Philips PCRW2412 problem. PLEASE HELP

[rewep]

Wow it's been so long since I posted here..

Anyway I have this problem and can not for the life of me figure out the solution.
I recently installed a Philips CRW2412 into a system and the damned thing just will not burn. I will recognize any media you put in that already has something on it, but when you insert a blank cd it loses it's effin' mind. It just sits there with the little "DISC IN" light blinking and you can hear it trying to read the media but after a few minutes it just gives up.
If I try to burn a cd what happens is that it says there is no cd in the drive.
Now here's the really weird part, if I put in a cd that has already been burned to but has some free space left on it I can burn to that disc perfectly fine.
I have no clue what is going on here.
I've tried it as master, slave, single, cable select.. nada help. I updated the drive's firmware to the latest version but as far as drivers go I am at a loss. My friend gave this drive to me when he got a new one and he no longer had the install cd.
I'm currently using the drivers Windows XP installed when I put it in my system. I looked online for drivers but could only find Win2K drivers and I couldn't get those to work. Said something about running setup from root next time.
I've tried Nero, Easy CD Creator (not both installed at once.. hehe I know better) and also NTI CD-Maker and they all give me the same problem.
If this is just a driver thing and someone can point me to the right drivers I would appreciate it. If it's something else for the love of god please help me.. I'm pulling my hair out over this one.
Thanks a bunch.