Thinkpads Forum

I'm having difficulties trying to find information regarding my DVD-RAM drive. The FRU is HLDS (GSA-4083N). The FRU# is 39T2679.

I've done searches on the net and lenovo's website but I can't find anything besides that it is a DVD drive. Anyone have a link to more specific specs?

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=22394

-darren

Too cool. They advertise a 4X DVD Ram but instead we get a high end dual layer DVD burner. Another pleasant surprise.

it's not a SuperMulti drive?

The pic says it is.

I have the T60 (2623). I want to buy blank DVDs to record, but I'm not sure what kind. Am I looking for 4x?

my t60 said the same GSA-4083N but when i got it it was actually a UJ-842

wonder if this is the high end drive or not, it said Super Multi II though on it

since you have the newer DVD Multi-burner then it's capable of burning at 8X onto single layer media (standard media) which is 4.7GB.

You can either buy DVD-R or DVD+R, it really doesn't matter which type. Most stores are selling 16X rated media so grab those.


I really don't think there's a need for dual layer media, since it's so much more expensive and takes too long to burn.


NOTE: BestBuy has the SONY DVD+/-R 50 pack on sale for $15 this week. I was just there.

A caveat - some 16x media won't work in slower-rates drives. We've seen it in the shop here and the last batch of media that I bought had a warning to that effect on it.

-darren

Hmm, the ones I have seen on sale all seem to be the 16x. If anyone sees a good deal for the 4x ones, let me know!

renee88 wrote:Hmm, the ones I have seen on sale all seem to be the 16x. If anyone sees a good deal for the 4x ones, let me know!

I picked up a 30-pack of Memorex 8x DVD-Rs at CompUSA for $6 a few days ago.

CompUSA brand 4x were on sale $19 for 100, -R or +R, but that was two weeks ago. Still, it might repeat if not still in effect.

-darren

Does the DVD drive in the T60 support re-writable DVDs? (Sorry I'm so technically challenged!)

Indeed. DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM are all supported.

-darren

here is the spec for UJ-842. seems it's inferior to 4083N:

Burn to CD-R media at maximum speeds of 24X (3.69 MB/Sec )

Burn to CD-RW media at maximum speeds of 16X

Burn to DVD-R and DVD+R media at maximum speeds of 6X

Burn DVD-RW and DVD+RW and DVD+R DL media at maximum speeds of 4X

3X DVD-RAM writing，2.4X DVD+R DL Writing。

rssb wrote:my t60 said the same GSA-4083N but when i got it it was actually a UJ-842

wonder if this is the high end drive or not, it said Super Multi II though on it

THanks so much! I have one more question for you. Can it read a DVD that is in PAL European format? I was told that this format can be read by all DVD drives in computers.

Yes. This is a function of your DVD playback software and I was watching a Dr. Who DVD in PAL a while back so I know that WinDVD (the software provided with the ThinkPads) will play PAL.

There is also the issue of region coding though. If the region on the DVD you want to play back doesn't match your drive it won't play. You can change the region on your drive a total of 5 time (IIRC) so I think the only practical way to switch back and forth between region 1 and (US) and others would be to have multiple drives. There is probably DVD software out there that would ignore region coding as well but I haven't researched that.

-darren

I'm back again. I just went to buy some CD-R disks and the ones on sale all seem to be the 52x. Can I use these, or do I need to hunt for 24x?

any CD-R rated for a faster speed will burn at the slower speeds just fine, that number is just hte highest it can go.

renee88 wrote:I'm back again. I just went to buy some CD-R disks and the ones on sale all seem to be the 52x. Can I use these, or do I need to hunt for 24x?

You can use these. You just won't record that fast.