T60p DVD-RAM drive ---> several questions

[npish]

I just received my new T60p, and I've had some very inconsistent results thus far with my optical drive (MATSHITA DVD-RAM UJ-842)-- to the point that I'm very close to calling and requesting a replacement drive; in the interest of futher evaluating the state of my drive, I am curious what software and media other T60p owners typically use for CD/DVD burning; my more detailed questions are as follows:

-hardware: I've read elsewhere that the T60 optical drives are not really up to par when it comes to competing latptops; I sincerely hope this isn't the case, as a $2000+ laptop better [censored] well have a reliable CD/DVD burner; anyway, do all T60p's come with a MATSHITA drive, or are their different (or better) drives that can come configured in this system?

-software/media: for those who regularly burn CD/DVD video & data, what software do you prefer? Is there a program (e.g. Nero) that is generally recommended for use with this system? Is it safe to remove all the pre-packaged "Multimedia Center" software--ie. DLA, WinDVD creator, RecordNow suite? I started to remove the WinDVD player software, and received a message saying that DVD playback may not work properly afterwards, is this really the case? (And in using the "Multimedia Center" suite at one point, I actually received a blue screen error, which makes me want to get it the f**k off my system); finally, I've read that these drives can be "picky" with media-- I actually was having some issues with Memorex discs-- is there a generally accepted brand of CD/DVD media that's reliable with this system/optical drive?

I appreciate repsonses to any of these questions..................thanks much;

[RonS]

- Hardware. I've never paid attention to what kind of drive I've had. They've always worked perfectly, as long as I did what I describe below.

- Software. First, uninstall DLA. It's garbage, and screws up EVERYTHING it touches. I also uninstall all of the other CD software that comes with the Thinkpad. I just use what's part of Windows XP. When you insert a CD-ROM, you're prompted if you want to burn a data disk. For ISO images, I use the excellent utility found at http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com

As for media, I generally follow the advice on www.nomorecoasters.com and I've never had problems.

[planetf1]

The thinkpad drive has worked fine for dvd-ram, dvd+r and dvd+rw. In fact far more reliably than my home PC drive (NEC ND-4571a)

[npish]

I've come to realize that the problem was neither the drive itself, nor the software: apparently my Matshita drive does not like Memorex media; I bought some Sony DVD-Rs, and have had no problems since...

In any case, thanks for the responses and, RonS, that website looks quite informative, thanks;