Problem Formatting CD-RW CDs

I am using Windows XP and Roxio's CD Creator 5.0 with my Polaroid Burn Max48
CD Writer.

I do not have good luck in formatting CD's. I buy name-brand CD-RW but at
least half of the time they do not format and the CD is ruined. Even when I do
succeed in formatting the CD and copy files to it I usually get error messages
that tell me I should copy the files to another CD or they may be lost.

Is this the problem of the writer, the CD's or the software? I would like a
RELIABLE way to back-up files and programs but evidently this is not the way to
do it. Can anyone help?

Pat