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December 18th, 2008 20:00
CD-ROM CD-RW different things?
Have 6yr. old 2200, cannot copy files to CD; followed directions on H&S index but nothing shows up, no cd writing wizard no files & folders tasks, no copy to CD; none of that. Printed out My Computer Information-Hardware says Standard CD-ROM drivews, Lite-On LTN486 48x Max; cdrom.sys. Does that mean I only have a 'reading' CD drive and can't write or store on it? This machine only has 256MB RAM and I already have about 40MB of pictures on it. I'd love to put them on a CD or something and not use all that 'space'. I checked out 'floppies' at Office Max, but they seem to only hold about 1mb, geez; I'd need a truckload. Any other alternatives??
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hrova
2 Intern
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2.2K Posts
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December 18th, 2008 21:00
A cd-rom is read only, as you have realized.
The mention of 256 MB of RAM is not as relevant as hard drive size when it comes to storing things like pictures. Is your hard drive filling up? Since you mentioned the 40 MB of pictures, I assume that is your concern. Realistically, that is a very small amount of space, as most hard drives, even that old, are measured in GB's of space....
Options for storing the pictures.....
1.) Installing a cd-rw drive is easy and they are cheap to buy.
See here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010100005&bop=And&Order=PRICE
2.) If installing a drive, consider a dvd-rw. They are also cheap and just as easy to install, and a blank DVD can hold the data of several blank cd's. See the link above to find cheap dvd-rw's.
3.) External USB hard drives can be had for under $100. Using a hard drive is probably more reliable and also more convenient.
See here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150414&bop=And&Page=2
4.) Flash drives are cheap, and may be the best reasonable bet. 2 GB versions can be had for $10 to $20, and even 8GB versons are around $30 (or less on sale) lately.
Whatever you buy, I would choose something rated highly, as you don't want to cause more headaches than you solve....
From those choices, I think the flash drive solution seems the best overall considering price, size, convenience, and space it provides.
Note that I would never recommend having just one copy of importand files (including ppictures). A redundant flash drive would be well worth the money in terms of peace of mind.
TheRealFireblad
4 Apprentice
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4.6K Posts
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December 19th, 2008 09:00
If you're not confident in replacing the internal drive yourself, an external DVD±RW drive is another option :emotion-55:
They're more expensive than a standard internal model would cost, but replacement laptop optical drives are usually more expensive than desktop optical drives, so an external optical drive probably wouldn't be that much more expensive, than a replacement internal drive?
Other benefits of opting for an external drive, include having many more makes/models to choose from... and they're almost 3x faster, too!
Laptop optical drives are rated at 8x. Desktop/external drives have reached 22x (there may even be a couple of 24x models available now?)!
But as mentioned in the post above, a decent capacity pendrive/flash drive is another alternative.
Even 16GB models are very cheap now. Many of 'em are probably available for ~US$20.00 :emotion-5:
On the subject of RAM: You're getting hardware mixed up :emotion-2: You've said...
The pictures are stored on the hard drive, not in RAM :emotion-2:
dodge swinger
58 Posts
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December 19th, 2008 17:00
Hey, I won't deny I'm dumb as a rock about this stuff; be kind if I ask 'dumb' questions. I'm a 60... + dude who never touched one of these before and am learning as I go. I'm sure my numbers are confused, how does 18.6GB sound, I think that is the hard drive number I found in help and support. I'm still experimenting with floppies and the idea of 'flash memory' on a little bitty thing just awes me. Thanks for responding. I'm a learnin'!
dodge swinger
58 Posts
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December 19th, 2008 17:00
Thanks for answering. The flash drive sounds like a neat idea. One thing held me up, a salesperson at Office Max told me I couldn't use them because they had more RAM than my little old Dell. Me thinks he may be full of RAM?! himself, huh. I went shopping after I read your answer. Geez, a little thing the size of a nail clipper can hold all that info. If I were younger, I'd say WOW dude! It's nice to have a place I can ask some questions.
hrova
2 Intern
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2.2K Posts
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December 19th, 2008 22:00
Assuming you are using Windows XP (based on the age of the machine XP sounds right), a flash drive is easy. Just plug it into the USB port. It may give a message about installing new hardware the first time you use it, but then it will show up as lettered drive, similar to the A: floppy drive or C: hard drive...
From there, simply drag and drop whatever files you want to (or from) it.
I got one for my dad a few years back (back when a 1GB was about $30) and once he realized its power to store a lot, he has loved it.