many thanks Mona
I disabled pathplayer as my first option and was able to burn a disc from the hard drive. 
it seems that my settings get changed when I update the software. would it be possible to get the developers to incorporate reverting users settings to the previous state after an update? I am getting increasingly forgetful as I get older, and though I used to be able to recall many of the solutions to tweak the software, I now struggle and would much prefer not to have to bother people such as yourself with the need to help because of my failing capacity.
thanking you again with kindness for your help in this time of global meltdown that we find (or lose) ourselves in