Can't find the MTU certified laptop DVD drives
 

In reference to another issue I had while building machines for other people I noted that the DVD burners built into their new Toshiba notebooks are not Hoster compatible. A forum member recommended the drive that is native to his notebook but I am interested in reviewing all available options before I make a decision.

I know there used to be an MTU certified notebook drive but I can't seem to locate it on the site. The people I am building these machines for would prefer one that is guaranteed to work and aren't willing to throw money into a hole testing drives on the hope that one that we get lucky on the first try.

So, first off, does anyone know where I can find the MTU certified drives (URL would be greatly appreciated) and second, If there is anyone who has a known to work (read and burn, not just read karaoke disks) notebook drive, could you please let me know what brand and model it is so I can review its specs myself.

Thanks everyone

is internal a requirement for the parts you need?

the plextor px-230a and the px-504a are both drives that i have personal experience with in conjunction with hoster. the px-504a is a dvd burner and from what i've seen runs about $10 less than the px-230a, which is a cd burner. a decent usb/firewire enclosure will run $20-30.

Jon,
I don't think MTU is carrying them any more. Not sure why unless they are having trouble finding drives that work properly.

slsides,

Internal is a requirement. We are getting by right now with my external to load songs into the system but they don't want to have to carry any more equipment than is absolutely necessary. Which kind of rules out external drives.

ddouglas,

I kind of figured that was the case. Any idea what brand and model they used for that. I haven't seen that particular page in a while and even then I really wasn't paying attention cause I didn't need notebook drives for my system.

I'm kind of eyeing the Pioneer slot loading drives that Plextor makes their slot drives from. I am still researching their capabilities. Hope they will work as it makes the swap over easier by not having to deal with the bezel swap.

MTU never listed the brand and model of the one they sold, so can't help there. I wish I could help, but my opinion and experience is laptops are too prone to failures (I know I'll hear about that one!!:t).
I really can't see that an external drive is that much more equipment to haul and they usually will fit in the laptop case. I know...whatever the customer wants, but you know who they are going to come back to when a disk won't load right.

Believe me, I agree with you. I build my own computers for mobile work for the simple fact that I can repair a failure of any component without having to buy a new system. I have a notebook in one of my systems for sake of size and weight (the person who uses it is not very strong). I hate them myself but they do have their portability advantages.

And you're right, the customer gets what the customer wants.

You can try to find a Pioneer DVR-K06, which is what I use in one of my computers. It works like a champ, and another nice thing about it is that is it slot loading, so no tray to break off.

I got it for right around $75.00, but like MTU always says, even though one unit may work, another unit of the same model may not...

There are pleanty of others which should work as well, I just got this one because it was slot loading.

PM me if you need a source for this drive.

Flip

Thanks Flip,

Thats actually one of the drives that plextor uses to make their slot drive (or at least one of its versions). I've been very interested in that particular model but I was hoping to get a testimonial on it first. You're opinion helps a lot.

Pioneer DVR-K06 is the drive MTU sold.....I bought one from MTU and it works great. Almost 2yrs old. Imported more than 16,000 songs and still going.