Comments on: Slim External Laptop Notebook Rewriteable CD and 8X DVD +/- RW Double/Dual Layer Read/write DVD Drive USB2.0

By: Gerald S. Sibits Jr.

Gerald S. Sibits Jr. — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:16:33 +0000

This does what it says. I haven’t used the heck out of it but I plugged it in and Windows recognized it immediately. It plays and records DVDs and CDs just fine. Not sure about the speeds compared to others but burned about 5GB of pics and video in about 20 minutes. The other reviews are right about the included directions, forget them, although they are funny to read. This drive is plug and play with XP. There is no disk included and you will need burning software to record to DVD. There are free ones available, I used one called CDBurnerXP. For the price, if it lasts, I will be glad I bought this DVD drive.
Rating: 4 / 5

By: M. Prince

M. Prince — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:49:27 +0000

First the positive. The product is truly plug and play. My computer running XP recognized the drive right away without any software. This is good because the product I received did not come with any software. Additionally, the product I received did not work. The drive would not open unless I used a paper clip to engage the emergency eject and then would not read any discs of any kind. I am extremely disappointed that a brand new product did not work at all. In my opinion, that’s a reflection on the craftsmanship. If you’re lucky enough to get a functional drive, maybe the other reviewers are correct. My review is a warning that it could be defective and very disappointing. Order at your own risk.
Rating: 1 / 5

By: karatekai

karatekai — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:57:31 +0000

I have been disappointed with this product from Day 1. When I purchased it, it was not recognized by my HP Netbook. I plugged it into my Dell Latitude and it was recognized, whereby I had to set a country code. After that, my HP finally saw it.

So then I could use it. However, it doesn't recognize many of my burned CDs and even a few "manufacturer" CDs. I still can't install my printer drivers because it doesn't recognize a CD from Brother.

There is a CD that comes with it that has some extra software like PowerDVD (at least a $70 value on-line for the Deluxe version). But I'm not sure how legit these programs are. The ReadMe file gives you a "Product ID" to authenticate the installation, but it appears to be a pirate copy, regardless.

So, in summary, it was difficult to install, works once in awhile, and comes with questionable software. I'm going to be looking for a name brand product to replace this with. I'm giving it 2 stars vs. only 1 star because it actually worked a bit. Rating: 2 / 5

By: Joe Pilot

Joe Pilot — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:21:06 +0000

Read all the great reviews so I took a chance the bought it. Not being an IT person I was skeptical about how good the plug and play feature was. I was right, I should have not bought this product. It is not plug and play, there are no detailed install instructions and no manufacture listed to search there website for assistance. The drive recognizes and CD or DVD but does not list the files on the disk but the USB2 supplied with the drive reads OK but does not run. I am running Windows XP on two machines and neither worked. ITs MADE IN CHINA ????? GO FIGURE !!
Rating: 1 / 5

By: Gem R. Epps

Gem R. Epps — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:25:09 +0000

NEC Ad-5560a 8x DVD +/-Rw Slim External Rewriteable Cd and DVD +/- Rw Read/write DVD Burner for Pc or Laptop

Rating: 5 / 5