Lite-On 24x - Whoops? (plus media question)

[Ryukumu]

Well, I've had a Lite-On 24x since Christmas, and while it works great I thought I'd give it a shot on a copy of Star Ocean 2 that was getting a little scratched up and worn out. The original works fine in the PSX so that's not the problem.

The problem is that my backup CDs barely work. Load times are horrendous, and sometimes the game will 'freeze' as it can't read data from the CD. The game isn't really playable in this state.

My Lite-On won't burn any slower than 8x, which I've heard is bad ju-ju to attempt. The media I usually buy are Imation 24x CDs and/or TDK 24x/32x. I also use Nero 5.5, and use the settings indicated on GameCopyWorld. Is the burning speed what's killing me?