StealthG Posted November 15, 2004 Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 Well I have finally decided that I am going to replace my non working cd-rom drive with a new dvd burner. But where to begin?!? I have never installed a drive before, and I have only installed memory sticks, and a video card. But I am willing to learn by installing one of these suckers. I have pretty much decided what drive I would like to purchase, but I am still reading reviews and havent placed any order yet. THIS or perhaps THIS drive. I would like some feedback on what you guys think of these drives. I dont really care for drive speed, but I am looking for duribility and one that burns well. I am going to use this drive mainly to back up dvds, and perhaps burn some video clips to dvd discs. Now I have seen drives that burn +R,-R media and +RW, -RW media? Whats the difference? In some reviews I've read about coasters? What exactly are coasters? Hahahaahahaa well I'm going to shut up now , If I have any more questions(which I probably will) I'll keep posting them here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bozodog Posted November 15, 2004 Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 Well, the way prices have come down... I would look at the dual layer burners. Sony has one for about $100. And.... a coaster is what you use a DVD disk for after you screw up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nerelda Posted November 15, 2004 Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 Personally, out of the two, I would go with the liteon drive. I've heard negative comments about Plextor drives.Like, you, I plan on purchasing a DVD burner soon as well. I am personally waiting until the day after thanksgiving (Black Friday) to see if perhaps some store might have one of those for a very good price. If not, there are a few drives I'm already looking into. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StealthG Posted November 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 Cool, I will probably end up buying the lite on drive. But now I have stumbled upon another drive. This Rosewill drive, but I cant figure out if it does in deed burn dual layered discs. And seeing this drive is a couple dollars more than the lite on drive, I might as well go with this one right? But does it burn dual layer? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cowsgonemadd3 Posted November 15, 2004 Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 Have you tried ebay for price reduction on that dvd drive? I mean dvd burner.Look it up and see if you can save a buck or two!Ebay it here! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StealthG Posted November 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 Have you tried ebay for price reduction on that dvd drive? I mean dvd burner.Look it up and see if you can save a buck or two!Ebay it here!Price is not the issue, although I have narrowed it to 2 drives I just need to know whether the rosewill drive burns dual layered discs. And any thoughts of this drive would be great.hahahaa and just to add, on ebay the price is a couple dollars higher on the rosewill drive.EDIT#2: I guess the rosewill does burn to dual layered discs? See HERE? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robshanahan Posted November 15, 2004 Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 I've been trying to find a review for that Rosewill drive and I can't seem to find one. That doesn't mean that it isn't a good drive, but it does seem like more of a gamble. I did find a review of dual-layer DVD burners at anandtech.com that should help a little. Sometimes anandtech's reviews get a little overly technical, but if you skip to the summary sections at the end they are quite helpful. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nerelda Posted November 15, 2004 Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 I've been trying to find a review for that Rosewill drive and I can't seem to find one. That doesn't mean that it isn't a good drive, but it does seem like more of a gamble. I agree. I couldn't really find much information on those drives, and I've never heard of them before. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
naraku9333 Posted November 15, 2004 Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 ide go with the lite-on drive, ive only heard good things about the brand plus its a dual layer burner for a damn good price Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StealthG Posted November 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 Thanks for the feedback guys. I have pretty much decided to purchase the lite on drive. I have perhaps one final question that needs answering. I know its a simple question, but I dont understand it. I have poked around google and other sites but I dont quite understand the different media type discs.What exactly is the difference between -(minus) and +(plus) media? Which one is best? Which do you guys recommend? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
handplane Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 What exactly is the difference between -(minus) and +(plus) media? Which one is best? Which do you guys recommend?Read Here and see if this helps you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StealthG Posted November 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 Thanks for that link handplane. Now if I am getting this right, minus discs can only be writtened once? So minus discs cant be mulitsession? So if I want to keep adding data to a dvd disc (without removing any data) plus discs are right for me? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tg1911 Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 DVD-developed by Pioneerused primarily by Apple and Pioneercan only be written to in one layer on the discs surfacecheaper than the “plus†formatDVD+supported by Philips, Dell, Sony, HP, and Microsoftcan be written to in multiple layersslightly better and more disc storage than the “minus“ formatslightly more expensiveR disk can be written to only once.RW disk can be written to, erased, written to, multiple times.So if I want to keep adding data to a dvd disc (without removing any data)You can do this with either, as long as you don't close the burning "session".Most newer readers, will read both formats. It's really just a matter of, which you prefer better.Since the Lite-On writes to both of the formats, it's really up to you which format to use. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StealthG Posted November 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 ahh thanks for clearing things up tg1911, and thank you all. If I have any more questions I shall post them here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cowsgonemadd3 Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 Wish I had a pc that could handle a dvdrw? Got a laptop and a old pc of junk. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tg1911 Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 You're quite welcome. Glad to be of help. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StealthG Posted November 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 Wish I had a pc that could handle a dvdrw? Got a laptop and a old pc of junk.Hahahahaa that sure stinks dont it? Well I have another question here so bare with me. First let me give some background infomation. I recently did a reformat and I deleted all partitions including my compaqs recovery system thingy. Well in the process of copying the files from the xp cd, my drive quit on me. (hence the buying of a new dvd drive). So when I finally got xp up and running I quickly noticed problems with it. Long story short I want to do another reformat. Well since my current drive doesnt work, I was wondering if I can install my new dvd drive (when I purchase it), and then do a reformat? Do you guys recommend I do this?And also does the lite on drive come with a new IDE cable? Or is that just the jumper cable in the picture? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robroy Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 that cable in the pic is for the sound, it goes from dvd to sound card. The ide cable is flat with 40 strands (newer ones are round ) but thicker than one shown. New ide cable should only cost couple of bucksJD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StealthG Posted November 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 Will THIS do for the ide cable?So should I do another reformat after installing my new drive when I get it? Will it mess up the drive? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nerelda Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 You should be able to just reformat after you get the drive connected inside. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StealthG Posted November 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 Cool, I have yet another question. Is there a way to find out if a xp home edition key has been used? I have a couple of cd keys and I dont remember if I used them or not. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nerelda Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 Don't know for sure, but if you just call microsoft and let them know that you had to reformat, and reinstall, you should either be able to continue to use that key, or they'll give you a new one to use. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tg1911 Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 Use Everest. It will show you your product key, plus many other things, about your computer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nerelda Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Use Everest. It will show you your product key, plus many other things, about your computer. Dang TG! You're right! I keep forgetting about that too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StealthG Posted November 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Thanks a bunch fellow techies! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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