I completely understand your preference. As I said earlier in the thread, the only time I have seen this type of issue, it was cleared up by a firmware update. Even though the optical drive works with other programs, that does not mean that Nero can (as there is an obvious problem).
Do you have a firmware update utility with your Vaio that can scan your system for available updates?
Combing other threads on other forum sites (and Tom's), your problem seems to be fairly common. Unfortunately you still have an issue. Try the firmware and let me know if that helps.