free firmware update for the device, with no luck. i have tried nero burn, NTI CD maker, my dvd (came with the device) and a few dvd writers from your own software list here. still nothing.
The device is running on windows xp, it is the secondary master drive with DMA turned on.
does anyone have any ideas? could it be a clash with my MB? I have a sprayway or something like that, nothing great but it seems to work for everything else...
cheers for you help

wacky