Hey folks, I'm a complete newbie but I've been reading a lot of threads here the past few days and I've learned a lot. Great info about DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink, Plextor burners, and the importance of quality blank media. So now I'm itching to start ripping and burning. Here's my dilemma. I'm on a 3-year-old Compaq Presario notebook, which has an Athlon 64 chip, about 1 mghz, and 512 RAM. I have about 8 gigs of free space. It's running Windows XP. Also, its USB connection is the older 1.1 version. I do have a plan to upgrade to a new computer, but would prefer to put it off until next Spring. If I want to start my ripping and burning sooner, I'll have to get an external burner (will most likely go for the Plextor 716). So, just how stupid and impractical would it be for me to use my USB 1.1 connection for this? I should point out I don't plan to copy feature-length films right away - instead, it's mostly videos ranging from 5 minutes to an hour in length. I know it would be much slower than USB 2.0, but can anyone give me a concrete idea of how long it might take for me to copy an hour-long video? I realize I could get a USB 2.0 card for about 30 bucks - but I've read (other places on the web) that people often experience bad things when they try this (crashes). Otherwise, perhaps I can plan to upgrade to a new computer sooner rather than later. Would appreciate any advice you care to give me. Thanks! -jeff
Why not go with an internal drve? You're also going to need more free space on hdd. 10-15 gb min recommended.
I have a toshiba notebook purchased in 2003 and have an external burner a BenQ that is serving me well via a card. Actually I have 2 cards, one is a 2.0 that is connected to my power bar and the other is a 2.0 that I bought for portability and it hooks up to the rear USB port on the back and it has a extra USB hub on it so that I don't lose the hub that I am connected to. I am quite satisfied with both however I have found that the powered 2.0 to my Power bar is much better on my battery for my toshiba. And also, for whatever reason it performs faster, it is not only myself that has noticed this but also my sibling that has the same notebook that I have and the same burner Just my 2 cents worth regarding 2.0 cards. I tried using the 1.1 USB before I the 2.0 and it was agonizingly slow. Just my comments about my experience with the 2.0 cards. I intend to keep my notebook until 2007 and thus that is why I went in the direction of purchasing the card. Cheers!!
Important... Read this thread http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/102002 I use a Plextor 716UF and after burning a few coasters I found this thread and now only use the firewire connection now instead of USB very successfully every time.
A 1.1 USB can transfer at 12Mbits/sec or 1.5MB/sec. A USB 2.0 is 40x faster at 480Mbits/sec or 60MB/sec. The external Plextor is a nice unit that can rip a dvd in about 9 to 10 minutes, with a average rip speed of about 8 or 9x. With a USB 1.1 you would only be able to rip at about 1x. The disc would be spinning forever. The laptop is 3 years old, are you sure it's got a Athlon64?
Thanks for your comments guys. Mort81 - since I have a "no frills" notebook, I wouldn't think installing an internal DVD burner is an option. If it is, I certainly wouldn't know how to go about it. Besides, I plan to get a new computer within a year so it's not worth going down that road. If I get an external burner, I would hope to be able to use it both with my current notebook and the new one I'll buy next year. So is a firewire connection generally more reliable than USB when it comes to copying DVDs? That's one lesson I took away from quickly scanning some of the thread that Papabois pointed me to. Or is the USB problem mostly a Nero issue? (I wasn't especially on planning on using Nero anyway). Ppower - I was mistaken. It's the Athlon XP chip.
The USB problem is NOT a Nero issue, it is a data transfer issue as stated by Ppower. On USB 1 it will take 4-5 hours to back up a dvd if it works at all. The data transfer will be so slow it may keep giving you write errors. If your notebook has a built in card slot as most do, then the best thing to do at this point would be to purchase a USB 2 card that will easily slide into the slot. You still need to free up some space on your HD as stated above. At least to 10 gig. Jerry
