Not for backups. If it fails, all your data is gone without possibility of recovery.

Failure can happen with any backup media. Including DVD-R's.

That's a valid point. To really trouble shoot it, it would be interesting to take the same disc and the same drive and install them into a different computer just to see what happens. However, it it the 21st century. There is no reason why a drive that only reads DVD+R or DVD-R or doesn't read RWs should be in a computer to begin with. I can see if it can't read a blue ray disc, but all the standard types should work.

I think that a modest upgrade may be in order here. The 2 main types of drives for laptops are slot (which auto loads and ejects) and tray (which opens and you load or remove) Unless you like to use those miniature sized discs, the slot type is probably better.

Here is a good one. I'm not in any way connected with the seller.

http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-In...7869054&sr=8-2

In my experience laptop DVD drives tend to read everything fine when new, but become more finicky with age: ie they are more prone to go out of alignment or lose tolerance: ie they are notoriously unreliable. And the same happens, over a longer time, with external drives.

In the OP's case I would be 90% sure - assuming the clunking noises happen with other computer-burned DVDs - that it's a hardware fault and cannot be fixed on the same hardware.

Only if you leave them in the light, or improper storage conditions, and failure is never complete. You can still recover something from them. Not so from USB sticks.

If the data is that critical, then he should have more than one backup no matter the media source. Flash media can hold data integrity for around 10 years and are usable on ANY computer. Not all computers have DVD drives in them anymore, and the number is dwindling.

All my computers have CD/DVD/BD drives, and the ones that don't have external USB drivers. USB drives fail unexpectedly, without warning, are completely inappropriate for backup purposes. Instead, I would use a USB HDD, plus regular SMART tests, plus a backup on another HDD in case that one fails.

Gah. Did you posters worrying in the drive works with DVD+R even read the op?

Both DVD+R discs, so the drive can obviously read DVD+R.

flamelord even gave us the model number, and its easy to track down the suported formats for the drive-

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...14/en/spec.htm

I don't know about the others but I'm only relaying my experience: a failing (obviously not completely failed) DVD drive will often fail to read some computer-burned DVDs while still being successful at reading commercial DVDs (the OP has not clarified what he means by an "actual" DVD - they are all actual DVDs unless they are actually CDs - but I assume he means commercially pressed from a master).

I doubt this is a question of what formats the drive can read, and I'm certain it's nothing to do with the file system on the discs. In my experience these symptoms always indicate a failing DVD drive, and there is little hope of repairing such a drive.

I had a drive once that would not read Maxell DVD-R's, but would read Memorex DVD-R's. So you can't even always trust that as a readability source.