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My infrequently used LT163 just can't read crap anymore.....so, I'm wondering what to do about a replacement.

Currently, I have a Teac 16X CDRW and the LiteOn DVDROM drive.

I really like having 2 drives. So, considering prices, should I spend the $35-40 and get a new DVDROM only drive or a little more and buy one of the CDRW/DVDROM multi drives to go with the Teac?

Any advantage to having an DVDROM ONLY drive instead of the multi type drives?

My needs/wants: I don't read/rip DVDs very often. I frequently burn CDR/CDRWs tho.
I would like to have 2 optical drives.
Moving up from 16X to 52X CDRW isn't that big of a deal to me....it's not like I'm sitting waiting for disc to burn anyway.
I really like quiet drives.
I don't do much DAE...tho, having a drive that is accurate when I do is important.
....that's all I can think of for right now.

I would go with a Lite-On 165 or 166 you can pick one up for $30USD.
www.pricewatch.com
www.pricegrabber.com

My 166s died recently also but it was a year old and new ones are dirt cheap so I just replaced it with another one in black this time for 40 bucks.
My original 163 is still going strong in my sisters computer as I type. It's over 2 years old now.
The 166 works so well when it's right I couldn't think of anything better for the money anyways.
I think the spindle or tray motor died on mine, it would close slower and slower and finally just wouldn't read anything or spin up all the way.

My 165H stopped working when I upgraded to an Intel E7205 and I875 chipsets. I upgraded to a 166s, which has worked flawlessly for me on both Intel chipsets.

Another vote for the 166S

Had the same problem with a LTD-163 and Liteon's tech support sent me a FW I've never seen posted, flashed and the drive has been brought from the dead working like a charm.

seaegg wrote:Had the same problem with a LTD-163 and Liteon's tech support sent me a FW I've never seen posted, flashed and the drive has been brought from the dead working like a charm.

i'm sure dave would be grateful if you emailed him a copy of this "unreleased" firmware.

If it's still death then replace it with a Toshiba dvd reader if you want just a new dvd reader.

I know Lite On is cheaper but Toshiba last longer so it's cheaper in the end.
Lite On really is cheap but also has a reputation of lasting just one year (or even less) of intens use in my environment.

On a similar note, I just inherited a used LTD-163D. I installed it in my Win2000 system and it was recognized just fine. I tested it and it read DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R discs fine, but not CDROM (pressed silvers), CD-DA (audio), CDR or CDRW discs. It had firmware version GHR3 and so I upgraded to the latest GHR8. Upgrading the firmware had no effect - it would still not read any CD media. The drive tries spinning up and down several times before it go backs to an idle state when a CD is inserted. Any suggestions? Are there separate lasers for reading DVD versus CD media in the LTD-163D? Could one of the lasers be dead? Dirty laser lens? I have GHR7, is it worth trying to downgrade the firmware?