Targus DVD-ROM External USB 2.0 Drive, Piano Black (ADV01US)

This drive works just fine with my first and second generation MacBooks (Model Identifiers MacBook1,1 and MacBook2,1) running OS X 10.6.2.I was hesitant at first because Mac support isn't listed on the Amazon product page or on the manufacturer's product page (it's not even in the docs that come with the drive). However, I noticed that this same model is sold on Mac-specific hardware sites so I figured it must be unofficially compatible. Of course I can't speak for other hardware models or OS versions but I wouldn't want any other Mac users to miss out on this great little drive due to the other review saying it wasn't compatible.The drive comes with a 7-inch USB to mini-USB cable which can be stored in an L-shaped groove on the underside of the drive, making the unit completely self-contained when not in use (no more hunting for cords). Because the drive is a DVD-ROM and doesn't burn anything it doesn't require as much power as other models so there's no AC adapter or USB-Y cable - it only requires a single USB port to run. Finally, the drive has a clamshell-style lid so there's no trays to fuss with and you don't have to dig up a paperclip to get your discs out when it's powered off.In short, as long as you don't need to burn anything, this is the perfect external DVD drive. I bought mine for my wife when her MacBook's internal drive failed and couldn't be happier.

First, the packaging was awful. Amazon put all the bubble wrap on one side of the unit and no protection on the other. I wasn't a huge fan of Amazon before and am even less so now. The unit itself works. But it screams "cheap" from it's super light weight, to the flimsy controls, etc. If it's still working 6 months from now it will be a miracle.

this little player is great. I do feel like i am going to break it, b/c of the weight. but it is so portable. it does leave smudges easily, so just get over it now.If you are getting this for a netbook with WINDOWS 7 STARTER PLEASE BE AWARE THAT in order for this to work you will need to download VLC MEDIA PLAYER. you can fo this from [...].i tried everyother program, itues, real, wmp,none work, microsoft does this on purpose so you will spend the $80 and upgrade. VLC is free and worked within minutes.Hope this helpes, i spent 2 hours downloading and scouring blogs to find this info.

My ASUS 1005HA netbook and Zotac GeForce8200-ITX AM2 motherboard came without the ability to use a DVD-ROM drive. After a quick search online, I found the Targus External USB 2.0 DVD-ROM drive. I was looking for the cheapest way to just install Windows XP Professional 32bit on my new AMD motherboard but some other interesting details came out that made regret the purchase.I ordered this external DVD-ROM drive from Amazon.com because of their prompt shipping and robust order tracking capabilities. When the package arrived it was inside a brown box filled with plastic air bags to protect it from any harm. Inside the box was a large clear plastic case which held the Targus DVD drive, a brief product flyer and a four part, fold out instruction manual.The all plastic case of this product is built with a deep black, high gloss finish that looks great when sitting next to my ASUS 1005HA netbook. The USB external drive itself measures approximately 5.75" x 5.75 x 1" and stands about 6" tall when the lid is fully opened. The clam shell opening drive uses a small button in the top of the case to open. The 11 ounce drive weighs a little more than a can of Coca Cola and fits smoothly in a backsack or laptop back. Underneath the plastic case is a small USB 2.0 cable that you can pull out and use to connect to a compatible computer. I must note that this cable was to short to use with most desktop computers because it was not long enough to reach the USB ports. However, for most netbooks or laptops it works just fine in reaching a port.When installing the Targus 8x External USB DVD-ROM Drive, you just have to plug it into your netbook or desktop computer using the USB cable that is supplied. Whether it was Windows XP or Windows 7, each time the drive was recognized like any other media device and ready to use in seconds. You should note that no DVD-ROM movie playback software is provided with this Targus product. In fact, no drivers are even provided because it is really designed for use with netbooks and laptop computers that already come with operating systems that will recognize this USB player. If you wish to watch movies but do not want to pay for expensive playback software, consider downloading VLC media player.When this drive is running, it is slightly louder than the sound a 10" metal fan would make on low setting. Please consider this if you want to watch DVD movies while listening to them using the internal speakers of a netbook. You could get a little bothered by the sound.The great news is that new motherboards like Intel Socket 775, Socket 1366 and AMD Socket AM2 or Socket AM3 feature a system BIOS that can read these USB DVD drives as bootable system devices. I was able to read this product on boot with both the Zotac GeForce8200-ITX AM2 and ASUS M4A785-M AM3 motherboards. A Windows XP Professional install with this drive will be slower than even with an IDE CD-ROM drive but at least you can get it done.USB DVD-ROM Performance And BenchmarksTo get the optimal performance from the Targus USB DVD ROM drive, you want to ensure it is plugged into a USB 2.0 port on your computer. The drive will also pull up to 500ma of power from your netbook or laptop when plugged in. Keep this in mind while using it since it will tend to pull a lot more of your reserve battery power while watching movies or just copying files.BenchmarkingReal World File Transfer;I created a file folder with 133 MP3 files across 4 subfolders for a total of 714Mb and transferred it from the Targus External USB Drive to the following various hard drive configurations. The goal of this test is to see how fast you can copy your own MP3 collection to a new hard drive. I burned the data to a DVD-ROM disc and then timed how long it took to complete the transfer.Here are the results of a copy from ADV01US USB to RAID 0, 4x Samsung SpinPoint T HD501LJ 500 GB SATA II Hard Drive Array:#1) 2 minutes 36 seconds#2) 2 minutes 37 secondsHere are the results of a copy from ADV01US USB to Transcend 32GB SSD, 2.5- Inch SATA:#1) 2 minutes 40 seconds#2) 2 minutes 41 secondsHere are the results of a copy from ADV01US USB to the hard drive on a Dell Precision Workstation T3400 (BWCW9Z6_6) PC Desktop:#1) 2 minutes 35 seconds#2) 2 minutes 35 secondsAs you can tell, this DVD-ROM drive is a lot slower than your typical hard drive. Using this same benchmark, I was able to transfer these files in just 36 seconds with the Transcend 32GB SSD, 2.5- Inch SATA drive. As a result, this would not be a speedy option for copying a large collection of files frequently but it is still fast enough to get the job done in a pinch.Over year since I began using this external USB drive, I have used it to install operating systems on HP Enterprise servers and desktop computers. As noted in my benchmarks already, the drive will take much longer than a traditional SATA DVD drive but in computers that do not offer this expansion capability it really was the only option for me.In conclusion, my biggest problem with this product is that it is only DVD-ROM and CD-ROM compatible. You cannot create data discs with it. With so many software packages now supporting external writing over USB, it would have been great to be able to create an image of my hard drive to DVD with this or a similar product. You can buy this online for about $40 at most retailers today but for just a few dollars more, you can get a DVD writer which will be so much more functional.

Sometimes it writes to a cd, most times it doesn't. Only now do I find it's meant only for watching and not writing. Not sure how I missed that, but I wouldn't have bought it as the only reason I did was that I needed to back up the installation files for my laptop - which it did. I have also written ubuntu iso's to disk, but in general it's incredibly frustrating to try and write a disk only to throw out one after another thinking there's something wrong with the WR-disk. Now I think it's the Targus drive itself. So, if you just want a reader, it's a nice size and design. If you want a writer as well, don't get this one.