this is brand new DVD/ROM
A bit of a long shot, but since you mentioned dragging files to the CD (you know XP can't copy files to DVD, which is why it was bundled with Nero) and it's a new drive, check this:
Right click on the drive icon, select "Properties".
Go to the "Recording" tab.
Ensure the box marked "Enable CD recording on this drive" is checked.
But since you got nowhere with Nero, either, it's unlikely to be the cause.