Man without a dvd recorder-What to do?

:-D Have been told that my dvd/rw that came with will not burn dvds. How that is possible I don't know. I have dell dimension 4600c and would like some advice on what I can install (refurbished?) to burn dvds. I am a complete novice and know nothing about this technology. Are there burners and recorders that can be attached to my computer via usb? :drool

I would really like to get the most versatile burner so that I don't have to go through this again for another couple years. Thank you.:major

 

Probably your DVD drive just plays DVD's, but will burn CD's - these were common a few years ago on commercial PC's.

There are tons of types, USB and internal, PATA and SATA. They are getting really cheap now also, as the Blue-Ray format comes to the fore . . .

Here is a selection of burners from a place I buy most of my computer stuff from: http://www.directron.com/dvdburner2.html

Newegg no doubt has decent deals as well.

As far as programs go, I use Sonic My DVD and NERO (both which I purchased) but there are dozens of free programs, many available here at MG, that fit the bill as well.

 

When you have your hardware sorted, for burning a DVD, I haven't found anything better than this software, and I have been doing it a few years http://www.vso-software.fr/products/convert_x_to_dvd/

There are free and registered versions.

 

I was under the impression he was looking to replace his DVD/CDRW drive with another internal drive that would also burn DVD's.

External drives are nice (several are listed in that shortcut I gave him) but tend to be more expensive then standard internal optical drives. He mentioned wanting something refurbished, so I thought money was an issue also. Either will work.

@kerryh_r - I'll check out that software. I've been looking for another option of late beside the Sonic suite I have.

 

As with most Dell desktops from that time period, there are three sizes: small form factor, which requires a laptop type drive, small desktop, and mini-tower, both of which accept a standard sized 5.25" optical drive.

@humblejohn: it would be great if you could post which type of these you have. The small form factor unit has a button on the front of the CD tray that pops the drive out a very short way, and the other two have a button under the CD tray that slides the tray out the whole way.

 

it's the bizz! i been using it a long time.
these days i got a stand alone dvd recorder though with usb input, so i can just put avi etc on a stick. but if i want to burn something, you can't get better than this

 

Very good point - I had forgotten that they came in a small form factor also.

 

I have the small form factor. It is about 1' wide X 4" tall X 1'. Plodr suggested that I get a burner with 2 USB cables. Is this really necessary? I was able to burn cd with no trouble. Thanks for your reply.