My Burner, My Computer, or both?

[uncleB]

My Burner, My Computer, or both?

I recently purchased a Gateway GT5056 Personal Computer with Dual Core technology. I got it from Best Buy for what seemed to be a pretty good deal. The DVD Burner that came with it is a TSST corp CD/DVDW TS-H552D. It seems to burn CD’s ok, and I haven’t Done a DVD yet, but my problem is communication between it and The Gateway. Most of the time it recognizes that there is something in the drive, while other times it doesn’t show anything in there at all. Usually by ejecting the CD or DVD, and then re-inserting it, it then recognizes that there is something in there and I can take it from there. I wanted to Upgrade the Drivers, and maybe even the firmware, but I’m not sure just exactly what make a TSST corp CD/DVDW TS-H552D is, that’s why as usual I’m turning to you-all. Has anyone else experienced anything like this, and if so was it with the same Gateway/DVD Burner combo? Do any of you know what a TSST corp CD/DVDW TS-H552D truly is, and is it easy to get drivers or update the firmware? Most importantly, does that help to improve the overall performance, or am I better off just looking for another Burner, if so, any suggestions?
As usual Thanks ahead of time for your help.
Uncle Bob

PS. Oh yeah where can I go to get updated drivers & or, Firmware for this baby & do you think it might help to uninstall this drive, and let windows reinstall it when it recognizes it when I Re boot the computer?

[redwudz]

DVD drives don't need drivers. They are built into XP.

Here's one reference that claims it's a Samsung DVD drive: http://forums.support.roxio.com/index.php?showtopic=6042&pid=32400&mode=threaded&show=&st=& I don't know how much I would trust that, though. You flash with the wrong firmware and you might end up with a doorstop.

I really doubt flashing the drive would do anything, anyway. Unless you need region free. It's a whole lot easier to change media to a different brand than try to change the firmware. May be a waste of time with a new burner anyway.

Uninstalling probably won't do anything unless the problem is with XP. But you might try it. You don't have much to lose.
I think you might have a problematic burner and might think about replacing it. Especially if it has the same type of problem with DVDs and CDs both.

Last thing, go to the Gateway site and see if there is any info there about the burner or the computer. A users forum maybe. Or just do a Google search for the computer model and see if anything comes up.

For replacement recommendations, you can look to our 'DVD Writer' lists to the left. Pioneer, Benq, Nec are all popular.