Problem with DVD/+RW (Ricoh RW8160) on Thinkpad t23

Hi! I have an IBM Thinkpad T23 laptop, and have bought a DVD/+RW for it, but the drive is refusing to recognise DVDs and is reading data CDs with errors.
The DVD/+RW is a Ricoh RW8160, and I have already downloaded and installed the update for the firmware. It solved some problems (it reads more data CDs, but still not flawless), but not all.

Does anyone had this problem or has any suggestions?

Thank you!