Where do I start?
Written: Jun 01 '00 (Updated Jun 01 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Portable, CD Extreme
Cons: Can take some tweaking to get to work better.
|
|
|
| serena21's Full Review: Sony SPRESSA USB Burner |
From reading through some of the other reviews I have noticed that a lot of people are unhappy with their drives. Some Windows users and some Mac users. Below is some advice for them as well as new buyers.
This model is the second USB drive that Sony came out with. Model number is CRX-100E/X2. This drive comes with software called CD Extreme and Spressa Play and Record. It uses a standard USB cable, and has no fan in the back of the drive.
Windows Users
First things first--
System requirements are Windows 98 or higher. There is now an update on their support page for Windows 2000 on this model. Upgrades to Windows 98 from Windows 95 are not guaranteed to work, due to the lack of proper USB support. This unit also requires a minimum of Pentium 233 or higher, 32 mb Ram (one of their websites has a typo), and a hard disk transfer rate of 900kB/s.
Software--
CD Extreme is one of the best and easiest to use cd burning softwares that I have seen. It is produced by PrassiEurope and is very close in the running to Adaptec's software in my opinion. It starts up with what looks like the full application to the untrained eye and asks what kind of disk you want to create. You also have the option to go to the full application to take advantage of some of the more advanced features.
Spressa Play and Record is for audio cds. It is meant to be used mainly for copying MP3s to a cd without having to convert them first. The misconception about MP3s is that you can copy them to a cd and just play them. Well, in the MP3 format it is considered a data file, which means that it can only be played on a PC. In order to be able to play from a stereo CD player, it must be either in CDA format or WAV format. Professional CDs from major music labels are usually CDA. Homemade CDs are usually in WAV format. This software changes the MP3 files to WAV while it is copying.
Known Issues--
Note:(Win 98 only, although Win 2K is probably the same issue, the way on how to solve it is probably different)
Auto Insert Notification is enabled on the drive and can cause the system to lock up if there is a blank CD in the drive. If you Right Click on my computer. Then click on properties. Click on the Device Manager Tab. Click on the plus sign next to the CD Rom listing. Double Click on the Sony listing. Click on the settings Tab and uncheck Auto insert notification.
Drive not recognized. If you Right Click on my computer and choose properties. Click on the Device Manager Tab. Click on the plus sign next to Universal Serial Bus controllers. If there is a listing that says Intel, you can usually click on it and click Remove. Then restart the computer and it will reinstall the USB drivers and usually detect the drive. If the listing says something besides Intel, there is usually a motherboard chipset update for your computer, sometimes called a Busmastering update. Get this.
Buffer Underruns. This most frequently happens when your system resources are too low. Right click my computer and choose properties. Click on the performance tab and check the second line's percentage. It should be about 85%, but most of the time it is not. Contact your PC manufacturer and ask them how to raise your system resources. They will usually accomplish this by removing things from Startup.
Macs
This drive is supported on two macintosh systems only. The blue and white G3 and the original Imac only. The new G4, Ibook, and Imac DVedition were not originally intended to have this drive used on. There are some updates, but they are not guaranteed.
I will not go into great detail on this aspect of the drive because Charismac had done an outstanding job on their website noting all the issues, updates, FAQs and fixes for the drive. And as opposed to calling Sony support for help, because they have limited Mac knowledge usually, Charismac is usually very helpful on helping out anyone using the software or even connectivity issues.
http://www.charismac.com/Support/Discribe/usbdiscribe.html
Other Stuff
I read a review not too long ago by someone who was extremely displeased with the support offered by Sony. The people who are actually doing the tech support for these drives has recently changed to a third party, non-sony owned facility. Apparently they are in a period of adjustment right now. They are not 24/7 tech support like before. I would advise checking out their website first before trying to call them.
Their Website for Product Info:
http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/jump/storage/spressa/product/product_crx100ex2.html
Their Website for Tech Support:
http://sony.storagesupport.com/cdrw/crx100ex2.html</a>
Charismac's Website:
http://www.charismac.com/Support/Discribe/usbdiscribe.html
My Recommendation
If you need portability, this is your drive. If you need interoperability, this is your drive. It is meant to be carried from location to location, or from platform to platform.
If you are going to hook it up to a USB port and let it sit there forever, then this is not your drive. Get the IDE/Internal model.
Hook it up and use it immediately. If you encounter difficulties, contact support. Make sure you get it working within the return policy that the store offers. That way you can verify compatibility and give it a test run and if unsatisfied, then you can still return it.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
serena21
|
|
Location: Cape Coral, FL
Reviews written: 226
Trusted by: 43 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.