# "External ODD & HDD Device"



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I have a Windows 10 OS on my computer (desk top), i.e. "ABS Summoner - Ryzen 5 3600 - Radeon RX 590 - 16GB DDR4 3000MHz - 512GB SSD - Gaming Desktop PC" with "ViewSonic VX3216-SCMH-W 32 Inch 1080p 1800R Curved Monitor with Dual Speakers HDMI DVI and VGA" and Windows 10 Home 64-bit. I'm enjoying this!

It does not have anything permitting me to put in some DVDs so I purchased an "External ODD & HDD Device" (Power Supply: DC 5V) made in China. On the back it states "class 1 laser product laser KLEEE1" and is "...tested to comply with FC standards for home or office use..." In using this I am finding that it is selective which DVDs it will play and I have no idea what the deciding feature is. Some of my "bought" DVDs work; some don't! Some of the DVD-RW I created years ago work; some don't. I'm puzzled!

Can anyone help me with this? I especially wanted to play certain of my favorite movies, i.e. one being "Shenandoah" wih James Stewart and this device doesn't even recognize it when it is loaded into it. Should I get a different "external device"...one that will play all DVDs?


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

Is there any visible dirt, fingerprints, scratches, etc. on the DVDs that won't play? Sometimes a little doesn't matter, and sometimes it'll keep it from playing.

It's also possible it's just a really cheap DVD drive that doesn't work very well.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

It is a cheap one alright; just never ordered one before so had no idea what to get. Checked the DVDs that it would not recognize could not find any print/smudge/anything on it; also the same DVDs play fine on my son's PC (having its own dvd drive), still would not play on this external one of mine.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

Well, I'd send that one back if you can.

Normally I'd suggest installing a DVD drive inside the computer, but it looks like yours has no provision for mounting one, even though there's plenty of empty space. "Gaming" stuff is usually more form than function. So I guess you're stuck with an external. Anything with a brand name you've heard of will probably work fine.


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## sniper69 (Sep 23, 2007)

backwoodsman7 said:


> Well, I'd send that one back if you can.
> 
> Normally I'd suggest installing a DVD drive inside the computer, but it looks like yours has no provision for mounting one, even though there's plenty of empty space. "Gaming" stuff is usually more form than function. So I guess you're stuck with an external. Anything with a brand name you've heard of will probably work fine.


Agreed - if you can send it back - I would.

The LG external dvd players are about $25 and work great.

If you have any blu-ray disks - there are external blu-ray drives too.


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## 50ShadesOfDirt (Nov 11, 2018)

I have a 5-yo LG internal dvd/rw drive (routed to the outside of the PC case) that generally doesn't have any problem with any DVD I get from netflix; if the DVD movie shows up in the file manager, then I know it'll play on the DVD player to the tv. If it doesn't come up, I know there is some issue with it, and send it back to netflix reported as damaged. When another copy is sent from netflix, it usually loads/plays.

In your case, try the suspect purchased DVD on a friends dvd drive in another computer, and if it shows up there (in their file manager), then it's probably your dvd drive. If it doesn't show up, it's probably the DVD ... beyond about 10 years or so in age, purcchased DVD's might get iffy. I've read cd's and dvd's from up to 20 years or so in age, but I've also had some that weren't readable ...


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Thanks all of you. This one was so cheap that returning it would just be added cost; so won't even try that. Have no idea what a "brand name" would be. Any suggestions?

The DVDs I have are not Blu-ray; so I need a player that will handle the regular DVDs. I also have some DVD-RW that I put home movies on that this external thingy won't even recognize. Then I found it did recognize a few...very few. Yes I checked the discs and cannot find anything at all wrong with them.  It is quite confusing to me why some are recognized by this external thing and some aren't as they are the very same type of discs....


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## wil14 (Sep 13, 2020)

motdaugrnds said:


> Thanks all of you. This one was so cheap that returning it would just be added cost; so won't even try that. Have no idea what a "brand name" would be. Any suggestions?
> 
> The DVDs I have are not Blu-ray; so I need a player that will handle the regular DVDs. I also have some DVD-RW that I put home movies on that this external thingy won't even recognize. Then I found it did recognize a few...very few. Yes I checked the discs and cannot find anything at all wrong with them.  It is quite confusing to me why some are recognized by this external thing and some aren't as they are the very same type of discs....



What are you using to play the DVDs? In other words, do the files show in Windows explorer as D: drive or whatever but the dvd simply not play in the software or can you not see the drive appear at all?


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

motdaugrnds said:


> Have no idea what a "brand name" would be. Any suggestions?


Well, any major name you've seen around computers or electronics. The above suggestions of LG are good; their stuff is generally pretty good, and inexpensive. Most of the cheap no-name drives are OK too, your current experience notwithstanding. So whatever a local store has that they'll take back if it doesn't read your disks, might be the best way to go.

Normally I'd suggest one that uses a regular desktop-size drive, rather than the small laptop size, because they're faster and more durable. But it looks like virtually everything has gone to the laptop size now.

It occurs to me that, if those DVD-RW's have anything on them that you don't want to lose, this is a good time to copy them over to regular DVDs, using your son's computer. No one really knows how long those things will last, but regular write-once DVDs will almost certainly last far longer. And, to get the best, longest-lasting result, when you write DVDs or CDs, use a speed that's around 1/2 the maximum speed of either the drive or the disk, whichever is lower.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

When I pull up "My PC" the window comes up that shows this external player as "DVD RW drive D". When one of my DVDs actually play it shows up in this one. I simply click it to play the DVD in my VLC video player.


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