[john god]

I need advise on what would be a fairly good dvd/cd RW to purchase that is not to expensive.
I have a Dell Optiplex GX270 pc. It is a xp pro with ie 6.
I believe I have a Lite-On ltn4865 48x max in it now.
I don't know if this is a dvd and cd rom ,but it don't record.
Was looking at a Sony dru-842a and a Lite-On 22x hhap322.
Don't know anything about these drives.
Also, where I really got confused was when I heard IDE....EIDE....SATA.....PATA.
Also what is compatible with my Dell?
Any Help Please,
Thank-You,
John God

[Advertisements]

Your present drive is cdrom play only and not a recorder.
IDE, EIDE and PATA are one of the same. They all use a 40 pin or 80 pin flat ribbon.
SATA is the new technology and uses a phone line looking cable with flat connectors
Sata is faster as it allows more transfer rate then the other. Your system does not have Sata capability so you will need a IDE drive. The two you have posted are both dvd and cd recordable drives. Either drive you asked about should be compatible with your system. I hope I have answered your questions and feel free to ask anything else you may need explained.

[rshaffer61]

Your present drive is cdrom play only and not a recorder.
IDE, EIDE and PATA are one of the same. They all use a 40 pin or 80 pin flat ribbon.
SATA is the new technology and uses a phone line looking cable with flat connectors
Sata is faster as it allows more transfer rate then the other. Your system does not have Sata capability so you will need a IDE drive. The two you have posted are both dvd and cd recordable drives. Either drive you asked about should be compatible with your system. I hope I have answered your questions and feel free to ask anything else you may need explained.

[john god]

One more question if you don't mind.
With the cd rom drive I now have,can I use this drive to play the cds or dvds
and with the burner copy the cds or dvds.
Or will I need a different rom drive?


Thanks for your fast response.
I believe everything was answered.
If I have any questions I'll get back to you.
Thank-You Again,
John God

[rshaffer61]

The new drives you suggested will do both play and record. No need for any other drive. If you choose you can have both in your system if the system will allow for it. By this I mean normally a system will have 2 IDE controllers on the motherboard. Each controller can handle to drives in either two hard drives or a hard drive and a cdrom drive or 2 cdrom drives on one. BTW when I say cdrom drive that also means dvd\cdrom drive.
I hope this explains it for you and if not please ask and I will try to explain it alittle more clearer for you.

[john god]

The Lite-On ltn4865 48x max that I have now, is this a dvd/cd rom or just a cd rom.

[rshaffer61]

It is a cdrom read only drive. A new of either of the two you asked about would replace that and also give you dvd and recording capability in one drive

[john god]

Do I need two recording drives to copy my dvd and cds to a dvd and cd?
Or would I have to take the cd rom out, and install one of the ones I mentioned in its place,
and than add the other one?
Or should I get one recorder and the other one a dvd/cd rom?
Sorry for all the questions but I'm new to this.
When I got the computer I thought it had all this.

[rshaffer61]

I'm not sure what you mean. Are you talking about copying bought or borrowed dvd's and cd's? Please explain what you are attempting to do please. I have one dvd\cdrom drive. It plays cd's and dvd's, either one of the ones you are looking at will do the same.

[john god]

I'm sorry for the misinterpretation.
Yes I have some cds and dvds that I want to copy.
To transfer form one cd or dvd to another cd or dvd.

[rshaffer61]

ok, you will need two drives to do that. I have never done that as all my cd's and dvd's are in cases and put on a multimedia shelving unit I built. I've never had the need for backup as far as those.

[john god]

Last question I hope.
Would I need two DVD/CD RW Drives or one
DVD/CD RW Drive and one DVD/CD ROM Drive.
Which way would be the best way to go?
Any recommendations?

[hawklord]

easiest way would be 2 dvd rewriters, this will allow you to burn cd's or dvd's on both drives,
a dvd rw incorporates a cd rw
a cd/dvd rom is for read only (rom = read only memory)

so its just as cheap to buy 2 dvd rw, just be aware that when you install them you must have the bays for 2 drives and that one must be set to master and the other slave by the jumpers located at the back of each drive

[rshaffer61]

Hawklord is correct. For the price they are now it would be cost effective to buy two of the same kind as that way you have no issues with them working together.

[john god]

Once again thanks for all your input.

[rshaffer61]

You are very welcome. I'm glad we could help and please let us know how everything works out for you.
If there is anything else we can do to help please feel free to ask. Thank you for allowing me to assist you with your issue and your patience. Thank you for choosing GeeksToGo for help.
This issue now appears to be resolved.


If other members are reading this and have a similar problem please begin a New Topic and someone will assist you as soon as possible