external DVD drive

[uglijimus]

I have a Toshiba laptop P25-S507. It's nearly 4 years old. It used to be able to read DVDs and burn them as well but one day it just stopped working. (By the way it has no problem with CDs in anyway). I took it as a faulty dvd drive. I looked at the model number, SD-R6112, and was going to just buy a new one. But as I searched on the net, I realized many other people were having the same problem as me. If I put any kind of DVD blank disc in, it simply spins, not being able to recognize it's even in the drive. I downloaded firmware and tried installing it, but it said that the targeted drive could not be found. I tried looking for other internal dvd drives compatible with this computer but couldn't find any. Frustrated, I decided that my best bet is to go with a external DVD drive.

I don't need an expensive one. I might even get it from ebay. From what I read, it should be USB 2.0 compliant, which my USB port is. But different models have different specifications regarding write and read speed for certain DVD discs (+RW, -RW, -R, etc). I just want something that can read any DVD I put in or be able to burn any DVD like I was able to before. I do a lot of gaming and watching movies and I was wondering if I should be concerned about read/write speeds i.e. the minimal write I should have is ____ or the minimal read speed I should have is _____. I appreciate any advice.

thanks!

[redwudz]

The main thing with external USB drives is that you limit the devices that you have plugged into the USB ports. That way most of the bandwidth can be used for the DVD drive. I've used a external enclosure that came without a drive, then added a drive I had. That way you can use your burner of choice. Or you can get one already put together.

I replaced the DVD ROM drive in my laptop. About $140US and I did the two hour plus installation myself. Not an easy project sometimes. When the DVD part of a burner quits, sometimes that means the laser diode for the DVD part is dead. The CD part may still work fine. A external USB burner would usually be a better choice.

[uglijimus]

thanks for the response, I've read some of your other posts concerning DVD external drives and I was suprised at your response to mine (in paticular the last line) because I was always under the impression that you were against external DVD drives unless necessary. Anyway, I don't think I could do what you did i.e. the installation by yourself and the money so I guess I will be getting the DVD external burner.