Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive IHAS424-98 - Retail (Black)

by Lite-On

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B002SIMPXM
• Item model number: IHAS424-98 BLACK/RBOX
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (214 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #2 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Computer Components > Internal Optical Drives > Internal DVD Drives
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 12, 2009

Product Description

Lite-On IHAS424-98 LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive (Black), Retail

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good DVD/CD writer bundled with good software, May 9, 2010

By 

Flint Weller (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive IHAS424-98 - Retail (Black) (Electronics)

Installation was very easy, took less than 5 minutes to install in the computer. The software, Nero8, also installed quickly. I have not had a single failed DVD or CD burn yet with this drive; this is very impressive to me (I am using Verbatim media). The drive is quieter than most I have used.

If you want to use the LightScribe feature (and it does work very well), it will be necessary to download drivers from the LightScribe web site [...] in order for Nero 8 to recognize this feature.

86 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't Order Two If..., November 23, 2010

By 

Boilermate (Upstate NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive IHAS424-98 - Retail (Black) (Electronics)

This is a great burner. Easy to install, easy to use, good included software (including Nero Express 9), all for a good price.

The only caveat is you can't put two in the same Windows computer. Windows can't recognize more than one of these. LiteOn is aware of the problem but does not have a fix as of this writing. Tech Support says they are working on a firmware upgrade but they don't know when it will be available.

UPDATE 8/16/2011: The answer I got from LiteOn is, "It is Microsoft's fault." If you buy two (or more) at the same time, as I did, you probably get devices with sequential serial numbers. Windows reads device s/n's from left to right. If there are more digits than Windows can read, as these apparently have (they didn't say how many it was), XP (and maybe others) truncates the s/n so it looks to Windows like they both have the same s/n. The OS then disables the first one. The support guy I talked to said there was no fix. I think this is pretty lame, since this is a known OS quirk. LiteOn should have a work-around for this. I have deducted one star.

UPDATE 10/01/2011: After a third call to LiteOn support and getting the same response, I asked to speak to a supervisor. After a brief discussion, we went thru a series of steps and obtained the serial no. and firmware version of the operational drive thru Windows. We discovered my drive had very old firmware. He directed me to LiteOn's Web site Download/Utilities page. From there I downloaded their "SmartPack - Firmware Auto Upgade Program for Optical Storage Products" program. I installed the program and updated the firmware to both drives, and now both work on my system.

I am still giving the product 3 stars because of the poor tech support. I spoke to three different techs on three different occasions and got the same line from all three. All should have known how to get the serial no. of the drive without pulling it and how to obtain the firmware version. At the very least all should have directed me to the Web site for the above mentioned software. (According to the supervisor, it was available when I made the first call in November, 2010.) Had any of them done their job I would have resolved this problem last November.

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Burns greats, but the LightScribe is a bit, "lite", October 3, 2010

By 

John D. Hillmer (Waukesha, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive IHAS424-98 - Retail (Black) (Electronics)

This is the first LightScribe burner that I've owned (I've used about a dozen other non LightScribe burners in the past). I've used this new Lite-On LightScribe unit for reading CDs and DVDs (both +R and -R) without any issues. I've also burned both CDs (-R) and DVDs (-R and +R) with it without any issues. My system is a top end DELL XPS 9000, Win7 64bit Pro, and I didn't have any issues getting the burner to work in it. I bought HP branded "LightScribe" DVD media, and I was looking forward to burning some nice labels onto the top of my DVDs. My first attempts didn't turn out too well, the image and writing that I'd selected was too light, too hard to see once it was completed. I don't think this is an issue with the burner, or with the media, but with me and my lack of practice with selecting a good image that will burn dark enough to be easily seen. I know now (trial and error has taught me) to make sure the labels that I make need to have strong contrasting text and/or pictures, so that when burned onto the tops, they will be easily seen.

I'm giving this burner a 4 out of 5, because I wanted the LightScribe option to be more user friendly (maybe it's a software issue, maybe the laser is not strong enough, or maybe it's just me, but better software and/or a better laser would have protected me from myself, and then I would have given it a 5.