Shopping for a CDRW drive?

[klutch]

Hello all,
I need to replace my CDRW drive; with all the different models to choose from I just don’t know where to start . I am new to this; I’ve just received my PC mechanic CD and have read the relevant topics available. But what brand and model do I look for? I desire a quality unit that is reliable and fast. Thanks in advance!

[freakitchen]

Why not go for a DVD-RW drive? They've become very cheap these days and will write both DVDs and CDs. Brands such as Lite-on and NEC are excellent.

Freakitchen

[Panama Red]

I agree with Freakitchen. Go for the DVD burner if your budget will allow. I prefer the Liteon burners for two reasons. First they're a quality unit. Second, they come with Nero Burning software so I don't have to buy software too.Beige

Black

[klutch]

Thanks a lot guys,

I went ahead and purchased the Liteon 1693S drive. My next step now is doing the install; it doesn’t look too bad, I just hope I don’t screw it up!

[blue60007]

Since you already have one installed, just see how it is installed, and install this one the same. Check your jumpers, so that they are the same as the old one...

[klutch]

I installed my new DVD burner and so far it seems to run well. I noticed my previous CDR burner jumper was set on slave while the DVD ROM drive was set on master; both drives were hooked up to the secondary IDE port.
With the new setup I went with the preferred setup in the supplied instructions. They told me to set the DVD writer to the master and the DVD ROM to the slave and stayed with both running to the 2 IDE port. Is that okay?

Why was my old burner set to slave and my DVD ROM set as master, is that backwards? Or is that another optional setup?

Also the Nero software that it came with gave me a link for the latest version. It said “For DVD-R Dual Layer burning capabilities….down load for free…”

What are these capabilities? Is it necessary to have them?

The link is www.nero.com/link.php?topic_id=65

…and it’s a dead end!

They said,
“Dear valued customer,
Much to our regret we must inform you, that this Lite-On DVD recorder is not available for the US market.
Therefore it is not possible to update your software.
If you have any further questions, please visit the support area on our homepage or contact our technical support.
Your Nero Team”


Your thoughts are much appreciated.

[bailey]

well, you could go to the computer store like comp-usa and buy a full version of nero. its not that much to spend.

[blue60007]

You could set up the dvd-rom and burner to mater or slave, anyway you want. But it makes sense to put the dvd-rom as master and the burner as slave. Since you'll probably use the dvd-rom the most.