I know this is probably going to be a question with an obvious solution, but I am not able to find the answer in Nero. I recently installed a new DVD burner (samsung sh-s182d), and have burnt several backup DVDs with no problem (using ImgBurn). When I attempt to burn CDs using Nero, it does not recognize any devices...and only provides a virtual drive. I burnt a data CD with ITunes as a test, and it worked fine which makes me think the issue is with Nero. What do I need to do to get Nero to recognize the burner so that I don't have to save the image as an .nrg file? Again, sorry for such a basic question...but I wasn't able to find anything in Nero that would allow me to add the burner as a recognized drive.

are you using the latest nero version? sounds to me like the version your using just doesnt support your burner

Are you using NEro StartSmart to initiate your tasks?
If so, are you choosing CD at the top little window?
Another possibility, as pointed out by easterbunny: what version of Nero are you using?
Your drive seems to be quite new (18x DVD burner), so you need to update your Nero installation, if your have versions 6 or 7 just download and install the last release.
Note- there is a very recent release of version 6, and for 7 there is one almost every month.

But I would stay or at least not use Nero 7 for the time being as they have constant updates which to me is a overkill as that indicates there too many bugs that are fixed and many that introduced. I am still using nero 6.6.1.15 the latest and it has suited my needs without going to Nero 7. There are still too many users indicating they are having problems with Nero 7 to make it worth going for in my situation.

I didn't move to version 7 either. So, if you got the release that came out a couple of weeks ago you should be able to use your drive...but I'm not sure as they didn't give info about the actual changes.