" I then tried the software(EZBurning) came with Dell, the software complained that it can not find any DVD writer divice. "
While you missed one item on your post, the make/model of the laptop my bet is the EZBurning software is locked to the make/model of the drive that came with the Dell.
If you just need data DVD recording, try what I use -> http://www.cdburnerxp.se/
In closing, my external wasn't that stable until XP SP2
Bob
Recently the DVD/CDRW drive on my Dell laptop went down. To save money, I bought an internal DVD burner(Yamakawa DVR 7-08 8X DVD+/-RW (R888-1002 )) and a USB 2.0 Enclosurer. I thought it should plug and play, but after I put everything together, the laptop(XP) did not recognize it as a DVD writer. The windows explorer did add a label to the DVD driver as "DVD-R", but after I insert a blank DVD+R disk, the label changed to "CD drive". I then tried the software(EZBurning) came with Dell, the software complained that it can not find any DVD writer divice. Any help will be appreciated.

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