DVD optical drive not recognized.....

Hi there this is my first post!

my DVD optical drive isn't being recognized, I keep getting

"Windows cannot initialize the device driver for this hardware. (Code 37)"

I've read on another thread in here that I need to uninstall the drivers/re-install the drivers. (don't know if I did that correctly).

After reading about 4 dif articles on the subject it seems that I have to go into the registry and delete something called the (upper and lower driver filter), this would be easy using XP since I would just go to the RUN option and then hit REGEDIT but on vista I don't have a clue where the RUN option is.

Please help! I'm confused, lost, and a little scared.

if you need this info I'm using a Gateway GM5472 Personal computer with vista home premium,

the dvd optical drive is a HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H4ON ATA Device