Which IDE DVDRW Should I Buy Please?

[Jay Adam]

Hi,

I just need a new IDE DVDRW for my home PC.

I don't want anything fancy, just decent features, that is reliable and of good quality.

I'm thinking of buying one from the following 2:

Pioneer DVR-A18LBK 22x (available for £25.40)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294


LiteOn 22X (£22)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350524069251&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123

(I am happy to buy from Ebay as I am careful and thorough before purchasing, and buy stuff regularly)


Price wise, they are pretty similar, and I really don't want to spend much more than that, as I don't tend to use this device much anyway, but my current DVDRW needs replacing due to a fault.

*I know I can find review of the above on the net, esp the Pioneer from Amazon already has customer reviews, but I would feel more reassured hearing the views of more informed and "live" people on here and always find the advice beneficial.



Thank you!

Jay

 

[floppybootstomp]

In my experience all optical drives are pretty much a muchness, just about every single make has died on me at one time, including Plextor, so just go for either the cheapest or the one that you like the look of the most.

 

[Silverhazesurfer]

Why not look into an external USB DVD RW drive? They can come in handy. Especially for machines without drives, or failing ones. Netbooks, etc.

just a thought.

 

[muckshifter]

I used a lot of LiteOn drives in the past, as good as any drive, anything mechanical will fail over time.

I would say though, I would be looking for a SATA drive, less lightly to get read/write failures, not that you should get that sort of thing these days.

Amazon have one on sale for £13

 

[Ian]

I've used both of those makes in the past and both have served me well - I'd go for whichever is cheapest (as long as it's one of the big brands). As Flops said, they all seem much of a muchness nowadays.

This one looks good and is cheap: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-24x-Internal-DVD-Rewriter/dp/B0057FRTPW/

Another vote for a SATA drive if your PC can handle it - at the very least it will be future proofed .

 

[Jay Adam]

Thank you everyone for your helpful suggestions!

In the end, I didn’t order one as I think I’ve fixed the problem!

The problem with my HP DVD1035 DVDRW was that the tray wouldn’t eject, a friend of mine who works with computers said that it’s likely developed a fault and hence would need to be replaced.

I actually don’t really use the drive much, but obviously a DVDRW is handy to have.

Anyway, before I was about to order – having taken the advice of you kind people on board – I came across this video on Youtube by chance (don’t know if I am allowed to upload videos, hence I’m just posting the link):

I found it quite interesting, for future reference, if anything.

Anyway, having been made aware that the belt in the DVDRW can “dry” over time and needed replacing, and is often the cause for trays not ejecting, rather than removing the whole drive from my PC (which I didn’t know how to do, anyway!), I applied WD-40 spray on the existing belt to lubricate it. I may have made it too wet, which initially caused it to jam even more tightly. But the following day after having time to dry overnight, the DVDRW tray opened immediately upon pressing the eject button! This is still the case.

Obviously what I tried was purely by chance and not based on informed knowledge, and I don’t know if such an action would normally be recommended, but as I thought I’ve got nothing to lose and it may need replacing anyway, I just gave this a go.

I just thought I’d share this with you....and hopefully I won’t require a new DVDRW any time soon!

Regardless, I found the video informative and I’m sure others may find it beneficial too.


Thanks again