Garbage CD-ROM drive from Walmart

[coonmanx]

This year the LG DVD/CD burner drive in my computer took a crap. I haven't used it much lately but I have burned a few CDs with it.

So I wanted to burn a Keb Mo CD the other day. I didn't have any blank CD-Rs so I went to Wally World to get some. At the same time I figured I would see if they had any DVD burner drivers. They did. It was a USB external unit for $26. Figured the price was decent so I snagged it. LG brand as well.

Got it home and it worked to rip the CD to the computer. Then I burned a CD. Did not work at all. Skips, dropouts and it would barely play. I lowered the burn speed and it seemed like everything was OK but then it just stopped playing after 4 tracks. So my son did some investigation. Turns out it just would not burn a CD properly at all. So he found an older Pioneer drive that was sitting around and he burned the CD at 4X speed with EAC. It came out great.

I am definitely returning it to Wally World. The only question is whether or not I should exchange it for another one or just say "Screw it" and get a refund. I already have a used internal drive on the way from Ebay and that cost me all of $10.

The LG drive was made in China so frankly I am not that surprised that it lacked in quality and reliability. It was just a cheap laptop drive installed in a case with a USB connection.

 

[Katji]

Where was Walmart made? Leading supply chain systems, though.

 

[somebodyelse]

The LG drive was made in China so frankly I am not that surprised that it lacked in quality and reliability. It was just a cheap laptop drive installed in a case with a USB connection.

Your used drive from ebay was probably made there too, or in some other country you don't associate with quality. It's been that way for years. Picking the first that comes to hand, an external HP laptop drive from 2003 - the enclosure is marked 'product of China' while the drive itself was made in Indonesia.

 

[coonmanx]

Your used drive from ebay was probably made there too, or in some other country you don't associate with quality. It's been that way for years. Picking the first that comes to hand, an external HP laptop drive from 2003 - the enclosure is marked 'product of China' while the drive itself was made in Indonesia.

LOL. You are right. The used drive that I ordered is in fact made in China as well. Oh well. The Wlamart one is going back for a refund anyway. I just don't need it. It failed miserably.

 

[coonmanx]

I am not sure if there are any good brands when shopping for something like this. My guess is that a lot of them come from the same exact factory in China. And then whatever brand they get sold as gets put on before they reach the store.

 

[DVDdoug]

The developer of AccurateRip collects statistics of drive ripping accuracy which MAY have a correlation with overall quality.

 

[ThatM1key]

I hope those CD-Rs are Verbatim because anything else is worse. I think it was either your PC or maybe it was the drive itself. For reference, My LG drive was made in china and it works well. Is there shit products made in china?, sure but there is also good products made in china like ELAC and Topping.

You don't wanna generalize, because it makes you look like an ass. For example, I can say south korea makes shit products based on KIA vehicles catching on fire and killing people. On the major hand South Korea makes really good displays for giant companies like Apple.

 

[Rednaxela]

We actually have a rule of conduct for that.

 

[watchnerd]

So I wanted to burn a Keb Mo CD the other day.

I honestly didn't know people still burned CDs anymore.

 

[minor1000]

This year the LG DVD/CD burner drive in my computer took a crap. I haven't used it much lately but I have burned a few CDs with it.

So I wanted to burn a Keb Mo CD the other day. I didn't have any blank CD-Rs so I went to Wally World to get some. At the same time I figured I would see if they had any DVD burner drivers. They did. It was a USB external unit for $26. Figured the price was decent so I snagged it. LG brand as well.

Got it home and it worked to rip the CD to the computer. Then I burned a CD. Did not work at all. Skips, dropouts and it would barely play. I lowered the burn speed and it seemed like everything was OK but then it just stopped playing after 4 tracks. So my son did some investigation. Turns out it just would not burn a CD properly at all. So he found an older Pioneer drive that was sitting around and he burned the CD at 4X speed with EAC. It came out great.

I am definitely returning it to Wally World. The only question is whether or not I should exchange it for another one or just say "Screw it" and get a refund. I already have a used internal drive on the way from Ebay and that cost me all of $10.

The LG drive was made in China so frankly I am not that surprised that it lacked in quality and reliability. It was just a cheap laptop drive installed in a case with a USB connection.

I purchased a Rioddas optical drive from Amazon last week, $18.69
I ripped several CD's to my HP Elite Desk mini with DB Poweramp
Accurate Rip had no issues

 

[ThatM1key]

I honestly didn't know people still burned CDs anymore.

I burn CDs (CD-Rs and CD-RWs) from time to time for my Dads van. The modern stock radio is not that great with USB sticks and the AUX's ADC is very very terrible. I know its not my LG G7's DAC as its equivalent to a Topping D10. Don't get started with Bluetooth lol. So I burn CDs (Yes lossless music) for that and it sounds a lot better. I'm not expecting a grand audiophile experience, I just wanted decent sound and not sound like I'm listening to 64kbps MP3's on a 1998 computer with gateway desktop speakers.

The only car AUX I like is those cassette adapters. They don't ruin the sound unless you got a really bad one like my mother has.

 

[julian_hughes]

If you visit the manufacturer's product page for for a CD/DVD/BD burner they usually list the media brands and types they work best with.

 

[ThatM1key]

If you visit the manufacturer's product page for for a CD/DVD/BD burner they usually list the media brands and types they work best with.

I consider this pointless. For example, car brands say "this specific brand" of tire works the best with this car. But we all know the different brand of tire will work just fine. Also another example, is that computer motherboards have memory/RAM compatibility lists but nobody follows them including me. I have memory sticks that aren't on any of my motherboards compatibility lists and they worked every time.

The most important thing is the media is actually good rather then being "compatible". Verbatim makes the best CD-Rs and there good value (100 discs for $20 USD). Source: https://forum.cdrinfo.pl/f28/najlepsze-nosniki-cd-r-2022r-94300/

 

[mansr]

Also another example, is that computer motherboards have memory/RAM compatibility lists but nobody follows them including me. I have memory sticks that aren't on any of my motherboards compatibility lists and they worked every time.

Such compatibility lists indicate what has been tested and verified to work. If you're buying large numbers of computers, that can be valuable since it reduces the risk of something going wrong. For a one-off build, it can be worthwhile taking a chance on an unverified part since it will probably be fine if the basic specs are met.

As for CD-R brands, if Verbatim doesn't work, nothing will.

 

[Capitol C]

I purchased a Rioddas optical drive from Amazon last week, $18.69
I ripped several CD's to my HP Elite Desk mini with DB Poweramp
Accurate Rip had no issues

I also got a Rioddas drive to use with EAC (Exact Audio Copy) for converting CDs to FLAC. No problems so far except the very rare bad CD.

 

[JSmith]

Then I burned a CD. Did not work at all. Skips, dropouts and it would barely play.

It just sounds broken to be honest... return for refund.


JSmith

 

[coonmanx]

It just sounds broken to be honest... return for refund.


JSmith

Done.

 

[coonmanx]

CD-Rs were all Verbatim, which seems to be a recommended brand. Although I have never had any issues in the past with any particular brand of CD-R. The one that my son finally got to burn properly using an old Pioneer drive was a Philips CD-R.

The LG drive was returned to Wally World and an internal drive is on the way from Ebay. Should get here this week. Tested and guaranteed for $9.46. LOL.

I usually just use Brasero Brun in Ubuntu but I can also burn using EAC in WIndows.

 

[coonmanx]

Trying to figure out why I can not edit that last comment. I saw my spelling error when I tried to write that I usually use Brasero Burn in Ubuntu.

OK. Here is a bit of a twist. I had been having problems with the LG internal drive that is mounted in the computer. So it had been disconnected for a while. My son was doing some stuff on my computer yesterday and figured he would just hook up that LG burner drive. For some reason it is working just fine now. I just finished using it to burn an audio CD at 8x and it sounds just fine. Took the Scott CD player in the bedroom a minute to recognize and play it but so far it is playing just fine.

Since I still have an extra slot in the computer I may just throw in the unit that I got off of Ebay as well. I have not tested that drive yet but it says it was tested before it shipped.

 

[coonmanx]

Curious if there is some time limit for editing a comment. The "Edit" option shows up on my last comment but not the one before it.

And damn if I did not speak too soon. The disc that I just burned using the LG drive and Brasero Burn just stopped playing on track 5, where it has failed before. I don't know what to make of that. I may try to burn it using EAC in Windows. Also I will give it a try using the newer drive that I got off of Ebay. Oh well, at least the CD-Rs are cheap and plentiful.