Some time ago a guy posted here reporting a bug. Exact Audio Copy (the BEST audio burning software: try it! www.exactaudiocopy.de ... and remember to send a postcard to the programmer) did not recognize his burner, connected via USB port (sorry I cannot remember the model or the name of the guy). Well, I wanted to test this and I experienced this bug myself: I re-installed my old HP M-820e (a burner that connects to the PC via the PCMCIA port) and EAC couldn't burn anything. More, after trying to detect the burner write speed, the CD-ROM was disconnected from the PC so I had to boot again! Can someone post here more information about this issue? That is: did someone manage (or not) to use a PCMCIA/USB connected burner with EAC?
I suggested trying Nero ASPI, since it should support external devices, and conffing EAC to use ASPI interface.