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Order Support:
Lenovo Pro Business Store
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An optical drive is a computer accessory that allows you to read to and write from optical discs using a laser or visible light.
The most common optical media are Compact Discs (CDs), Digital Video Discs or Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs), and Blu-ray Discs (BDs).
An optical drive could be a CD drive, DVD drive, or a BD drive. Some common uses of optical drives are watching movies on a DVD, listening to music on CDs, installing software, playing games, and backing up data.
Note that a CD drive can only access CDs, a DVD drive can access CDs and DVDs, while a BD drive can access CDs, DVDs, and BDs. But all these drives are collectively referred to as optical drives.
An advantage of optical media is their substantial storage size, compared to the floppy disks that were popular earlier. A floppy disk used a floppy disk drive and could store only 1.44 MB of data. In comparison, a CD can store 700 MB, a DVD up to 8.4 GB, and a BD up to 50 GB of data.
Optical media are more durable and last up to seven times as long as floppy disks. They are inexpensive to manufacture and are unaffected by magnetic or electrical disturbances. Because they are small and light, they are easy to store and transport. Optical media access data randomly, not sequentially, so data retrieval is fast.
This makes optical discs well-suited for storing home movies, videos, and photos.
In all three disc formats, data is encoded in flat areas and hollows and stored in spiral tracks on circular disks. The flat areas are known as lands and represent “1”, and the hollows are called pits and represent “0”. A low-power blue-violet laser beam reads the pits. The laser is reflected back with different intensities and is converted by a photodiode sensor to electric 0’s and 1’s.
Optical drives are named so because they use light, in the form of lasers, to access the data on the discs.
Optical disks, and drives, may be:
Drives that can write to discs are also referred to as writers or burners.
Also, based on the disc loading mechanism used, drives may be:
Both laptop and desktop computers can have optical drives. Lenovo offers a range of laptops and desktops with built-in optical drives.
Optical drives in a laptop tend to be slot-loaded, as they are available in a smaller form factor. Their form-factor is known as slim type and is about 1 centimetre tall.
You may have an extensive collection of CDs, DVDs, and BDs, and sometimes, you feel the urge to listen to the music or watch the movies stored on them. It is really convenient to pop them into the optical drive of your laptop and enjoy them. You can do this at home, on the move on flights or on trains, and in the office. No more fumbling around searching the Net for something you like and then being subjected to the vagaries of your Internet connection.
You may have a collection of vintage games on CDs. You can play them on your laptop.
Another use of CDs in laptops is for system recovery. Create a system recovery disc and keep it handy. If the OS (Operating System) on your office laptop crashes, you can simply pop the recovery CD in and get going again.
Optical drive laptops cost only a fraction more than equivalent systems without an optical drive.
An optical drive for a PC comes in a half-height, or desktop drive, form factor. They are about 4 centimetres tall. The half-height drives consume more power than the slim types but operate at higher speeds.
The form factor of a desktop allows for dual optical drives. Having dual drives is often very convenient. You can play a disc in one drive, at the same time copying another disc from the second drive. Both drives can also copy discs simultaneously to or from the hard disk, saving time.
Optical drives are handy for sharing large amounts of data in an office environment. If you have generated a large amount of data on your desktop, like 40 GB, and want to share it with your colleagues, it would take a good deal of time to upload to cloud storage and then download from there. Popping in a disc, copying your data to it, and handing over the disk to your colleague would be much quicker and a lot more convenient.
Desktop computers usually have tray-loading drives, as space is not an issue.
Optical drive desktops with a built-in optical drive are priced very similarly to desktops that do not have an optical drive.
As you have seen, optical drives are very convenient. What if you already have a computer that does not have an optical drive? Or if your computer already has an optical drive, but it is rather old?
It is a simple matter to buy and install an external optical drive because they are affordable and plug-and-play. External drives are also called portable drives. Optical drives are available for as low as $15, and you can get drives made by well-known brands for around $50 or less. Most optical drives connect through the USB port, so the installation process is a breeze.
If you have a desktop that does not have an optical drive, check if it has room for an internal drive. If it does, fitting an internal drive is preferable to an external, portable drive, as it will be cheaper and faster. And if your desktop already has an old internal optical drive, it is a piece of cake to upgrade it with a newer model.
On the other hand, an external drive is shareable, and you can also use it with a laptop.
Here are some things you should look for when buying an external drive:
Another point to keep in mind when buying an external drive is the different media types it can play. Most drives can play CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs, but some older models may not support Blu-rays.
If you don’t want to carry the portable drive around, you have a couple of options. You can transfer your disc content (a game, for instance) to your hard disk and use third-party software to create an ISO file. You can play the ISO file from your hard drive the same way you would play the game on a CD or DVD.
You can also rip music or video content from your discs to your hard disk to enjoy at your leisure. Of course, you need to be aware of possible copyright restrictions.
Lenovo offers a wide selection of external optical drives. These sport a USB connector, are ReWriteable, and are compatible with desktops, laptops, Windows, Linux, and Mac. They are sleek and come in attractive form factors. All are ultra-slim, lightweight, and are accompanied by a warranty. Prices start at about $20.
All in one desktop computers integrate all of the parts of a PC into one unit, except the keyboard and mouse. They are typically very sleek and attractive to look at and occupy very little space. Many models of all-in-one computers come bundled with built-in optical drives. If not, most models have a provision for adding an internal optical drive for a small additional cost. Of course, an external drive can always be connected to the available USB ports.
Ship date: shipping times listed are estimates based on production time and product availability. An estimated ship date will be posted on our order status site after your order is placed. Ship dates do not include delivery times. Lenovo is not responsible for delays outside of our immediate control, including delays related to order processing, payment issues, inclement weather, or unexpected increase to demand. To obtain the latest information about the availability of a specific part number, please call 13 LENOVO / 13 536686 to gain assistance.
Availability: Offers, prices, specifications and availability may change without notice and may differ from that promoted or available from Lenovo resellers from time to time.
Order Quantity: The maximum number of systems for each Online order is 5 units. Please call 13 LENOVO / 13 536686 for assistance to place large orders . If your order exceeds the quantity limit, Lenovo reserves the right to cancel the products ordered in excess of the quantity limit.
Trademarks: Ultrabook, Celeron, Celeron Inside, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Logo, Intel Atom, Intel Atom Inside, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel Inside Logo, Intel vPro, Itanium, Itanium Inside, Pentium, Pentium Inside, vPro Inside, Xeon, Xeon Phi, Xeon Inside, and Intel Optane are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. www.intel.com/go/rating
General System Information: Review key information provided by Microsoft that may apply to your system purchase, including details on Windows 10 and Windows 11, and potential upgrades/downgrades. Lenovo makes no representation or warranty regarding third-party products or services.
Warranty: For a copy of applicable warranties, visit Warranty Policies. To the extent permitted by law, Lenovo makes no representation or warranty regarding third party products or services. The Lenovo Limited Warranty applies only to Lenovo hardware products purchased for your own use, and does not transfer upon resale. Warranty Period for all Lenovo batteries, stylus, and digitizer pens are limited to 12 months unless otherwise specified. Unless you purchase a separate Battery Warranty Extension, the warranty period for your battery will expire at the end of the period specified in your Lenovo Limited Warranty.
Battery: Lenovo systems do not support batteries that are not genuine Lenovo-made or authorised. Use of such batteries will enable systems to continue to boot, but may not charge or work effectively. Lenovo has no responsibility for the performance or safety of unauthorised batteries, and provides no warranties or liability for failures or damage arising out of their use. Battery life (and recharge times) will vary based on many factors, including system settings and usage.
Pricing: Includes GST and shipping fees. Any savings referenced are based off regular Lenovo web prices.
3rd party products: Lenovo does not guarantee compatibility with third-party products.
To find information about Make the Shift campaign visit https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE2LHej
Ship date: shipping times listed are estimates based on production time and product availability. An estimated ship date will be posted on our order status site after your order is placed. Ship dates do not include delivery times. Lenovo is not responsible for delays outside of our immediate control, including delays related to order processing, payment issues, inclement weather, or unexpected increase to demand. To obtain the latest information about the availability of a specific part number, please call 13 LENOVO / 13 536686 to gain assistance.
Availability: Offers, prices, specifications and availability may change without notice and may differ from that promoted or available from Lenovo resellers from time to time.
Order Quantity: The maximum number of systems for each Online order is 5 units. Please call 13 LENOVO / 13 536686 for assistance to place large orders . If your order exceeds the quantity limit, Lenovo reserves the right to cancel the products ordered in excess of the quantity limit.
Trademarks: Ultrabook, Celeron, Celeron Inside, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Logo, Intel Atom, Intel Atom Inside, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel Inside Logo, Intel vPro, Itanium, Itanium Inside, Pentium, Pentium Inside, vPro Inside, Xeon, Xeon Phi, Xeon Inside, and Intel Optane are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. www.intel.com/go/rating
General System Information: Review key information provided by Microsoft that may apply to your system purchase, including details on Windows 10 and Windows 11, and potential upgrades/downgrades. Lenovo makes no representation or warranty regarding third-party products or services.
Warranty: For a copy of applicable warranties, visit Warranty Policies. To the extent permitted by law, Lenovo makes no representation or warranty regarding third party products or services. The Lenovo Limited Warranty applies only to Lenovo hardware products purchased for your own use, and does not transfer upon resale. Warranty Period for all Lenovo batteries, stylus, and digitizer pens are limited to 12 months unless otherwise specified. Unless you purchase a separate Battery Warranty Extension, the warranty period for your battery will expire at the end of the period specified in your Lenovo Limited Warranty.
Battery: Lenovo systems do not support batteries that are not genuine Lenovo-made or authorised. Use of such batteries will enable systems to continue to boot, but may not charge or work effectively. Lenovo has no responsibility for the performance or safety of unauthorised batteries, and provides no warranties or liability for failures or damage arising out of their use. Battery life (and recharge times) will vary based on many factors, including system settings and usage.
Pricing: Includes GST and shipping fees. Any savings referenced are based off regular Lenovo web prices.
3rd party products: Lenovo does not guarantee compatibility with third-party products.
To find information about Make the Shift campaign visit https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE2LHej