Missing DVD drives?

Keyboard Hound · Jan 17, 2010

I've been looking for a new computer and have found a small HP I like a lot. I don't know much about computers, but this one seems a good deal at 500 gigabite harddrive and 400 gigabites of ram for just under $600. It has a nine hour battery life and is small enough to carry easily but larger than the netbooks. The case is stainless steel and the keyboard is comfortable for my hands.

My main concern is the lack of a dvd drive. I know people are buying them like that all time so there must be a simple solution, but I have no idea how to load programs I already have and do backups or even make the recovery discs that are usually no longer included without the dvd drive.

Do you have to buy an external dvd drive or is there another way? I hate having a bunch of disconnected stuff cluttering up everything and getting lost.

Thanks for any help.

Keyboard Hound

JulieHowe · Jan 17, 2010

My suggestion? Don't buy it without a DVD drive. This is absolutely not a bargain.

scarletpeaches · Jan 17, 2010

Pfft.

You can buy external DVD drives for around £40 here. Probably cheaper where you are, because let me tell you, if I found a computer for what must amount to approximately what I paid for my netbook - at those specs? I'd be all over it.

500gb HD? Hell yeah. (400gb RAM, though? Must be some mistake. I assume you mean 4).

Matera the Mad · Jan 17, 2010

No DVD drive, maybe not such a bargain. On the other hand, paw, or hoof, it's nice to have an external drive and they're not too expensive. Or bulky.

scarletpeaches · Jan 17, 2010

I think you Americans have had it too damn easy when it comes to computer pricing. You ought to see what us Brits have to pay for a new machine. $600 is dirt cheap.

Clair Dickson · Jan 17, 2010

Many people never back up their computer, let alone do so on DVD/ CDs. So, just because many people are buying them does not mean you are even in that group of buyers. My husband has never ever burned a CD or DVD. He can still back up his files on Floppy...

As said above, external optical drives are fairly cheap. Think about it-- would you need the drive plugged in all the time, or can you store it until you need it? Yeah, it's nice to have one in the computer... until you have it go bad like my laptop. Too many times shaken and bumped around as I cart it to work and such, and the optic drive doesn't turn. So now I'm where you are... except I paid for the extra priveldge of having an internal optical drive. And because of the optical drive, my laptop is much larger. For something I rarely use anyway.

You'll have to decide how important the internal drive is to YOU.

(BTW, since I have all my files on a desktop with internet-based-hotsync, I'd buy a netbook, without onboard optical, in a heartbeat. But that's me.)

RickN · Jan 21, 2010

Clair Dickson said:
Many people never back up their computer, let alone do so on DVD/ CDs. So, just because many people are buying them does not mean you are even in that group of buyers. My husband has never ever burned a CD or DVD. He can still back up his files on Floppy...

As said above, external optical drives are fairly cheap. Think about it-- would you need the drive plugged in all the time, or can you store it until you need it? Yeah, it's nice to have one in the computer... until you have it go bad like my laptop. Too many times shaken and bumped around as I cart it to work and such, and the optic drive doesn't turn. So now I'm where you are... except I paid for the extra priveldge of having an internal optical drive. And because of the optical drive, my laptop is much larger. For something I rarely use anyway.

You'll have to decide how important the internal drive is to YOU.

(BTW, since I have all my files on a desktop with internet-based-hotsync, I'd buy a netbook, without onboard optical, in a heartbeat. But that's me.)

I had my laptop fail and require a boot from an external source. No floppy, so I had to use the internal DVD drive and a Windows CD. It made up for any inconvenience right there.

It's my understanding that USB-connected devices aren't bootable. (Can't read from USB until the drivers are loaded but the drivers don't load because your machine is hosed) I theorize this because my USB-connected hard drives aren't recognized in the BIOS as a valid boot option, so I wouldn't expect a DVD drive to be recognized either.

So, having an internal DVD drive is a must for me.

Shadow_Ferret · Jan 21, 2010

400 gig of memory? Are you sure? I can't find any computers with that much RAM.

Clair Dickson · Jan 21, 2010

RickN said:
It's my understanding that USB-connected devices aren't bootable. (Can't read from USB until the drivers are loaded but the drivers don't load because your machine is hosed) I theorize this because my USB-connected hard drives aren't recognized in the BIOS as a valid boot option, so I wouldn't expect a DVD drive to be recognized either.

Ah-- see it's the BIOS that includes the option. Our new computers at school include USB boot. The old ones (and at 6 years old, they're ancient in computer world) do not.

So, it's not inherent that the BIOS will not include USB boot. My guess is that any computer without an internal optical drive will include a BIOS with a USB-boot option.

Of course, the other issue is-- what difference does it make since many times these cheap computers do not include the software disks OR even stickers with your serial numbers. You're ready to go-- and the company knows that when the computer dies, you have to buy a new one because you don't have the software to reload. (It's a scam, but few people seem to notice that they do not have the means to reinstall, even if they HAD an optical drive.)

Matera the Mad · Jan 21, 2010

Heh...the stickers with the numbers are irrelevant -- the number on the sticker is not the one used to validate Windwoes. You can't use it for a re-install, it won't be accepted. The only way to get the real number is to read it from the Windwoes registry and make a hard copy before sith happens and you need to borrow someone's install disk.

RickN · Jan 22, 2010

Clair Dickson said:
Ah-- see it's the BIOS that includes the option. Our new computers at school include USB boot. The old ones (and at 6 years old, they're ancient in computer world) do not.

So, it's not inherent that the BIOS will not include USB boot. My guess is that any computer without an internal optical drive will include a BIOS with a USB-boot option.

Interesting. I pulled out my purchase info and my laptop is 4 years old and didn't have that option. I brought a brand new one for the wifey's Christmas present. I'll check her BIOS (hubba-hubba) and see if that option is there.

I learn something new everyday. That's no surprise since the number of things that I don't know is staggering.

Missing DVD drives?

Keyboard Hound

Old kid. Tough skin!!

JulieHowe

Spent the night with Jack Daniels

scarletpeaches

Matera the Mad

Bartender, gimme a Linux Mint

scarletpeaches

Clair Dickson

A dark core to every cloud

RickN

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester