The fact that it asks to format it is interesting. I wonder if it's some kind of conflict with a UDF packet writer you may have installed - sometimes called "DLA". Do you have a disc burning app that might enable "drag and drop" to CDs? See
here for some background.
I wonder if there's something about the disc that is tricking DLA into seeing an uninitialized disc.
Try uninstalling that app and see if it helps. Otherwise, grab Daemon Tools and make a disc image from your friend's laptop, at least you can get going that way.