Hardware Issues

[leng]

I have a handful of disks (both DVD nd Bluray) which I cannot rip with DVDFab because the constantly report read errors. They also show errors when I attempt to access them via MKVMerge. However they play perfectly well on a commercial bluray player and I am pretty sure I have managed to rip some of them in the past on an earlier PC. I have therefore come to the reluctant conclusion than my USB-connected player is not up to the job. The unit is a small Pioneer drive which I bought because it is small enough to slip into my laptop compuer's carrying case. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a more robust unit. It has to be USB connected as I have no external drive bays in my windows desktop.

Thanks in advance,

[leng]

I'll answer my own query in case it is helpful to anyone else. The Pioneer unit had a single USB connection for both data and power. This seems to have been inadequate leading to a lot of read errors and other nasty behaviour. I have replaced the thing with an Asus unit with a dedicated power feed and all the problems have disappeared.

[signals]

This is not uncommon with slim-type drives.

[Rich86]

I have a LG BP50NB40 slim drive which I mounted in a generic slim case for use with my laptop.
This drive and case require 2 usb ports to use - 1 for power, the other for data. I have had it for a number of years. It has worked perfectly for me.
The OP's solution was right on . . you need a separate usb power input for drives requiring mechanical rotation . . .

[skoy]

My experience is completely different. Still using an Asus brand laptop purchased in 2013. Windows 10 64 bit Home edition. Its built-in internal drive works fine. I didn’t want to ruin the tray by constantly opening and closing it ( I burn a lot of cds/dvds). So, I purchased a slim Samsung brand external dvd drive. Its cable has two usb connectors. Initially, I used both on laptop’s USB ports. It worked great. No power cord. I was curious one day and attached the same cable to one USB port only..it still worked great. Couple years ago, I purchased a Samsung brand Blu-ray external drive to read and burn blurays . Again, no power cord and just one usb plug on the cable. This unit also works great reading, ripping and burning Blu-ray disks.