Is My CD-R Dying?

Okay...

Dell Desktop...Windows XP...Roxio CD Software.

I have tried several brands of blank media. I burn music CD's and the audio comes out all static-y and sometimes audio drops-out. I have tried the disc on several different players and DVD drives etc...Some players play discs better than others. I have tried rebooting and restarting. I have used a CD-ROM drive CD cleaner disc. Nothing helps. I am NOT technically savvy but if I have to install another "burner", I will. I use my burner quite a lot.
HELP!!

Is my CD-ROM/CD-R drive finally going south? It's been 3 years. If I have to buy a new drive (internal). How much do I have to spend?? Do all CD-ROM/CD-R's fit in all Dells?? The one I have now is GCE-8481B.

 

All drives are universal

Installing a drive is easy as cake, even for someone without any prior knowledge. You can get just a basic CD burner here for $25 (including shipping) but my personal opinion is that your best deal is to get a DVD burner which will play CDs, burn CDs, play DVDs, and burn DVDs for about $20 more. Check this one out. That'll do everything you could ever want

The only thing you gotta watch out for is to not by a drive for a laptop, but they are really thin and much more expensive. I'm sure you can tell the difference from the picture alone Other than that, any drive will work, and Newegg.com offers any color you need to match your Dell's case.

One more thing: you'll notice some are shown as "blah blah model name, model number - OEM" and some are shown as "blah blah model name, model number - RETAIL."

OEM is the same item, it's just without the box and instructions. You get the drive and that's it. RETAIL will give you exactly that, in a regular box just like you bought it in a store. Buying OEM will generally save you $5-10, but that $5-10 is worth it if you need the instructions, so I'd recommend buying one that is labeled RETAIL.

As far as Newegg, they have great service, and if you want, you can even call them and place an order that way. They're really nice, and I live near Memphis and I usually get my parts in 3 days with the cheapest shipping option (they ship mostly from California).

Hope this helps, sorry it was so long, but I guess I was being thorough.

Good luck