TS-T632 8X DVD±RW DL Notebook IDE Drive (Black)

The original drive on my HP Pavilion dv6000 stopped reading DVDs. I read that this was an excellent replacement. The install was a piece of cake, Windows 7 recognized the device without a hitch, and it works great. The only thing you should be aware of is that this drive is slot-loading which means you can't re-use the HP bezel. Aesthetically, this makes for a funky notch on the side of my notebook, but it has grown on me, and frankly I like it now.

Purchased this to replace a tray style DVD player that finally quit after 15 years. Unfortunately, I did not get around to installing it until today (after the return period). The unit does not work, so the company either does not test these before they send them out, knowingly sent a bad unit, or the drive was damaged in transit. Either way, I should have known better and tested it immediately upon receipt (one day I'll learn).I'll try to pop it open and see if I can fix the internals, it appears the insert/eject system is jammed. It will not allow me to insert a disc and makes a repeated whining noise (just like I'm whining now) when the eject button is pushed.

This is an easy upgrade from the Toshiba tray-loading drive of a Dell Inspiron E1705.The drive fits great. Sits in slightly "deeper" than the factory drive, which is probably a good thing, so you don't hit the eject button by mistake.Has read some DVDs that none of my other drives will read, but has gotten stuck when inserting about half of my inkjet-printable Sony DVDs that I've stored a lot of data on.Definitely prefers a disc with a smooth top. See my posted image of DVDs it does not like.Update: continues to be hard on discs when being inserted. Have added two pictures of damage to a brand new Sony CD (smooth top, not printable) that got stuck on insertion. Manually removing it resulted in major damage to disc on both sides. Unless someone can recommend an insertion trick to avoid discs getting stuck, I can't recommend this drive. BTW, after this disc was stuck and got ruined, I inserted another from the same set and it worked perfectly. But who can live with that kind of uncertainty?Update2: I did some experimenting and may have found the "trick" I was looking for. It appears that this drive is not good at moving a disc to the centerline when being inserted. The user has to carefully feel that the disc is properly centered (left and right) while inserting. The drive won't grab the disc until it is almost fully inserted, so you can move the disc left and right to get the feel of center well before the disc gets stuck. By the time the disc is half-inserted, be sure there is an equal amount of left-right wiggle room before pushing farther - and if you encounter any resistance, stop immediately and try to re-center. I'm used to more expensive slot-loading drives, where this centering is not an issue.

Unlike the product heading implies, this is a slot loading slim optical DVD/CD burner. The product description mentioned it, but not the heading, leading me to question whether it was given the wrong description or not. However, it is the product in the picture and description aboave. The drive itself runs fine. Nothing out of the ordinary.I paired this with a "Startech Slimoptical/3.5 Hd Mounting Bracket for 5.25 Frontbay" which will allow me to utilize this drive in my HTPC.PROS:- Price was good when I ordered, $34.99 Shipped- Is a Slot loading Dual Layer DVD/CD Burner- Has a Faceplate and dust guard (Black)- Brand New and Sealed in plastic bubble wrap (Well packed)- Quiet enough to not notice.- will take small discs as well as the regular size.CONS:- No mounting screws included (Takes M2-0.4, 4mm)- You have to insert the disc about 75% of the way in before the mechanism pulls it in. I was hoping it would pull it in at about 40% like a PS3 or Wii. However, it does eject to about 60% or just past the center hole which allows you to pull it out without touching the bottom.- Only a 2 year lifespan. I have bought 2 of these and each one died 2 years after purchase.Other:- This is a slim optical ATAPI drive. The connector is not Slim SATA, which is pretty much the standard now. You will need an adapter to use this drive in a desktop PC or HTPC as I mentioned above. Therefor the "Chenbro 1x ODD Bay to 1x Slim ODD Bay and 1x Internal 3.5-Inch HDD/FDD Bay Cage" would be an ideal option as it comes with a ATAPI to SATA adapter, a SP4 FDD type power adapter (requires a molex power connection), and even the screws needed to mount the drive. It was only $15.23 at last check.- The "Startech Slimoptical/3.5 Hd Mounting Bracket for 5.25 Frontbay" I used comes with a slim optical ATAPI to regular IDE adapter, which I had been using for the last few years. That standard has all but been replaced by SATA now. So, I needed to purchase a slim optical ATAPI to SATA adapter also made by Startech (~$20). Unfortunatly, they still supply the slim IDE to regular IDE adapter with the mounting bracket above instead of the SATA Adapter needed for 95% of modern systems. Instead of paying $26.88 for the mounting bracket, $16.09 for the appropriate adapter, and another $5 for the SP4 splitter, I would go with the Chenbro bracket instead. It may be easier or cheaper to get a newer optical drive. Something to think about.***UPDATEI bought this in February 2011 and it is now (August 2013) making loud cog/gear sliping/grinding noise when I first turn on the computer. It still reads discs fine, but the noise is foreboding. I just ordered another to replace it for $23 shipped.***UPDATEThe replacement I ordered from my previous update just died as well. This time it just will not be recognized by the computer. It is now 2015. Since my first one lasted 2 years, and second 2 years, I now believe that this product has a finite lifespan of around 2 years. I have updated this review to reflect this realization.

Not a bad little drive... but would not recommend it for a hp6000 version pavilion laptop computer. Might fit something else better.

This drive worked great to replace my old dead drive in my 2007 vintage Dell laptop. Now i can watch DVDs again.The drive had a date stamp of 2009, but it appeared to be brand new, not used.It installed quickly and easily and is working fine.

Excellent transaction works great. I WAS VERY LUCKY TO FIND A SLIM LINE DVD/CD BURNER WITH A PATA IDE CONNECTOR!! And brand new at 15 bucks!!!