socaltoolguy Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 I recently purchased a new laptop. I like it but it came without a DVD drive. So, I need an external drive. Without doing a ton of research into which one is best, I thought I'd tap into the knowledge base here. Anybody been through this? I want to be able to read/burn and install software. All of my programs are on dvd's so it would be nice to be able to install them through an optical drive. Thanks for any help/advice. RAy 2001 Fleetwood Southwind 32V 2011 Scion XB toad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4ff Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 I think years ago the brand and model were very important. I feel today that optical drives have become more of a commodity. I would buy from a reputable seller with a good exchange policy if you aren't happy. You could always search Amazon and read the reviews. They can be pretty telling. FWIW, I used to own a small computer company. Back then the individual components to me were the key and I would cringe at the mention of 'DELL' or whatever. Nowadays I have completely changed my school of thought. I'm sure someone will chime in here who disagrees but it is just my $.02 Steve 2007 Pilgrim M378 SA4S-5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 I usually do as suggested. Look on Amazon and select something that is priced right and people have a good experience with. Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member Living on the road since 2000PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail 2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it) 2022 New Horizons 43' 5er 2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units 2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck -------------------------------------------------------------------------See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar powerwww.jackdanmayer.com Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docj Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 When I had to make the same purchasing decision a couple of years ago it was difficult to find DVD drives with USB 3.0 capability. This has probably changed by now especially because there are lots of computers without drives being sold. Sandie & Joel 2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12 2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake systemWiFiRanger Ambassador Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV_ Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Ray, I agree with Steve. If you have the old laptop and it is dead you can remove the DVD drive and use it easily withy a 6 dollar USB to optical drive cable. I have one and they work fine for reading and burning if it is a burner to begin with. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA90839G1727&cm_re=USB_to_Optical_drive-_-9SIA90839G1727-_-Product http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2RB2FJ0545&cm_re=USB_to_Optical_drive-_-9SIA2RB2FJ0545-_-Product To buy a new external Optical drive/burner new drive there are basically a gazillion out there. The going price is 19-$30. Newegg gets a lot of my biz for their usually free shipping but more for the great user reviews. So to choose read a bunch of reviews and then you will find one that does what you need.Here is a link to Newegg's page of optical drives: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=external+optical&N=-1&isNodeId=1 If you want to be able to burn CDs/DVDs then make sure it says it is a burner drive as some are only for reading disks not writing them. Joel the reason most have not switched to USB 3.0 on optical drives is that the media burn is slow in any case. USB 2.0 can read anything on CD/DVD fast enough to play or install. Anyone making ;lots of duplicates needs a duplicator machine that cost hundreds if not thousands more. RV/Derekhttp://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.Retired AF 1971-1998 When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docj Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 USB 2.0 can read anything on CD/DVD fast enough to play or install. Anyone making ;lots of duplicates needs a duplicator machine that cost hundreds if not thousands more. I only use my USB 2.0 DVD drive for loading those few programs I own that are on DVD and not downloadable. It may be "fast enough" but it is pathetically slow! Sandie & Joel 2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12 2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake systemWiFiRanger Ambassador Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV_ Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Me too. I only use USB 2.0 on my external DVD burners, my optical to USB adapter cable for them too, as I have two spare leftover laptop burners I salvaged from dead Win 7 systems. Disks have gone the way of vinyl records and floppy drives because they are too slow today. And most folks use vegetable dye disk to write, so no real "permanent" solution unless we spend the big bucks for M Disks and the burners to burn them. They create physical pits in the plastic, like commercially produced disks and archival systems. I download programs and files or use USB 3.0 Flash drives for faster transfer between then. All my external hard drives cases and docks are 3.0. I am donating my USB powered hubs and other paraphernalia to Goodwill because my friends know better than to take a step backward, albeit cheap, even free. I can carry the mp3 rips of 2500 or so CDs on one 128GB flash USB drive. That is insane. All my Flash drives, both USB and SDXC micro card readers, are 3.0 too. This one reads all SD cards both full size and micro, for about 5-7 bucks it's astoundingly handy. http://www.transcend-info.com/Products/No-396 The pic on the side shows its USB 3.0 end plugged into a laptop, and the SD card is inserted on the side slot. What good is that? well when I have a tablet with the SD card slot filled already with a card containing my music and about 15GB of blank space for storing apps and pics, it makes it easy to take the SD card from my camera and load pics on the tablet with fussing with the one I leave in. Also my windows phone is in a case and the 64GB micro SD card slot is not easily accessible. I have USB micro to full size adapter 7 inch cables that work great. RV/Derekhttp://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.Retired AF 1971-1998 When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Joyce Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Just bought two LGs for gifts off Amazon, $19.99 each, for some teens whose new computers did not come with one. 2004 40' Newmar Dutch Star DP towing an AWD 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid, Fulltimer July 2003 to October 2018, Parttimer now. Travels through much of 2013 - http://www.sacnoth.com - Bill, Diane and Evita (the cat) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socaltoolguy Posted November 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Thanks everybody for all the great info. I was looking at Amazon before I wrote my post. That's why I decided to ask. There are so many to choose from. Appreciate all the advice. Now, back to Amazon. Ray 2001 Fleetwood Southwind 32V 2011 Scion XB toad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57becky Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 If you are going to have to buy a DVD drive anyway, I would suggest getting one that reads Blue Ray. That way, you can watch movies on it if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom_M Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 I would take it one step further and buy a Blu-Ray burner. Prices run about $75 for a portable USB type on Newegg and Amazon. Tom—————————————————2005 Born Free 24' Rear Bath Towing 1978 VW Bug convertible Minneapolis, MN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganto Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 If you are going to have to buy a DVD drive anyway, I would suggest getting one that reads Blue Ray. That way, you can watch movies on it if you want. blu ray drives require a program to read the codec in the blu ray disc since windows won't read it and that can get costly as well. I paid 80 bucks for the program that I use and it's not available any more. just something to think about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganto Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 I bought an LG drive from newegg a couple of years ago and I am happy with it it's fast buring large files and it's silent you don't even know it's running and it reads screwed up discs well to. for burning to blu ray I use a program called ashampoo you can download it for free and it's free to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV_ Posted November 26, 2015 Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 Ashampoo is good. Today Newegg went active and is selling an LG BluRay burner for $69 with a $30 mail in rebate. RV/Derekhttp://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.Retired AF 1971-1998 When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganto Posted November 26, 2015 Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 Ashampoo is good. Today Newegg went active and is selling an LG BluRay burner for $69 with a $30 mail in rebate.that's a steal for a blue ray drive I pd 99 bucks for mine when they were double the price!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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