Thinkpads Forum

My A31p feels pretty obsolete without a DVD burner now... After doing some video editing on this thing, I think its sad that I have move the files over to my desktop to burn a DVD. My friend with an Apple Powerbook saved my butt this past weekend by being able to burn a DVD when I couldn't....

If you have a DVD-burner for cheap that you don't use for DVD creation anyway, I can trade my Ultrabay 2000 CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive (2-years old, so only burns CD's at 8x... sorry =( ) + money. From what I can tell, the Ultrabay DVD-burners (73P3359 and 73P3306?) retail for more than $200, but I'm dirt-broke (joys of college) so I can't spend more than $100, and would prefer to spend even less than that...

Just thought I'd take the chance and ask... You can email me at fongj04ATyahooDOTcom.

Thanks!

newegg.com NEC 6650A 8x burner, also burns DL is $102 shipped. You have to put the rails from your existing IBM combo drive on it and cut a notch in the NEC faceplace to match the notch in the IBM faceplate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827152048

I believe this drive blows away the IBM drive performace-wise, I have the 6500 A on on my T22 (slower DL write speeds) it absolutely rocks.

BTW, the cd burner combo drives go on ebay for around $50, you might want to keep your eye out for a broken ultrabay CD rom or DVD rom drive on ebay for cheap for rails so you could get some money out of your combo drive.

This is a little over your budget, in terms of up front cash outlay, but I think a lot more bang for the buck.

Wow! Those drives work with my A31p??

I always thought that IBM's Ultrabay format meant using only IBM optical drives.. Thanks letting me know! I'll look into that Nec.

Ooh... thanks for the tips for selling my old combo drive and getting rails...

Search for other threads on the forum re the NEC drives...

A bunch of UBAY 2000 CD-Rom drives recently sole on ebay for around $20 shipped, you just have to wait for things to come around.

If you get the NEC drive, then go to www.cdfreaks.com and then to their forum section and look up the drive. You'll be amazed at what's being done with this burner and a plethera of others....bit-setting, region-free, faster burning firmware, etc., etc.

Thanks for both those tips!

I'll set a "favorite search" with ebay to hopefully catch an ultrabay auction and get some cheap rails...

I forgot where I got it, but within a few days of installing my NEC ND-3500a, I got "unofficial" firmware that removed the riplock, had faster burning speeds, and maybe a few other things... It'll definitely be nice to have that for my laptop too.

Again, thanks guys!!

Hmm... I've been thinking about it, and I would feel bad going and selling my combo drive when my brother is jealous of it already since he only has a CD-ROM drive for his T22, so here's my plan of attack:

Buy Nec ND-6650 - costs ~$110 (tax in CA)
Trade my brother: my combo drive for his CD-ROM drive.
Take the rails, install NEC. Yay!

Maybe I can still possibly get $10-$20 or so if I trade someone (locally) the working Ultrabay CD-ROM drive for his/her broken one?

fongj....if you're looking for an extra set of rails, PM me...I think I still have some left for the T series (Ultrabay2000).

Thanks MadeInJapan, PM sent.

Also, newegg is having a "Deal of the Day!" today. The ND-6650 is $96.99 + Free FedEx Shipping!! (a few dollars cheaper than normal)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 27-152-048

I'll jump in now, because like most other technology, it'll always be cheaper as time goes on, but you gotta buy it sometime...

Thanks for the info, just ordered one from NewEgg. Hope it is easy to modify for use in my T40, I have a Ultrabay2000 DVD/CD drive to use for the NEC conversion. Any suggestions or warnings for me would be greatly appreciated.

rvehock wrote:Thanks for the info, just ordered one from NewEgg. Hope it is easy to modify for use in my T40, I have a Ultrabay2000 DVD/CD drive to use for the NEC conversion. Any suggestions or warnings for me would be greatly appreciated.

The T40 uses the new ultraslim drives which are slimmer than the Ultrabay 2000 drive in the T2x series so I don't think this drive will work in your T40. Someone please let me know if I'm wrong about this.

Yak

Brainpicker, thanks for the information.

brainpicker wrote:Someone please let me know if I'm wrong about this.

You're not wrong. That drive won't fit in a T4X machine.

Regards,

James

Thanks, cancelled order from NewEgg.

Where does one find an ultraslim dvd burner? other than lenovo's website?

stray toaster wrote:Where does one find an ultraslim dvd burner? other than lenovo's website?

eBay, but it will be the IBM multi-burner and relatively expensive.

The only one that fits the T4X series bay is the 2X Panasonic/M a t s u s h i t a and, for the money, it's a dog.

Get an external burner.

Regards,

James

well, since I went and got myself a toshiba slim burner that wont fit, and that cant be returned, I just need a cheap cd drive, and an enclosure for the burner.