Error Code 0F00:286E for TSSTcorp DVD+-RW TS-L532B on E1505E

Noticing that I couldn't read or write with my optical drive even though the device is recognized, I ran diagnostics and received Error Code 0F00:286E for my TSSTcorp DVD+-RW TS-L532B [CD-ROM drive] on my Dell E1505E laptop running XP Media Center Edition SP 3.  I've re-installed the driver numerous times.  I then researched the error code and found this page: http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cd_dvd_drive_problems  That also did not fix the problem so I researched further and found this page: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982116  I attempted the the registry edit as described in the XP section but the registry subkey did NOT have either the UpperFilters or LowerFilters entries that they mentioned so they sent me to the "Next Steps" section further down that leaves me pretty much at a dead end.  I also looked through all the subfolders of that registry subkey to no avail.  I'm sure it is significant that I have neither one of those registry entries, but if reinstalling the driver doesn't help, I'm not sure where to even go now to further solve this.