loveweb,
it would seem to me that you should have went to the manufacturer for any form of warranty issues, most stores do not offer any type of warranty on items they are merely selling, unless it is specifically that stores brand. After the 30 day (or 14 day return in some cases) is past, the retailer has no obligation to you whatsoever. Do not confuse this with a stores attempt to sell you an "extended warranty", that is a for profit hedge that the retailer hopes to gain from as they believe the odds are that the product is of good enough quality to survive the warranty period.
anyhow, I have a 24x Pacific Digital cdrw (lite-on) in this case and it works flawlessly with a usb 2.0 upgrade card I installed. As I stated before, it is of cheaper quality plastic than the $100 external cases which are common, but I love it anyway!!!!