T42 CDRW/DVD Problems, any suggestions? Help a Thinkpad newb

[nrvana8775]

I don't know why, but recently the optical drive on my t42 has begun to crap out, but only in certain instances. The drive can read cd's and dvd's fine, but whenever I try to burn any type of data/media, the burner gets stuck at 7%, right before the lead in. I tried burning as a track at once, but each song now has a couple of skips, the problem is the disc at once doesn't work. Anyone have a suggestion on what to do? I called IBM and downloaded the firm update, but I was already up to date. I'm thinking about just buying a replacement, the lg optical for about $50 or so. I don't want to give up though , ugh.