I just finished building a new rig and, as I eye the pile of obsolete but still working components while struggling to find an optical drive in the house that can read my original Win XP install disc, and some other install discs I've burned over the years, I realize that optical drives are BY FAR the least reliable PC component I purchase. I have a stack of old IDE hard drives that are still going going strong, but are too small and too slow for my needs and a modern system. Ditto for video cards, sound cards, mem sticks, CPUs, etc. On the other hand it seems like I have to replace my optical drives yearly if not more often as they quickly degrade and lose their ability to handle anything less than perfect media. This is particularly annoying as I have usually bought high end drives from the best manufacturers - LG, HP, Lite-On.
So, I'm curious if this a universal phenomenon due to the way lasers and optics degrade over time, or if I'm just unlucky in my optical drive choices.
Oh, and I could use a recommendation for a decent, CHEAP, SATA optical drive that supports Light Scribe (doesn't have to do Blu-Ray tho).
So, I'm curious if this a universal phenomenon due to the way lasers and optics degrade over time, or if I'm just unlucky in my optical drive choices.
Oh, and I could use a recommendation for a decent, CHEAP, SATA optical drive that supports Light Scribe (doesn't have to do Blu-Ray tho).