[ILUG] 2x[Q] Samsung DVD+/-R(W), and cleaning PC internals

[Eamon Skelton]

Brian Foster wrote:

>  1st, I want to replace my (possibly dying) internal DVD
>       player with an (internal) DVD recorder or rewriter.
>       up to recently, the only DVD+/-R(W) internal drive
>       I could find locally was a Sony, which I will not
>       buy.  

I think that all recent Sony DVD drives are re-badged Liteon
drives. Both of my Liteon internal drives have been very
reliable and durable.

>       however, I just found a two others.  one is
>       a Samsung 16x Super-WriteMaster (which is on sale,
>       probably because Samsung is about to introduce an
>       18x model next(?) month);  the other is a Philips
>       DVDR16ST.  Google™ does not find much of anything
>       about either unit, good or bad or Linux.
>       any comments or recommendations?

There are only a few different DVD writer mechanisms and
chipsets. You need to find out which ones these drives use
and then look for a few reviews of identical or similar
drives. You might find some useful info here:
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters

>       ( also, b.t.w., do people suggest using DVD-R(W)
>        or DVD+R(W) media? )

I prefer +R and +RW but only because it works better in the
Playstation.

>  2nd, the last time I opened up the case, I discovered it
>       had gotten rather dusty inside.  _this_ time, when
>       I open it up, I want to do something about the dust;
>       it's making me increasingly nervous.  what do people
>       suggest/recommend as a good (or the best) way of
>       removing the dust?

I don't think it is the recommended procedure, but I use
a soft brush and vacuum cleaner.

>  actually, there's a third internal DVD rewriter I found,
>  another Philips unit (SPD6000FD), but this one is also
>  a printer for printable-DVD(/CD?) media.  the idea of
>  spraying ink around _inside_ my PC is a non-starter

Thats not quite how it works.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightscribe

>  (IMHO), so I can safely rule that unit out!  (amusingly,
>  it's actually one of the cheaper ones.)  yes, yes, I know
>  I could avoid the lurking disaster by never loading it
>  with ink, but still ....
> 
> cheers!
> 	-blf-

Good Luck with the new drive.

E.S.

-- 
Linux 2.6.16