I'd just chuck it and get a new one...of course don't literally chuck it as it just might be some major windows problem....have you physically looked into your box to take a looksy?
you just might be experiencing heat issues which might be solved by removing the burner, blowing it off, and replacing it...also it might help to move any HDDs as far away as possible...

what you could do as an experiment is to get another 160GB max HDD, partition it and install a duplicate OS...if the burner then works on the new boot then you can be pretty darn positive its an OS issue...hell, if its the burner then I'd think it wouldn't complete the install process...either way you will upon finishing the 'experiment' have a nice dual boot system which comes in quite handy for situations not unlike you are experiencing...you get to have another working OS to boot into and use, you can do work remotely on the damaged OS, and if an OS HDD goes south you have a good alternative and might increase your odds of retrieving data....

you say you've installed firmware updates...did you by any chance notice if there are diagnostic/repair tools available?

the closest I've come to this situation was when a burner suddenly started going south, and did so pretty quickly...I tried the repair tools for the laser and no go, so I just got a new one and that was that....LG doesn't really impress me with their products, so A: that tends to give me the impression its probably the drive B: I'd get a 'name brand' like Sony, HP, Plextor...

__________________


So Long and Thanks for All the Files
_____________________________________________

Beware of the big 3 insurance companies in Texas! Read your policies carefully (maybe you'll need a lawyer) Allstate, Farmers & State Farm are overextended and their 'coverage' is worthless...a true waste of your money Read This