Help with Cd-rw and Firmware

Why does my Drive appear OK in Device Manager yet burnning apps don't recognize it?
ALSO what is Firmware, and how can I alter it?

Running Win98se on a P4 pc. The CD-RW is an Optorite 32/12/40 and has a hard time reading any media.

 

Firmware is the BIOS of the chip in your device (say your CD) that has the information that is required by your computer to communicate with and run the device (someone pls correct me if I'm wrong).
The Optorite site dosen't appear to have a firmware update for your model.
I'd try getting Windows to reinstall it's drivers by removing them in Device Manager.
You could see if disks are being read by DOS using a Startup Disk.
You could get the BIOS to re-recognise it by disconnect the leads, boot, then connect them again.
Also try it on another IDE configuration, eg. slave on IDE 1, etc.

If it's only having trouble using burning software, check on their site that your drive is supported.