My Dependable 4224
Written: Jun 24 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Stability , limited ammount of coasters
Cons: NTI CD-Maker Software
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| artic00cat's Full Review: Memorex CD-RW drives |
Well everything seems to be categorized by brand name only, so within these walls I will place my review of the soon to be replaced in my machine Memorex 4224. The drive itself supports 4X write , 2X re- write and 24X read speeds, Thus 4224. The Software that is packaged with this CDRW drive is NTI CD-Maker. For my opinion on this check out my review of it at http://www.epinions.com/cmd-review-234A-5ABD109-3920DD39-prod2.
Now on to the reason that I have decided to place a review of this product. The drive according to other members has taken its share of bumps and bruises, Yet has also had its share of compliments. It is manufactured by Memorex which is a major brand and there for should be reputable, However this is not always the case. In my particular case my findings are as follows.
The Memorex 4224 is an internally mounted ATAPI (EIDE) type drive that mounts internally in a free 5.25 inch bay. The installation of the unit was relatively painless and went smoothly as for the most part it installs exactly as you would a standard CD-ROM drive. Upon putting my computer back together and starting it up, Windows 98 immediately recognized the Drive. On to step two.
I then proceeded to load the NTI software that came pre packaged with the CDRW drive. Now I have already written a review of this so this will be short and sweet. The installation went as with any other program. Insert the disk auto run the installation program and basically sit back and wait. However this exact program was later determined to be the root of all evil in my case.
The drive itself performed well under the conditions. Please note the manufacturer suggests that the CDRW be the primary and master drive on your computer. Memorex recommends that it not be installed as a slave or on the Secondary EIDE cable from the motherboard. Memorex also recommends that you disable the auto run feature, and this in my case has proven to also work wonders.
According to Memorex the Average Access time is 120 ms and the Buffer memory is set at 2mb. So what does all this mean? Well first there is 2mb of on board ram used for caching the data transfer, Thus 2md buffer memory. Secondly on an average it takes approximately 15 - 20 min to burn a CD with out testing it first even at 4X. If you test the CD before writing than you can double the amount of time it is going to take putting you in the 30 - 40 min range to burn one CD. Obviously the slower you set the record speed the longer it will take to finalize the CD.
My recommendations for successful CD copying for back-up purposes etc. Are First turn off all other applications except for the Burning software, systray and explorer. If needed use CTRL + ALT + DEL to get the Windows close program box to shut down all programs and TSR's. Also disable the animated graphic if you are using Adaptec's Easy CD creator. Secondly always copy the contents of the CD to the hard drive and make the CD-R form this image. Doing CD to CD transfers can sometimes lock the computer up on you. In my case I have found that testing the Burn turns out to be a waste of time in most cases. Thus I only test the CD if I encounter a problem. And lastly I have found that the easiest and most dependable way to make an accurate burn is to use the Disc at once option finalizing the disc when complete.
The Memorex 4224 has been a good drive and served me well , after the issue with the software was taken care of. I have had virtually no problems with the drive and actually have never experienced these "Buffer under run " errors that everyone is complaining about. I have only sacrificed around half a dozen CDs to the God of Plastic while learning mainly because of the NTI software. The drive in My opinion was worth the $180 I spent on it at the time. The only downfall I have had is the speed at which it takes to accomplish tasks. Although it at the time was one of the faster ones out there it has become obsolete as is the way with computer products. It will shortly be being replaced with a TDK unit. On that day I will not however lay my trusty unit to rest. I will simply place it in another machine of mine and it shall continue its legacy.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
artic00cat
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Location: New York
Reviews written: 100
Trusted by: 90 members
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