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Home » 2011 » February » 2 » USB AND DVD DRIVES TIPS & TRICKS
10:10 AM
USB AND DVD DRIVES TIPS & TRICKS

Problems With USB DVD Drives


The disc, the drives or the PC could be causing problems.
The disc, the drives or the PC could be causing problems.
a dvd-r disc image by wayne ruston from Fotolia.com

If your computer doesn't have a DVD player or burner, universal serial bus (USB) DVD drives offer an easy way to add one. However, you may still experience some problems setting up drives of this type.

    Port Problems

  1. Many DVD drives require USB version 2.0 or later. Some older computers have version 1.0 or 1.1; refer to the owner's manual or the manufacturer's website. You might have to upgrade the computer's USB port before adding a drive.

    2. Inadequate Power

  2. DVD drives demand more electrical power than most USB accessories. For example, one manufacturer indicates their USB DVD burner requires two free ports or one port and a battery. Ensure the drive is connected to power as needed and/or has a strong battery.

    3. Disc Problems

  3. The player or the individual video disc may require cleaning. Try a different DVD; it might be defective or have too many scratches. Different drives have varying tolerance for scratches; a disc might play acceptably in one model and fail in another.



Can DVDs Be Put on USB Drives? yes!!!


So you've decided to backup your DVD collection, but you want it to be portable--USB-drive portable--as well. That won't be a problem, if you're willing to sacrifice some quality.

    Rip DVDs

  1. The first thing you'll need to do is find a good DVD ripping program. A ripping program will take the data from the DVD and store it on your computer in a desired format.

    2. Desired Formats

  2. If you intend to store only one or two movies per USB drive, you can probably get away with a lower compression format, but .avi, .mp4, or .wmv may allow a better balance between quality and file size, allowing you to store several movies on a single USB drive. A good file size to shoot for is about 700 MB, or about the size of a single CD.

    3. Good Programs to Use

  3. Several good programs exist. You could use AVS Video Converter, which can both rip and convert to encoded formats. You could use DVD Decrypter to decrypt a DVD's copy-protection and rip it to your computer, followed by Auto Gordian knot (more commonly known as AutoGK) to convert to a different file format. Or, if you're a Mac or Linux user you could also try Handbrake to rip and convert movie files.

    4. Getting the DVD File on the USB Drive

  4. All you need to do to get the converted video file--whether it's .avi, .mp4, .wmv, or something else--onto the flash drive, is to open Windows Explorer and copy the files over.

    5. Hard Drives

  5. Despite the smaller size of the compressed video file that will go on a USB drive, each DVD to be ripped will have to be temporarily stored on a hard drive. These files can be very large--up to 10GB each--so you'll want to make sure you have plenty of hard drive space.

    6. Legality

  6. Although it is most often okay to backup DVDs that you own, sometimes copy protection will prevent you from doing so. When this is the case, it may be illegal to backup your DVD.


How to Boot a DVD to a USB


USB drives are fairly inexpensive and readily available.
USB drives are fairly inexpensive and readily available.
usb stick memory image by dinostock from Fotolia.com

Booting a DVD to a USB is simple and requires the contents of the DVD to be copied to the USB device. DVDs are typically 4.7 GB, so the USB stick must be at least 4.7 GB. The USB stick should also be USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 as this will smooth transferring the data and playing the DVD movie from the USB stick.

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  • USB stick (at least 5 GB and USB 2.0 or 3.0)

  1. Purchase a USB device. The device must have at least 4.7 GB of storage (ideally 5 GB) and should be formatted in USB 2.0 or 3.0 for speed. A model with this much storage should cost less than $20 (as of September 2010).

  2. Insert the USB drive into the computer. Insert the DVD into the computer's DVD drive.

  3. Open the contents of the DVD drive. Click "Start Menu," then "My Computer." Right click on the DVD drive and click "Explore." Press "CTRL" and "A" at the same time on the keyboard to select all the files on the DVD. Press "CTRL" and "C" to copy them.

  4. Open the USB drive. Click "Start Menu," then "My Computer." Double click on the USB drive. Go to "Edit" then click "Paste." The contents of the DVD will be copied to the USB drive. This process may take up to 10 minutes depending on the speed of the computer, DVD drive and USB.

  5. Wait for the copying to finish. Eject the USB and the DVD.



How to Boot From a USB Instead of a Floppy


Most computers are configured to boot first from the floppy disk drive rather than from a hard drive or a CD/DVD drive. If you want to boot your computer first from a USB drive instead of the floppy drive, you can do so by using the "Boot Device Menu" during computer startup. However, you should note that older computers might not have the USB boot feature in the "Boot Device Menu," which means that booting from a USB drive is not supported.

Instructions

  1. Connect a USB drive to a USB port on your computer.

  2. Insert a bootable media (bootable floppy disk/bootable CD/DVD) if the connected USB drive is a USB CD/DVD drive or a USB floppy drive. If the connected USB drive is a USB flash drive or a USB hard drive, the device must contain boot files inside.

  3. Restart your computer.

  4. Press the "F12" key on your keyboard during computer startup to bring up the Boot Device Menu.

  5. Select the bootable USB device using the "Up" and "Down" directional arrow keys on your keyboard and press the "Enter" key to boot from it.




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