[Metal Mike]

So my BenQ DVD burner can't seem to read any type of media, so it's time for a new one.

Is getting a SATA DVD/CD burner really beneficial apart from the fact that the able it smaller?

What's a good burner for my buck?

Thanks!

[mcoleg]

which one is it (model) and how long have you had it?

[Metal Mike]

It's the BenQ DW1620 and I've had it for almost two years.

[mcoleg]

if it can be saved, keep it - it's pretty much one of the best readers you can find. mine can even read scratched and damaged cds and dvds the rest of the drives choke on.

i had a similar problem. turns out - they accumulate dust like no one's business. get a can of compressed air and blow it clean.

might as well look up the latest firmware for it. read up on it here:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=92

believe me, you've got a very good drive. not a whole lot of the new crop out there can compare, for my money.

[MVC]

Originally Posted by mcoleg

i had a similar problem. turns out - they accumulate dust like no one's business. get a can of compressed air and blow it clean.

How exactly do you suggest blowing out the drive? In the past I've tried blowing air into it while it's mounted; blowing air into it dismounted, held vertically with the tray out and pointing down so the dust has a way out; I've removed the top and bottom panels on the drive's case to get to all of the nooks and cranies. And, the best I've ever gotten for all my work is a drive that works, mostly, for a few more weeks (maybe a month) and then I'm back to the same problem. Because they don't cost much I've gotten into the habit of just replacing them, but if I don't need to....

[Dermen]

I just purchased a couple of the Lite-On Sata burners. Newegg had them for $36 shipped. I really haven't gotten to use them much, I think I burned a a DVD-RW twice and 3-4 CDs. A week after I bought them Lite-On came out with 18X Sata burners, but I have read the 18x and 20x burners don't really work that well above 16x.

I went with Sata because it wasnt any more expensive than IDE and I love having the tiny sata cables. I have no IDE cables now in my main rig or my HTPC.

[mcoleg]

Originally Posted by MVC

How exactly do you suggest blowing out the drive? In the past I've tried blowing air into it while it's mounted; blowing air into it dismounted, held vertically with the tray out and pointing down so the dust has a way out; I've removed the top and bottom panels on the drive's case to get to all of the nooks and cranies. And, the best I've ever gotten for all my work is a drive that works, mostly, for a few more weeks (maybe a month) and then I'm back to the same problem. Because they don't cost much I've gotten into the habit of just replacing them, but if I don't need to....

i did not suggest you do it. you go right ahead and buy replacements, especially if you don't have a good drive to save.

[MVC]

Originally Posted by mcoleg

i did not suggest you do it. you go right ahead and buy replacements, especially if you don't have a good drive to save.

Well, I know you didn't suggest I do it, but I am trying to learn something so I'm asking questions The last two drives I've given away were NEC 3550s so they were worth saving--actually they could read data OK, but the burn quality wasn't up to what I wanted when making DVDs, so....

[mcoleg]

oh, i see. now i realize it came out a bit edgy... sry m8 .

NEC 35xx series have really good hardware but need to be flashed with a custom bios in order to show their potential.

as for cleaning inside; well, it's not too difficult, really. take the drive out; use a metal clip to open it; blow inside, just make sure to vary the direction of the spray and how far you insert the tip; the laser is what you want to get to, it's on the bottom... some drives have openings on the back as well, blowing there helps.

i did mine 1640 just a couple of month ago. thought i lost it... then i remembered about the dust thing... :P

if that doesn't help, these drives are usually held together by only 4 to 6 screws - easy to take apart. just be careful not to brake any plastic parts while prying them open.

[Metal Mike]

Thanks for all the replies, but I'm afraid she left us...

I opened it up and was very surprised to see that there was no dust. I fooled around with it for a bit, but it's still broken!

Any comments regarding :

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...n&promoid=1001

Will this burner still allow me to rip my DVDs?

Edit: I'm basically looking for something good that's not too expensive which uses SATA.

[mcoleg]

i see, bummer...

not familiar with that drive. still, you can read up on the latest on

http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=61

really good place, would pay off spending a bit of time browsing there; you'll know for sure what you are getting yourself into :P