Replacing DVD read only drive with a DVD burner

My 2.5 year old 2.2GHZ P4 and 512MB RAM PC with Microstar M/Bd came with two optical drives, one is DVD read only and the other is a CD burner. I want to upgrade the machine and add DVD burner but on checking one of my Minasi videos today it seems I need a decoder card as well as the drive? The video was made in W98/NT4 days and I wonder if XP supports a software decoder because I have no more PCI slots left to instal a card having used them up to instal USB2 and NIC cards.

I would replace the present DVD read only drive with the DVD burner and I also intend to replace the CD burner with a faster one. I will be upgrading the ridiculous 150 watts PSU with something more appropriate.

Is this a feasable and simple upgrade or should I wait for my DVD burner when I hope to buy a new PC later in the year?

Well it wont matter because it sounds like your gonna build that new pc later anyway.
So you can just move the dvd burner to the new system
As for the video decoder.
Which motherboard do you anyway?

If you are running a dvdrom without a decoder card, there's no reason to think you would need one for the dvdrw.

Also, once you have the dvdrw, there's no reason to upgrade the cdrw as the dvdrw will burn cd's as well. You need to read the specs carefully - the dvd burning speed is on a different scale than the cd burning scale. For example, my dvdrw burns dvd's at 12x and cd's at 48x.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hudsonsmith

If you are running a dvdrom without a decoder card, there's no reason to think you would need one for the dvdrw.

Also, once you have the dvdrw, there's no reason to upgrade the cdrw as the dvdrw will burn cd's as well. You need to read the specs carefully - the dvd burning speed is on a different scale than the cd burning scale. For example, my dvdrw burns dvd's at 12x and cd's at 48x.

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Im asking the same question. Except I don't plan to replace my computer in the near future. I have a CD burner and a DVD player. I want ot replace with a DVD writer. which one is best to pull? the burner is an OEM Sony 20 Dual layer DVD+RW?-Rw

pull the cd writer,you can use your dvd writer to burn dvd and cd beside if you want to copy a dvd for some reason then you put the original in the dvd reader and the blank dvd in the dvd burner,good luck

i need this driver lg 18x sata dvdrw

Welcome to Windrivers tchouco002

The driver is supplied with your motherboard. Do you have SATA hard drives?
If you do, you already have the driver.

What you may be missing is burning software... or it might be a fault with the registry... have you just installed this?

What is the problem with your DVDRW?