Customer Reviews

Hewlett Packard C4464B CD-Writer Plus 8250i (Internal Drive)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This drive manages to write to every medium I can throw at it at a reliable 4x speed. Even audio, the most demanding application, records perfectly. I have never written a coaster because of this drive, only when Windows crashes.

I use CD-RW discs for secure storage--you can read and write them just like a floppy (though faster than floppy) and then pop it out and carry it off.

The drive can also perform digital audio extraction for recording to MP3 or for CD copying, but I recommend an additional low-cost read-only drive (I use Creative) if you're planning on writing audio CD's; this will allow you to record without having to swap discs.

The install routines worked properly; they're the kind where you just tell it where to install and it installs software and drivers for you. Their (bypassable) software provides one-click access to the different capabilities of the drive.

I think HP has an 8x drive out, but this one is still a solid performer and does everything I've asked it to.

This is an awsome CD burner. It has all the functions and reliability that comes with an HP product. It is easy to install and to burn. Easy CD Creator and Direct CD make it easy to make audio and data CDs. The speed is fine, too. I believe it is better to use it at 4x speed and get a good burner rather than get another burner at 12x speed and come out with a terrible burn. This is a great buy for the price.

I installed this drive into my Gateway G6-233 with no problems. The package comes with a CD that includes the software and a helpful video on how to do the install. The total process took about 20 minutes at a leisurely pace. No special technical skills are required, but it helps to have a general idea of what the various parts inside your computer do and how they are connected. I did wish that they had included an audio cable to connect the CD-Writer to my sound card. This will only be a problem if you want to keep your existing CD drive and need two cables.

I am new to "burning" CD's and was somewhat surprised to learn that it takes just over an hour to format a disk for data use. However, HP allows you to do the formatting in the background and begin to use the disk within minutes. A disk for audio use is ready without any formatting. I use the data disk to back-up my Quicken data and this is now done in seconds instead of the few minutes it took with the floppy drive. I have done some audio CD's and the sound quality is excellent. Use CD-R's for music and CD-RW's for data. CD-R's can be played on most CD players, CD-RW's can't.

I've already burned lots of CD's and not a single one has failed me yet. It comes with 2 very powerful programs to easily make data and music CD's. Included is a free 74 minute CDR to get you started. Everything needed for installation is included which allowed me to get everything working in a snap and making my first CD in less than 10 minutes.

You need to convert .mp3 files to wav format to copy songs to a CD so you need a fairly large hard drive.

Buy this drive for its extreme ease of installation and use, and its quality that comes with the HP name. This drive won't fail you.

This burner was amazingly easy to install and easy to use. It writes flawlessly at 4x speeds. I can use my computer to surf the net, or do other things while a burn is taking place even though I have only 32mb RAM. It acts like a SCSI drive. I would HIGHLY recommend this drive as a good starter CD-RW. It's fast, easy to use, and not too expensive. I'm a VERY satisfied customer.

I purchased this drive about two weeks ago and have found it to be a very good drive. Against recomendations I have burnt audio at 4x with no problems. The only thing I do not like about the product is the inclusion of Ez CD creator version 3.5 instead of version 4.

I've used this drive for over a year and am moderately pleased with it. The one major technical problem I've had is that over the past year, five of my CD-RW discs have been rendered unwritable due to errors that occurred during writing. I'm not sure whether this is a problem with the software or the hardware, or the brand of CD-RW discs I used (Memorex). I've had CD-RW discs damaged before with other drives, and have been told this is just the nature of the technology for CD-RW discs. Not to mention, CD-RW discs are much more expensive. If you look for a drive that works reliably with CD-RW discs, this drive is not it.

CD-R discs have given me less problem. None has been damaged on this drive. But on rare occasions CD-R discs formatted with this drive are not readable on certain CD-ROM or CD-RW drives, even though those drives can read other CD-R discs. My advice is, if you've found one brand of discs that work well on all of the drives you use, stick with it.

The installation CD includes an AVI video clip that shows you how to open up your PC and mount the drive to the drive bay. Since your PC must be off while you're doing that, the video clip can't be very helpful.

Plug-n-play detects the drive during Windows startup. It is the installation of the software (DirectCD and Easy CD Creator) that poses some challange. First of all, these 2 programs are made by Adaptec and they are not available for download on HP's web site, so don't lose the installation CD that comes with the drive! Second, make sure you patch the two programs to at least version 2.5d for DirectCD and 3.5c for Easy CD Creator. Any earlier version could cause frequent crashes, lockups, and software errors. You can download the patches from Adaptec.

The UDF Reader software is included on installation CD. It enables read-only CD drives to read CD-RW discs created by DirectCD.

The installation CD doesn't have a DOS driver for the drive. And I can't find one on HP's web site either. But I found a driver named SBIDE.SYS at Creative Labs' web site that works nicely in DOS. It is even able to detect multiple CD-ROM drives, provided your other drives are also IDE.

For personal use, this drive will suffice. But due to the technical problems I encountered, I would not recommend this drive to anyone who make extensive use of CD-RW discs. It's kind of ironic, since a rewritable drive is primarily MADE for CD-RW discs.

I would like to start out saying that this product is great! Hewlett Packard is always known for their multimedia hardware. Well they didn't go wrong with this one. I have been using this product for just over a month and it works great. I have burned many backup CD's and made my own personal mix, audio CD. I did all these without a flaw. The CD-ReWritable works great for all my quick backups that I won't need for a long period of time, just for a quick storage. The only thing wrong with this CD Burner is speed! If you are in the market for a CD Burner and don't have the money, this is the burner for you! If you are looking for speed, definately look to Hewlett Packards higher end line of burners with at least 8x Write. Overall it is a GREAT product!

This burner is great!! It's fast, for a 4x, and reliable. One thing to keep in mind if you bye this burner, don't use Memorex CD-RWs, they crash your computer. I bought a 5 pack of Memorexes, and burned a coaster out of all 5. This is a great burner, and I recomend that you buy it, just dont use Memorex CD-RWs. The CD-Rs (TDK) work fine, no coasters there.

Overall, a great, reliable burner for audio and data.

yeah i think this burner is good quality. everywhere i looked for burners, HP scored high in quality and value. so i like this burner. as jar jar binks would say: mesa likesa thisa burner a lotsa! my only complaint, like the preevious review, is of the software. with adaptec 3.5, you cant drag and drop mp3s, you have to convert them into wav format. WACK! other than that, good burner, easy to install.