A write-off (HP Surestore CD-Writer Plus 9150i)

Member Name: kierachapman

Product:	HP Surestore CD-Writer Plus 9150i
Date:	21/10/01 (158 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: clear instructions, cheap

Disadvantages: doesnt work, messes up your computer, poor software

Unlike some of my friends, I am not a computer expert. I've certainly never had the courage to open up my computer and fiddle about inside. However, when I read opinions on dooyoo telling me that this writer came with straightforward instructions for inserting it in the machine, I thought I'd impress my savvy mates by showing them by doing something technological for myself.

The HP instructions are indeed, superb. The writer comes with a video showing you exactly what you need to do, as well as a set of paper instructions to refer to as you do the job. In all, it took me about 30 minutes to get the thing up and running, and I was mightily impressed with my new technocrat status.

However, it was then that the problems began. I burnt one CD successfully, but the process took ages, and I had to close down every single program on my computer to get it to begin. Then, the drive just stopped working. It would write about 2 tracks, then crash, the whole screen flashing an alarming red colour. Annoyingly, the HP software doesn't let you start burning again after this happens, so you end up with lots of coasters. Worse still, my 50x CD-Rom drive already installed in the computer was now not working at all. Thinking that the problem might lie in type of disc I was burning onto, I tried no less than 5 different types of CD-R media (costing me a fortune!) but had no joy. I now had 15 coasters (I exaggerate not), but unfortunately no audio CDs.

So I rang the HP helpline. I was impressed by the friendliness and effort which the staff made, but after 4 hours on the phone, they had tried everything, and gave up, telling me to return the writer. They could, however, offer me no compensation for the damage which their product had done to my CD-Rom, which I now discovered was completely broken, nor any recompense for the money I had spent on phone calls (the helpline is a national rate number).

I rang my computer-expert
friend. He told me that HP are a fantastic manufacturer when it comes to printers, but a laughing stock amongst the technologically able when it comes to CD-Writers. The software is notoriously bad, and my own experience does nothing to remove this impression! He took out the CD-RW, and the broken CD-Rom and fitted a much more reliable drive, called the Plex-writer which now works like a dream. The moral of the story? Buy Plextor Cd-Writers, and avoid the HP model like the plague, even if it means spending a few quid more. Oh, and always ask the computer experts first.

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