T42P DVD Writer

Message

joeEh · #1 Post by **joeEh** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:09 pm

Hi Everyone,

I just bought a 2373P2U and paid a extra $350 for a dvd burner from IBM. I ended up paying upwards of $6000Cad to get this computer and find out that the dvd burner runs at only 2x for dvd media. What I wanted to know is can I get a aftermarket slim dvd drive and replace the bezel/frame so I can burn at more than this abismal speed. I am a student and am never at home so a external drive is a paid for me to cart around as I can barely fit all my books in my bag as it is. I know on my older Dell back in the day I could do this.

I know this sounds like a newbie question but when is Lenovo going to clue in that 2x isnt what we want for what they are charging.

Thanks everyone

Joe

Tan Mann · #2 Post by **Tan Mann** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:54 pm

joeEh wrote:Hi Everyone,

I just bought a 2373P2U and paid a extra $350 for a dvd burner from IBM. I ended up paying upwards of $6000Cad to get this computer and find out that the dvd burner runs at only 2x for dvd media. What I wanted to know is can I get a aftermarket slim dvd drive and replace the bezel/frame so I can burn at more than this abismal speed. I am a student and am never at home so a external drive is a paid for me to cart around as I can barely fit all my books in my bag as it is. I know on my older Dell back in the day I could do this.

I know this sounds like a newbie question but when is Lenovo going to clue in that 2x isnt what we want for what they are charging.

Thanks everyone

Joe

Joe!
Welcome!
You are gonna love it here!
Fantastic place to swap info/help.

Yeah, that is a lot of dough man...and unfortunately 2x is where it is at...The T4x series of notebooks uses a 9.5mm high optical device...most all 3rd party dvd burners(slim line) are 12.7mm high...no workie, at least internally...

I have a few TP 4x that I use...and I found when I am doing mass DVD reproduction, a Lacie SLimline 8x DVD burner works real well....it is 8x.

Most times though ,I am OK with the internal 2x unit.

PM me, I am curious to know why this unit was so much money...seems a wee bit on the high side...

Later dude..

Tan

miccocan · #3 Post by **miccocan** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:19 pm

$6000 is way too expensive, i paid $2000 "last christmas" for my T42p (on ebay refurbished), and it includes the DVD-RW already.

smugiri · #4 Post by **smugiri** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:46 pm

Check out this manual on how to change the caddy on a drive

This is a good tutorial on how to do this. You can put in almost any 9.5mm drive. Before you start, read this thread. The most important thing is to remember that you need a 9.5mm drive as a 12.5 mm drive will not go into your bay. If you do decide to undertake the project, let me know. I have been tempted to try it too but I cannot justify spending money on this and then not having it work.

#5 Post by **ZaZ** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 4:56 am

The only two drives that will fit a T series are the Panasonic UJ-812/822. You can only get them from IBM or ocassionally eBay. The 812 offers 2x DVD-R and DVD-RAM burning. The 822 adds 2.4x DVD+R burning. My own personal experience with them is that they are not very good drives. They are as noted slow, picky on media and the burn quality is not very good. They also cannot be made region free which can cause issues. My solution to this was to sell the one I bought on ebay back on ebay. I then purchased the NEC ND-6500A and put it an external USB powered case. The burn is very good and they are fast for laptop burners. I also purchased the modular battery which I leave in the bay because most of the time I am not burning discs. Good Luck.

snabjab · #6 Post by **snabjab** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:18 pm

Would you recommend a certian enclosure? It seems that 3.5" hard drive enclosures are much more common than 5.25" enclosures. If you found something good and relatively inexpensive I'd love to hear about it. These things work pretty well with USB 2.0?

FredGarvin wrote: I then purchased the NEC ND-6500A and put it an external USB powered case.

MadeInJapan · #7 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 1:44 pm

Look on www.newegg.com and www.tigerdirect.com Both of these places offer them. Make sure whatever interface the enclosure uses is what your laptop has.

snabjab · #8 Post by **snabjab** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 3:51 pm

MadeInJapan wrote:Look on www.newegg.com and www.tigerdirect.com Both of these places offer them. Make sure whatever interface the enclosure uses is what your laptop has.

well that's great, but i'm interested in the specific enclosure that this thinkpad user found to work well with his system.

#9 Post by **bill bolton** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 6:30 pm

> I then purchased the NEC ND-6500A and put it an external USB
> powered case.

So where specifically do you find an external USB case that takes a slimline drive and has the right srt of connector to mate to it?

Cheers,
Bill

eggman · #10 Post by **eggman** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 7:41 pm

For peripheral enclosures/drives check out dealnews.com. There always seem to be places with specials- I got a 5.25" USB enclosure from Shop4tech.com, and put in a Pioneer DVD- easier to do than in a desktop. Also, check out meritline.com, which has a good collection of burners and enclosures- cheap, reliable, but not routinely portable. But how often do you have to burn a DVD away from home-why not jsut make an image on your HD and burn it later??

#11 Post by **bill bolton** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 5:30 am

I'd burn a lot of data to single and dual layers DVD-Rs in the field if I had a good mobile capability to do so. Lugging a regular 5.25" external drive around is not workable a workable solution for me.

Cheers,
Bill

smugiri · #12 Post by **smugiri** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:13 am

SONY

Targus

IO Magic

LaCie Here and Here

Unbranded

mysbca · #13 Post by **mysbca** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:28 am

Here are a couple of slim 5.25" enclosures:

http://www.meritline.com/usb-5-25-exter ... d-r-w.html
http://www.centrix-intl.com/ (search for ex-blk-01).

I have the second one with the NEC ND-6500A and it works great.

#14 Post by **ZaZ** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:10 am

I have the one from Centrix as well. It works well with my T42 on usb power. It is a good cheap solution.

#15 Post by **bill bolton** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:59 am

Thanks!

Cheers,

Bill

#16 Post by **bill bolton** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 8:53 am

Where can I get a NEC ND-6650A DVD burner at a good price from a company that will ship internationally (specifically to Australia)?

Cheers,

Bill

Sydney, Australia

#17 Post by **ZaZ** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 6:51 am

Might want to try eBay. Some store/peoples will shipp internationally.

sbddude · #18 Post by **sbddude** » Fri May 19, 2006 11:24 am

mysbca wrote:Here are a couple of slim 5.25" enclosures:

http://www.meritline.com/usb-5-25-exter ... d-r-w.html
http://www.centrix-intl.com/ (search for ex-blk-01).

I have the second one with the NEC ND-6500A and it works great.

Do these enclosures work with the DVD drive that came with the T43?

#19 Post by **bill bolton** » Fri May 19, 2006 4:30 pm

sbddude wrote:Do these enclosures work with the DVD drive that came with the T43?

The external slim enclosures are for 12mm thick optical drives. The optical drives used in ThinkPad T4x models are 9.5mm thick, so even if the drive does "plug in" OK within the enclosure, there will be mechanical issues to deal with.

Cheers,

Bill

pae77 · #20 Post by **pae77** » Fri May 19, 2006 4:38 pm

bill bolton wrote:Where can I get a NEC ND-6650A DVD burner at a good price from a company that will ship internationally (specifically to Australia)?

Cheers,

Bill

Sydney, Australia

Newegg.com has the NEC ND 6750A for $69.99 which so far is proving to be a fantastic burner in the external slim USB case I got from Centrix after being referred there by another poster. You wil have to check and see if they ship internationally.

#21 Post by **bill bolton** » Fri May 19, 2006 5:25 pm

I eventually went with a Sony 12mm burner with DL capability that I could source locally at a good price (including local warranty), together with case I bought off eBay, and I've been very happy with that.

Cheers,

Bill

cj3209 · #22 Post by **cj3209** » Fri May 19, 2006 5:59 pm

Am I missing something here? Doesn't the T42p use a slim-line 9.5mm drive? If so, you can use one of the newer T43 drives (a UJ-822s) or even the Dual Layer T60 drives (it's a Hitachi/LG DL drive).

Cheers,

mysbca · #23 Post by **mysbca** » Fri May 19, 2006 6:27 pm

cj3209 wrote:Am I missing something here? Doesn't the T42p use a slim-line 9.5mm drive? If so, you can use one of the newer T43 drives (a UJ-822s) or even the Dual Layer T60 drives (it's a Hitachi/LG DL drive).

This thread was started over 6 months ago. At the time, the UJ-822 were and still are slow and expensive. For about $100, less than half the price of the new T60 burner, you can get an 8X DVD+/-R (4X DL) burner in a small and slim package.

pae77 · #24 Post by **pae77** » Fri May 19, 2006 7:17 pm

bill bolton wrote:I eventually went with a Sony 12mm burner with DL capability that I could source locally at a good price (including local warranty), together with case I bought off eBay, and I've been very happy with that.

Cheers,

Bill

Oh yes, I see your post that I was responding to is quite old. Didn't notice that until now. Glad you found something that's working for you.

T42P DVD Writer

T42P DVD Writer

Re: T42P DVD Writer

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