I'm looking for a new reasonably priced but dependable External
writable CD drive for my notebook. Later when I get my new notebook
I'll go for a drive with all the bells and whistles but only need a
basic write drive I can read and write with for now. What maker, model and
source do you recommend? I run W98 and have USB and Firewire.

Hello bostonjack,

I understand that you are looking for a basic cd-r/rw drive to run on
Windows 98 and you have USB and Firewire available. I am assuming that
you do not burn tons of CD's. If you have a USB 1.0, the speed of the
burning might be slower than the actual speed the drive is said to
have.

I do have one tip for you, if you get a decent cd-writer now, instead
of buying one again when you purchase your laptop, you could get a dvd
player instead with your laptop. If you burn 4-6 cd's or less a week
on average, you probably do not need anything faster than the
following from Plextor and Creative Labs:

(If you do not have Windows 98SE, scroll down to the HP drive... this
one should do for you until you can get it replaced by something
better. There are not many decent drives by todays standards that work
with Windows 98... but this one should do if you don't need it that
much.)

Creative Labs: 24x write/10x rewrite/40 read
http://www.americas.creative.com/products/product.asp?product=173&category=4&maincategory=4&nav=requ
Requires that your Windows 98 be second edition. They are currently
selling it at a discount on their website for $129.99. Creative
generally has 12 months warrenty and decent tech support. This drive
works with firewire and usb 1.0.

Plextor: In my opinion this is a great manufacturer of CD-Writers.
They have unlimited phone-tech support and one year of warrenty.
Unfortunately, it seems that you also need to have at least Windows
98SE (Second Edition)

8x Write/8x Rewrite/24x Read
http://www.plextor.com/english/products/8_8_24u.html
This drive will work with older USB Ports and the newer 2.0

40x Write/12x Rewrite/40x Read
http://www.plextor.com/english/products/40_12_40u.html
This drive does not appear to work with older USB Ports and requires
2.0 Much faster though if you have USB 2.0 ports now for the same
price at http://www.plextorshop.com

There are not many companies selling CD-R/RW for operating systems
under Windows 98SE, but if you need one, then I would go for the HP
8220e External USB. I wouldn't even try to buy this one new however,
try finding it cheap on ebay or second hand as you will eventually
want to replace this:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=hp+8220e

If you need any clarifications regarding this answer, let me know and
I will do my best to further assist you.

tisme-ga


Search Strategy: 

used companies that I knew directly through their websites.

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Request for Answer Clarification by bostonjack-ga on 14 Jan 2003 11:59 PST

I neglected to say that I am running W98 Second Edition)

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Clarification of Answer by tisme-ga on 14 Jan 2003 16:29 PST

Hello bostonjack,

In that case, I would go with the Creative Labs or Plextor drive(s)
depending on what prices you find them for.

All the best,

tisme-ga

Thnaks for the quick help!