Iomega 31119 Predator 4x4x6 External USB CD-RW Drive

by Iomega

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000056L2R
• Item model number: 31119
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #93 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > External Components > Optical Drives > CD Drives
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1973

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Featuring an ultra-thin top-loading design, the Iomega Predator 4x4x6 External USB CD-RW Drive offers the convenience of hot-swapping with PCs, Macs, or laptops. The Predator utilizes a fast USB interface with FireWire and PCMCIA coming out in Spring 2001. The drive reads up to 6x, writes at 4x, and rewrites at 4x. Utilizing a 2 MB buffer memory, the Predator has quick disk access times of only 125 milliseconds. It is capable of disc-at-once, fixed and variable packet writing, multi-session, and track-at-once methods.

The Predator is compatible with both PC and Macintosh computers. System requirements for the PC include a Pentium 166 or higher processor, Windows 98, 98 SE, 2000, or Me operating systems, 110 MB hard disk space, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later or Netscape Navigator 4.5 or later. For the Mac, requirements include a G4, G3 (blue and white G3 only), or iMac computer, OS 8.6, 9.0, 9.03, or 9.04 operating systems, 98 MB hard disk space, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later or Netscape Navigator 4.5 or later.

The Predator comes with Iomega CD-RW software, quick install disc, a blank CD-R disc, a blank CD-RW disc, USB cable, USB adapter, audio cable, and an AC adapter. It comes with an abundance of software titles including: (for the PC) Adaptec DirectCD 3.0, Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4.0, Adobe ActiveShare, Iomega Quik Sync 2 30-day trial version, MusicMatch Jukebox Plus; (for the Mac) Adaptec Toast 4.1.1, and MGI PhotoSuite.

Iomega provides a one-year parts and labor warranty on the Predator 4x4x6 External USB CD-RW Drive.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for an old USB CD-RW drive, August 4, 2001

By 

Michael R. Airhart "nomanisan" (Providence, RI, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Iomega 31119 Predator 4x4x6 External USB CD-RW Drive (Personal Computers)

Anyone demanding fast, error-free CD-RW performance should realize that USB-1 connections sadly do not permit this. The original USB was a slow-speed technology intended for simple devices such as keyboards, mice, and printers. CD-RW buyers are better off buying FireWire, serial or internal drives.

If you must buy a USB CD-RW drive and you have an older computer predating USB 2.0, then this drive is a good choice -- its included software is very good, the drive itself is solid, and setup is simple.

I bought my Predator because my computer at the time did not support devices requiring serial or SCSI ports, nor would it support additional internal drives. So USB was my only option.

There are some issues to be aware of:

1. The included Adaptec software was the best entry-level CD-burning software in 2001. At the time, Iomega did not skimp on the included software. The packaged software and drivers that I received were slightly dated even then, and not very Windows 2000-friendly, but the latest updates (including W2K support) were available online.

2. Something called "buffer underruns" are a risk for all old USB CD-RW drives because the slow USB had difficulty keeping pace with the high speed that CD-RW drives require to burn CDs smoothly. Because CD-writing requires reliable speed out of your computer (even if you're not in a hurry), I would not recommend using this drive with a slow computer, fragmented hard drive, or limited RAM.

3. While I was able to burn CDs at 4x, the slowness of the old USB again means that you may have the best luck holding back your drive speed to 2x so it doesn't get too far ahead of your computer. If you decide eventually to ditch USB and use FireWire instead, then you can ramp up the Predator to full speed with confidence.

4. I don't know why, but Verbatim CD-RW disks worked better with this drive than either the included Iomega disks or the new Imation disks that I bought. None of the disks became coasters, but for some reason the Iomega and Imation CDs would frequently suffer buffer underruns if I saved much data at one time. Maybe it was a coincidence. Anyhow, the remedy was to save less data on these CDs and to reformat them (eating up a lot of time) each time an underrun occurred.

5. This drive comes with an included FireWire adapter -- much more reliable than the old USB technology, if your computer supports FireWire connections.

The Predator fulfills basic needs for people limited to first-generation USB while also providing the power, speed and reliability in the coming era of FireWire peripherals.

But you would be wiser to buy a more current drive that supports USB 2.0 as well as slower connections.

53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, January 29, 2001

By 

Frazzled Glispa "frazzledglispa" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Iomega 31119 Predator 4x4x6 External USB CD-RW Drive (Personal Computers)

This burner rocks. Very simple to set up and use, works perfectly with my Macintosh. I had the whole thing installed and was burning my first cd within 30 minutes. Yes, you will receive buffer underruns if you try to burn an audio cd at 4x - but I challenge you to find a USB burner where you don't - it's the nature of USB.

The USB interface is modular, so if you upgrade to a new computer with Firewire, or the forthcoming USB 2.0, simply buy a new module and the burner is ready to go with the new interface.

I highly recommend this burner, set-up was a snap, the included Toast software is very intuitive - and it looks FIERCE sitting on the desktop.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Works Great with a few design flaws, April 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Iomega 31119 Predator 4x4x6 External USB CD-RW Drive (Personal Computers)

I have had this burner for 4 months or so. Mine works great also, but I find the modular plug flimsey, and I don't understand why it sits there and pulses the cd motor when closed and empty. I have to unplug the thing when it is not in use so that I don't have to listen to it whirring every 5 seconds. Also the electronic eject button is kind of bogus. You can't open the disk door when it is not plugged in, and I think that it is a weak link. Over all I am happy though. I anticipate that Iomega will correct these things with the next model. Wait if you can. Also, firewire would be nice, the burning process isn't slow, but it could always be faster!!