had a BENq DVD-RW since 2005, it does it's work.
Editing Software
Power Director (i'm using it now)
Sony Vegas (still learning)
Adobe premiere (I need more RAM to start it up)
I have a gs180
use WinDV to capture video
I bought the panasonic pv-320 mini DV the other day. went to load the driver and included software. and to my dismay, the cd-rom did not read the disc. i then began a search to fix the cd-rom, looked on google and dell. seems like everyone who has the HDLS - GWA4164B dvdrw etc has trouble with it. I tried all the fixes, but as with many others, nothing seems to work. I do have sonic mydvd and other sonic software that came with the computer, some posts indicated that this software may also be causing trouble for the dvd/cdrom rw.
so now i am think of just getting a new dvdrw. I think external is best, as i have no idea about hooking things up internally (hopefully i wont need to load a driver using a cd rom) I was wondering if anyone has recommnedations on good external drives. and editing software that i can use with my new camcorder
also if anyone knows of any fixes for my current dvdrw please let me know
thanks

Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic