Henry are you sure your external burner is connected to a USB2 port and not a USB1 port?
Check for fragmentation on your hard drive: right click on My Computer, select Manage, expand Storage, select Disk Fragmenter, select your hard drive device letter, click the Analysis button.
If you're using Nero, post the last section of the Nero burn log (called NeroHistory) that begins with your name and program serial number. Be sure to delete both your name and serial number before posting.
If you can't post the Nero log, what is firmware version for your burner (available from DVD Decrypter, Nero, DVD Identifier, etc)?
What media are you using-type, brand, speed? You can download DVD Identifier and post the media code if you want.
There are two USB standards: USB1 which is slow and USB2 which is a great deal faster. Usually when you plug a USB2 device like your burner into a USB1 port WinXP will generate a bubble message that a high speed device is being used on a USB1 (slow) port. If you get a message like that when you plug your burner cable in, you have USB1. If your system is 2 years or less in age, you probably have USB2 ports.
