What sort of external dvd?

[stuartf]

This is for an x32, only occasonal use, any suggestions? Not a high power user, mostly for loading software.

Stuart Friedman

[Deckard]

Hey Stuart, I don't have a specific brand to recommend, any brand will do the job these days. Get a DVD burner with DVD-RAM writing feature. This is especially nice, since you can format a DVD-RAM media and drag-and-drop files from the harddrive to the disc as if you would copy files between two harddrives.

To be able to use the DVD-RAM write feature, there is a driver published by Panasonic, which can be found here

I have an external LG DVD Burner. I can connect it both via Firewire and USB 2.0, I also have a couple of RAM discs and I am very happy with the results.

[weepy]

I have LG E50L, it has lightscribe, dvd-ram support, it is very silent and works without additional power, though I recommend using it with power support of another usb port (cables included). The darker side, it vibrates quite strongly (which is error of the media and consequence of being very light (380g)) and it takes quite long to recognize the media (15s...). It has nice design and is quite expensive, but that is no exception among external usb burners.

[fschwep]

I got a USB drive on eBay a while back, for my X30; it is now also doing service for my X31. Not very expensive, essentially a new OEM drive made by, if I remember well, NEC, of an older generation (meaning 6 months or so), thus not the latest and greatest at the time but capable enough. The seller mounted such drives in compact non-branded black USB cases, the size of two stacked classic CD jewel boxes. No power adapter required if you have a powered USB port (the X30/X31 ports supply enough power).
Weighs next to nothing, and works. And the black case goes well with the black Thinkpad...
Recently I got CDBurnerXP, a freeware program that burns CDs and DVDs with almost any burner, to replace the admittedly too primitive software that came with the drive. It's about 100 times smaller than Nero and for 'just' burning disks, just as good.

[graywolf]

I just use a desktop dvd drive with one of those IDE to USB adapters. Cheaper than buying an external. CD and DVD drives are usually fully covered anyway. A set of stick on feet (pads) from Radio Shack or Wal-mart will keep it from marring furniture.