thinking about getting a toshiba 16x-model 1612 dvd drive. anyone using this drive with linux?

got a lite-on 16x-model 163, but am having troubles reading dvd,s and cd-roms. i,m thinking its the optical reader that starts the cd-rom , not functioning well . works sometimes , others it doesn,t. have read some threads at http://www.cdrlabs.com with some others with similar problems

I had a Lite-On cdrom (not a burner or writer), and it had problems twice (see end of post for my recommendation).

the first time it happened I reseated the cables, and it worked again.

the second time was also the day I decided to customise my /dev and /mnt links to reflect the real nature of the drives (cdrom and cdrom2 aren't particularly useful imo).

it was detected by the BIOS.
after a few hours I decided to check if it was the drive that was at fault, and Win98 couldn't use it either.
both Linux and Windows both found it in the right spot in my IDE setup.
I just could not mount it - always "no medium found".

I confirmed it was the drive by putting it into a different box, where it still wasn't usable.

I may just have been unlucky (I hope so for the sake of other people using Lite-On drives), but atm it's sitting on my kitchen bench waiting to be chucked out or recycled.

Sorry for the downer
my recommendation is to go for a Sony.
all my cd drives are Sony - two DVD drives (one in a Win98 box, the other in my Mandrake box), and a CD writer (also in my Mandrake box).
both the DVD drives came as RPC2, I've changed both to RPC1 via DOS/Windows utilities.
I've had no experience with Toshiba DVD drives, so I can't comment about them.

caysho

great feedback, thats what i like about this forum, usually get some informative feedback

well, i ended up getting a generic dvd player at frys, it was between that and the sony, difference -$20. the reason i got the generic because on the box it stated that it supported linux, and the sony 1621 did not . well, when i got home and took the dvd player out of the box, i looked at the sticker on it, and its made by epox. works great, reads my linux discs, dvd,s , no complaints yet. don,t know much about em only that they are a tiawan company. i still think that the sony would have supported linux, they usually do , seems like i saw some sony dvd players in the linux hardware support listing i read somewhere. my luck with my lite-on dvd player is not too good, though the lite-on cd-rw works welll , have the 52x24x52. see ya

the Sony works in mine...

that model number looks like the one I have installed to replace the Lite-On (I actually put the old Sony DVD drive I have into my Mandrake box and put the newer Sony into my Win98 box).

good to know that your new drive works.
I think epox makes motherboards similar stuff.

sorry, i think that the dvd manufacturer is epo. got to get to work, but will look tonight after work