reinstalling itunes removes my dvd drive

I cannot burn playlists to disc from itunes. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling itunes. The error message i get is "disc burner or software not found." I try to update the driver for the drive then it disappears from "devices" altogether. I did successfully get the DVD to write to a disc with my Quicken software at one point but it was still not recognized by itunes. I have followed article TS2372 to disable device filters, with an end result of "driver failed to update" and the device (HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-T50N) then disappeared again from devices altogether. I tried "windows fix it center" but ended up with this result "beta test for windows 7 users is complete" it would not help me. Tried contacting LG for driver update but they said that Windows should update driver and the drive was no longer supported by the manufacturer. Windows update will not find driver. I welcome any new suggestions as i haven't been able to burn a disc from itunes in months.

Steve