CD Drives

[iukikiana]

Not sure which section to put this on since its not dvd but hope someone can help.

One of my computers is an HP Pavillion and now the cd drive is not working. I got all the instructions from the web to check to fix it but still not working. Anyway, we dont use this desktop much anymore since kids moved out but I wanted to copy all the photos and stuff on a cd blank and also store them on my computer.

Question is: Is there such a thing as an external cd drive I could buy so I can copy my files on to blanks since the cd drive isnt working? :confused:

Or do you have anyother suggestions? Thanks!

[mitsubishi]

Yeah you could buy external CD writers, although they are pretty old school.

Probably cheaper than a external cd/DVD writer would be a USB memory stick, a 2GB one is probably cheaper than a burner.

There is also the option of a network cable or external hard drive as well.

[ilovejedd]

Yes there are. DVD burners can also be used to burn CDs so if you can't find an external CD burner anymore, that's also an option. If you're comfortable with opening up your computer, you can replace the drive inside the HP. That's probably a cheaper option.

Flash drives are a pretty cheap option, too. A couple of weeks ago, there was a sale at Fry's - 4 Kingston 4GB for $40. That's just $10 per stick. Granted, that's not the regular pricing but you could probably get a 2GB for under $20. They're often enough on sale at that price.

Before you start buying stuff, though, if both PCs are connected to a network, an option is to turn on file and printer sharing, share the folder(s) containing your files and copy your files from the HP over the network.

[iukikiana]

Thank you both for your answers. Been searching the web and couldnt find an external cd drive but did find a Seagate external drive 250gig for about 75.00.

I do have a bunch of flash drives that I got free from work and did use it to transfer some but its taking forever since it only holds so much.

I never thought of replacing the cd drive. Dah! I dont know why. I'll have to check into that how much that cost.

But you did give me an idea for temporary use. I do have an HP external burner hooked up to my other computer so I'll have to take the card out from inside and hook up the hp dvd burner to use in the meantime to copy all my daughters photos on cd.

Thanks alot for your suggestions.

Aloha, Judy

[blizard]

Make two copy while you are at it for safe keeping as photo and such personal thing is hard to re-create if something should happen with your first copy or get lost. Quality of optical media can also be different, so don't trust that it will last for ever. There are application that can check quality of both media and burning process. Nero have some free tool to check how burning process went.

In general are hard disk to hard disk storage faster if it runs through a network cable, then the process of burning. This depends on how large each file are and how old your hard disk are as old hard disk can have lower speed or less cache to handle transfer. You would need LAN card or onboard NIC (Network Interface Connection) and a cross over cable Ethernet cable.

Memory card and flash based media isn't good for permanent storage as they need a very low current to keep information intact. For short term movement where you refresh memory power, it doesn't matter, but for long term it is better to use optical media or print out to photo paper.

[ilovejedd]

Thank you both for your answers. Been searching the web and couldnt find an external cd drive but did find a Seagate external drive 250gig for about 75.00.

I never thought of replacing the cd drive. Dah! I dont know why. I'll have to check into that how much that cost.

Newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=5&Description=&Type=&N=2010100005&srchInDesc=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&PropertyCodeValue=365%3A6652&PropertyCodeValue=365%3A6653&PropertyCodeValue=365%3A6654&PropertyCodeValue=384%3A6818). They also have external burners but I didn't check those. They have pretty good prices and I do almost all of my computer component shopping there.

[iukikiana]

Blizard - good idea about making two copies. I do have Nero so I will check that tool out.

ilovejedd - I've heard about about newegg.com before. Will check prices on that too.

Mahalo for all your help.

Aloha, Judy