Posted by Cynthia Spence on December 18, 2008 at 4:46 PM
Hi:
I'm am getting a hand-me-down computer that runs on XP. The CD burner is finicky and not reliable, and I was told I could get a CD/DVD burner/player to plug into the USB slot as an accessory. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should look for when buying one of these?
Thanks,
Cynthia Spence
www.cspencephotography.com
Posted by John Mumaw on December 18, 2008 at 5:05 PM
You could replace the finicky internal CD burner with another internal CD/DVD burner and save money over an external (plug-in)CD/DVD burner, while freeing up an electrical socket and USB port. It's one of the easiest operations to perform on a computer.
If you don't wish to do that, then the HP Black USB 2.0 CD/DVD Burner on this page at NewEgg looks like a good deal.
Note that if you want this burner solely to back up your images or other data, then you'll get a lot more bang for your buck, along with much greater convenience, using an external hard drive.
Posted by Scott Nelson on December 19, 2008 at 12:52 PM
I would recommend replacing the defective CD/DVD, with an internal drive. You can get internal drives for $20. Be sure to note whether or not your computer uses PATA(IDE) or SATA. My best guess is that being an older computer it is most likely PATA(IDE). It is one of the simplest parts to replace in your computer.
As John said, www.newegg.com is a great site for parts, I have used them many times and have excellent experiences each time. If you do not like online shopping, you can check some of your local stores, they will tend to be more expensive than the online retailers though.
Discussion
2 repliesI'm am getting a hand-me-down computer that runs on XP. The CD burner is finicky and not reliable, and I was told I could get a CD/DVD burner/player to plug into the USB slot as an accessory. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should look for when buying one of these?
Thanks,
Cynthia Spence
www.cspencephotography.com
If you don't wish to do that, then the HP Black USB 2.0 CD/DVD Burner on this page at NewEgg looks like a good deal.
Note that if you want this burner solely to back up your images or other data, then you'll get a lot more bang for your buck, along with much greater convenience, using an external hard drive.
As John said, www.newegg.com is a great site for parts, I have used them many times and have excellent experiences each time. If you do not like online shopping, you can check some of your local stores, they will tend to be more expensive than the online retailers though.