NEC DVD burner issues

OK...here we go.  I will start simple and get more complex as I need to.  First off, I have a Dimension 4600 with Pentium 4 2.6 GHz and 256 MB RAM.  I also have the infamous NEC burner.  I had no idea the problems with it until I read this forum a bit.

I got the DVD-RW-CD-RW combo burner, and have had no real issues burning CD's thus far.  As I am fairly adept at that, I thought getting the DVD burner up and running would be no problem.  Needless to say, I am baffled so far.

I did install the new driver that was posted at the top of the screen before I even started with this.

I will start with some basic questions first.  I am using Fuji DVD+R media.  I have seen most types mentioned, but not this...is it not compatible?

Next, and I feel pretty dumb for this one, but hey...what can you do...I am trying to rip a DVD and then burn it onto another DVD.  I have been using the Sonic DVD package that came with the system.  For the life of me, I can't figure out how to rip the DVD. 

If anyone can help me out with just these two questions for starters, I can figure my way a bit from there.  Much thanks.