Qu re: new DVD burner

[eee-tee]

OK, i've got a couple of question re: DVd burners-
First- apparently i've 'burnt out' my pioneer a03- unwittingly using 4x media- and now it appears to be dead- is there anything i can do, or is it useless?

Secondly, looking at the new drives that are out, there are some labelled as OEm, and some as retail-what's the difference?

finally, do any of you own/ know anything about these drives that i'm thinkin of-

*Iomega dual drive
*LG GSA 4040B
*Pioneer 106
*sony DWU10A

Thanks for any input

[crash_cyberdrive]

Originally posted by eee-tee
Looking at the new drives that are out, there are some labelled as OEm, and some as retail-what's the difference?

Do any of you own/ know anything about these drives that i'm thinkin of:

*Iomega dual drive
*LG GSA 4040B
*Pioneer 106
*sony DWU10A

About the OEM/ Retail thing :
If you buy OEM might cost less but you get only a 30-90 warranty and you'll get no support because is for system builders or people with enough experience to resolve problems on their own.
Retail on the other hand might cost more, but you will have a year warrranty, customer support, all the documetation, etc...

You can find reviews from people that actually own the products in EPINIONS.COM

As of the burned Drive did you check power to the drive?

[SuperSparks]

Out of the 4 drives, I'd go for the Sony as it will read/write to both -DVD & +DVD formats. And Sony is always good quality. I very much doubt that using 4x media caused your old drive to fail, what happened exactly?

[eee-tee]

Nick- apparently, if you attempt to burn with 4x media, with the burner i have/had, it burns it out unless you have specific firmware installed.
Unfortunately, i knew, and was told, none of this, attempted to burn regardless and so ended up with a dead drive

[eee-tee]

OK, any of you guys know how to install a burner?

[SuperSparks]

Yes indeed. Turn off the PC and unplug the "kettle lead" (there is some power to the mobo even when turned off otherwise). If you don't have an earthing wriststrap then touch any earthed metalwork to get rid of static. Remove the power and data connectors from the back of the old drive, and when you've got it out check whether the jumper is set to Master or Slave. Set the jumper of the new drive accordingly (refer to the diagram on the new drive - the actual settings vary according to manufacturer). Then screw the thing in, plug the connectors in (they should be keyed to only fit one way round), and you're done. Windows will recognise the new drive as a DVD-Rom, you won't be able to use it as a burner until you install suitable burning software.

[eee-tee]

Cheers Nick- so far so good- I've got it installed and up & running- now to see if i can do a bit of burning!