external DVD burners

wenbo · Joined: Sep 15, 2003 Posts: 367 Location: Ontario, Canada

I need a DVD burner, have a player but no burner, just a CD burner. I'm thinking an external is best for me because I really don't want to take apart my computer to install one. (not sure I feel comfortable doing it).

I use Windows XP Home. I'm not sure if I need anything special or just any good burner.

I looked on Tiger Direct.ca and they have an HP that seems to burn everything, CD,DVD, +/- R/RW. Can someone advise me about what I should get?

Thanks

zlim · Joined: Mar 11, 2005 Posts: 2636

I always google the brand and model just to see if there are lots of problems with something before I buy.

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 1546 Location: Central FL, USA

In a standard desktop PC, swapping cd drives is a piece of cake.
But, if you're reluctant to try it and you don't have a friend that would do it for you....... HP CD/DVD drives have always been pretty reliable and should work well for you.

Compare the price for say, a "LG" brand burner or "Panasonic".
Both are excellent.

The price you pay for an external burner will be considerably higher than for an internal drive. It may also be slower, since it cannot exceed USB2 speed.

Remember, to always shut down unneeded programs while burning CD's or DVD's
(burning programs want all the system resources they can get)
and then burn at a slow speed like 8x or 16x.
A slower burn is a more reliable burn.

Good luck to you,
The Doctor Cool

alphanumeric · Joined: Jun 02, 2004 Posts: 647

I have a HP 1040r external DVD burner/reader that I am very satisfied with. Mine can burn Lighscribe disks too. Very Happy

My main rig has no optical drives or floppy drives in it. That PC can boot from USB so I can install windows from the external DVD drive it if need be. I plan on buying a netbook in the near future so it will come in handy when I need to refresh the OS on that too.