So why does everyone like Lite-On drives?

[Vic]

Just a short rant here.
Courtesy of ATHD, I got a Memorex 40Maxx (re-badged Lite-On) 40x CD-RW last August for $20 bucks with PM, AC, and after MIR. Worked perfectly, MIR came back swiftly, I won't complain about the price (I remember the OD CSR joking that I was getting the drive "for free.") This replaced my trusty old but now slow Plextor 12/10/32A (which still works perfectly in my GF's rig). So I'm burning some back-ups just this Sunday and just as a burn was finishing up, my computer suddenly locked up and the drive spun up like a car stuck at full throttle and stayed there. I had to reset to get it to stop and when the system came back up, the drive was gone!
I've tried everything, even testing the drive in a different system, but it is dead.
Too bad, the drive was only ~5 months old and had probably only done a hundred or so burns. I certainly hope this isn't normal for Lite-On.
To top it all off, Memorex's RMA/warranty process seems to suck. I registered with them and sent them an email requesting an RMA and haven't heard back. Sure, it's only been about 48 hours so I can give them more time... but then there aren't any Hot Deals going on for any CD-RW's right now. %&#@!*$#@!!
Okay, rant over.

edited: can't spell for $h!t today

 

[BDawg]

I think people like the Lite-Ons because they're cheap, reliable, and can copy anything you can throw at them.

 

[amnesiac]

Originally posted by: BDawg
I think people like the Lite-Ons because they're cheap, reliable, and can copy anything you can throw at them.

Yup.

They're quiet too.

 

[TheShiz]

no probs with my cheap lite-on 32X

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: amnesiac 2.0

Originally posted by: BDawg
I think people like the Lite-Ons because they're cheap, reliable, and can copy anything you can throw at them.

Yup.

They're quiet too.

LOL, I hope you're being sarcastic. My Lite-On was quite noisy, with a relatively long spin-up time followed by a rather annoying and loud whistle-like noise. Or at least compared to my Toshiba DVD-ROM, which spins up almost instantly and you can hardly even hear it, even at full speed.
I agree that Lite-On's are cheap and can copy anything. I loved my drive while it lasted. edit: reliable my drive obviously was not.

 

[NuclearFusi0n]

cheap, BLAZINGLY FAST, reliable

I have a 16x LiteOn DVD-ROM and a 32X LiteOn CD-RW right next to each other in my system, they both KICK ASS.

 

[SirChadwick]

Cause everybody's doin it!

 

[Harvey]

It's a mechanical device, and some of them fail. I have had great luck with a number of Memorex drives. I bought the same 40x12x40 you name and flashed it to Lite-On 48x12x48. Did the same for three friends. Then, I got the deal on the Memorex 48x24x48 which I flashed to a Lite-On 52x24x52 and helped a couple of other friends do the same.

All drives are still working great, and some reports I've seen show the same drives do a better job with the Lite-On firmware than with the original Memorex firmware. Of course, I backed up the original firmware in case I ran into a warranty problem like you're facing.

Sorry for your particular problem, but overall, these drives are great.

 

[CraigRT]

I like LG
they are cheap and work flawlessly in my experiences.
I actually ended up with an LG 32X in my own personal rig

 

[Vic]

Thanks, Harvey, I'm sure you're right, and I just got unlucky with a bad drive. For only $20 bucks, I can't complain. I flashed mine to the Lite-On 48x as well and backed-up the original firmware (for the same reasons), but unfortunately the drive is now dead to the point where it can't even be flashed back. Ah well... such is life...
Where's mysticman1 with another one of his amazing CD-RW deals?

 

[Ornery]

Hey Vic, great sig! A little long, but GREAT!

I've heard issues with Lite-On lately. I'm not sure they have much compitition in the bang-for-the-buck department, though. My dad and in-laws just got Dell PCs with fast quiet CD burners. Anybody know who makes those? I'd be willing to try one based on the low noise level. No idea how long they'll hold up.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I got my first lite-on drive in 1998 with a PII barebone. That was the first time I had even heard of Lite-on and I didn't think much of them. However, after I used that computer for a few years, I started to have more faith in the drive because everyone else was buying those really loud drives that sound like they had some kind of weed-eater string whirring inside them.

 

[Farbio]

i love my lite-on 40x - i spent a lil more than you all did - i bought it back in may when dell had the amazing price of only $80 shipped for a 40x drive! oh well, i was way too tired of my 8x phillips - the one that caused all the troubles with the rebates.
anyways, i have had nary a problem with my liteon....still have a friend's plextor 16x around as well for when i have to burn/copy karaoke cds for work - the only thing that i have found that lite-ons won't burn

 

[ElFenix]

i haven't had a problem. not sure how to get support on lite-on badged drives in the US though

 

[spyordie007]

Originally posted by: NuclearFusi0n
cheap, BLAZINGLY FAST, reliable

I have a 16x LiteOn DVD-ROM and a 32X LiteOn CD-RW right next to each other in my system, they both KICK ASS.

I have the exact same thing at home, havent had any problems with either.

-Spy

 

[newbiepcuser]

My dad's Lite-on 16X CDR burner is still going strong after two years. Maybe they will come out with a good DVD burner too.