dvds not recognized

I have a new Panasonic SW9585c burns x16, Ram, DL--the works. I love its burn speed but I have a glitch. If I boot up with a burned dvd in the drive bay all works normally for disc in drive or any others put there. If, on the other hand, I boot up with the dvd drive empty (sans disc) when I put any disc in the drive Windows Explorer, Media Players, Burners, etc., all do not recognize there being a disc in the drive. I consistently get a message saying, "Insert Disc". I must leave the disc in the drive and reboot to get it to work. I have tried reinstalling the dvd drive to no avail. The discs not recognized are clearly spun up as the telltale flashing green light (which seems interminable) always lets me know if it recognizes the disc by a final pause in the flashes then a final burst of flashes. If there is no final burst of flashes the discs are not recognized, which is invariably the case if I boot with an empty drive bay.

I have tried the MS Autoload Fix.exe program with no success.

Going to Panasonic Support is a real joke. They only offer support for high end products.

Help will be much appreciated.