DVD Separate player for laptop

Johnmcl7

arciere said:

Johnmcl7 said:

Do these ports actually supply additional power?  I thought they simply supplied power on the port when the PC was shut down:

Every USB port supplies power. The question is, is the power supplied enough to make the device connected work or does it require more power than what the USB port can give.
Normal USB 3 ports give 900 mA, which is often enough to power an external DVD drive, especially if you are using 2 ports simultaneously.
It's probably been mentioned already, but battery-powered laptops tend to reduce power to the USB ports, so when the DVD is used, the laptop should be connected to the charger.

I was referring to earlier posts which suggested the ports marked with the lightning symbol are supplying more power than a standard USB port (as below) which I don't think is the case, I realise USB3 ports can provide more power than USB2 ports but in this case the lightning and non-lightning marked ports are both USB3.

DoaM said:

Does the drive need to be connected to a powered USB port? (i.e. a port which provides more power than the USB standard dictates ... 5V, 500mA). Such ports typically have a Lightening or similar symbol next to them.

DoaM

Yes it is the case ... certain ports (notably on Dell machines) are marked as High Power USB ports. (Which is what I meant, rather than merely Powered). Such ports have more current supply capacity than standard ports. See the section What does it mean, when the reference material says the USB is powered? Whether such ports supply more current than the USB3 standard is another matter. There are also some ports which are marked as Powered - such ports are "on" even when the machine is turned off.

(Dell also have a feature where the power available can be limited depending on the charge remaining on battery-powered laptops - they call this PowerShare).

Johnmcl7

DoaM said:

Yes it is the case ... certain ports (notably on Dell machines) are marked as High Power USB ports. (Which is what I meant, rather than merely Powered). Such ports have more current supply capacity than standard ports. See the section What does it mean, when the reference material says the USB is powered? Whether such ports supply more current than the USB3 standard is another matter. There are also some ports which are marked as Powered - such ports are "on" even when the machine is turned off.

(Dell also have a feature where the power available can be limited depending on the charge remaining on battery-powered laptops - they call this PowerShare).

According to that link, in high power the USB port delivers up to 900mA which is the USB3 standard as it states:

High Power

This type of port only supports devices using less that 900 mA, which will charge small devices such as SmartPhones and PDAs. It is a USB 3.0 standard.

AndyPix

The OP's original problem, im still pretty sure , is due to the drive not getting enough power.

Personaly I would bin it and buy another off amazon that doesnt have the need for the extra power cable.

I saw it mentioned up thread that the op's laptop mentions "data only" for his usb ports .. Im not sure what is meant by that as i dont think iv ever come across a usb port that doesnt supply power atall, i thought it was part of the usb spec ..

OP, if youre determined to crack on with this one, we need to determine if its faulty or not ..

Do you have another PC you can test it in ?

Johnmcl7

AndyPix said:

The OP's original problem, im still pretty sure , is due to the drive not getting enough power.

Personaly I would bin it and buy another off amazon that doesnt have the need for the extra power cable.

I saw it mentioned up thread that the op's laptop mentions "data only" for his usb ports .. Im not sure what is meant by that as i dont think iv ever come across a usb port that doesnt supply power atall, i thought it was part of the usb spec ..

OP, if youre determined to crack on with this one, we need to determine if its faulty or not ..

Do you have another PC you can test it in ?

My understanding is the same about the USB spec after discussions on devices that people didn't want supplying power (Lightning connected Apple devices are different), while it is possible to prevent power being supplied it breaches the USB spec.

I agree about trying another PC to narrow down where the problem is, it's a while since I've seen a PC that needed two USB ports (I found P4 servers notorious for it as were HP servers) but it's certainly still possible or it could just be a dud drive.

roddydogs

Update, I have  a full refund and did not need to send it back !, no quibbling at all., so could some one point to a decent one? Many thanks.

grumpycrab

...anything from Amazon with a. Many good reviews b. £20ish. And c. Prime and in stock.

Neil_Jones

Nothing the OP has said in this thread has convinced me that this is anything other than a power issue.

Since they've bought a new laptop and they presumably have an older one, would it not make more sense to try this so-called problematic unit on the old laptop?  If it works there then the issue isn't with the unit, although they now have a freebie regardless.

Must admit I now half expect a follow-up post in about four days saying "I bought the drive from Amazon and that don't work on the laptop either!".

roddydogs

I don't have another laptop but I did try it in an old all in one, no go.

TheRightOne

If you live in London, you can pick up a brand name drive for a tenner; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-External-USB-MultiBay-II-2-Optical-Media-Drive-Caddy-361297-001-PA509A-B13/123143996159
Otherwise Lite-On drives are around the £20 mark.
ASUS have a couple of choices; https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZenDrive-External-Ultra-Slim-Rewriter-M-Disc/dp/B01878ZQ8W