Compatible Windows 10 USB3 external CD / DVD drives?

I need to replace my Samsung external USB drive which has stopped working, and am having great difficulty finding a suitable replacement. I have had to return 2, as they could not read any disks at all. I have a few requirements which limit the options, such as USB 3 (not 2) and reading / writing DVD RAM; but the main difficulty relates to Windows 10. In many cases the suppliers of promising machines warn of issues with Windows 10, although they list 10 as a compatible OS.

Does anyone have an idea what these issues are, might they have been corrected with updates (I have Creators upgrade). Or can anyone suggest appropriate drives? Apart from open ended searches I have mainly been looking in Amazon and Ebay. A g

I have a couple/three External USB drives [LG and HP] and find they work fine on both USB 2 and USB 3 ports, can even boot to them. The issue I see with the booting is the BIOS needs to be set to Legacy USB and the BIOS' I've worked with did not include support for USB 3, needs an OS running for that. A UEFI motherboard/BIOS may change that but I haven't had to deal with it yet.

I have a bank of 5 USB 2.0 connected CD/DVD burners that I use for Audio CD production in my recording studio. There is no problem with Win 10. The USB2.0 interface is a PCIe card as all I have on my new Desktop system is USB 3.0 ports. However I have connected one of the drives to a 3.0 port and it worked OK, no problems.

Knowing what error you get when you connect a device and what error the Device Manager shows would help us to try and help you.

I deal with Computer Parts, Laptops, Electronics, and More - Newegg.com for most of my computer parts.

Thanks. I did follow the Newegg link but despite entering a variety of search terms found nothing relevant --- only USB 2 drives despite specifying USB 3, and plenty of USB 3 cables (but no drives to connect them too!). I think I have noticed in my other searching that USB is starting to be in decline, with products no longer available --- my failed Samsung USB 2 drive is now 'discontinued' for example.

I will keep looking.

There are many on newegg. Here is one that I found.
External USB 3.0 CD DVD RW Writer Burner Drive for Win 10 7 PC Laptop Raspberry - Newegg.com

Thanks Burton -- your post did not appear for a while. Your comments are a bit beyond my level but have reminded me that there may well be a hardware inadequacy with my hybrid 2-1n-1 tablet PC . However, before looking for a USB 3 CD / DVD I did get a USB 3 Hub and a USB 3 Card Reader, both of which work fine. My PC is not a USB device as such, its ports are USB 2 --- except for one which is mini USB 3 with a 3.1 cable. It is for the power supply. But I have tried it with the Hub and Card Reader successfully. So maybe?

I may have to accept a USB 2 drive ---nothing wrong with that, but if there is a chance I can get the USB 3 speed on some things (CD/DVD especially) it seems worth trying, unless someone in the know tells me it is a blind ally.

It looks like I might be making a choice between a single USB cable drive and a two cable drive. I am guessing that a small tablet PC like mine is likely to be short on power? Two cable drives mostly only take power from a second USB port (AC supply is rare.) Is taking power this way effective? What about using two ports on the same Hub (even if using a Hub is OK in the first place)? Not good? But what about a Hub which has the option of AC power, as mine has? As well as being better, might that even make the USB power cable to the drive less necessary?

I apologise for all these questions and understand if you cannot or don't want to answer. But for me it is a steep learning curve and I am trying to avoid too much trial and error, especially in the form of buying things that will not do the job.

clayto said:

It looks like I might be making a choice between a single USB cable drive and a two cable drive. I am guessing that a small tablet PC like mine is likely to be short on power? Two cable drives mostly only take power from a second USB port (AC supply is rare.) Is taking power this way effective? What about using two ports on the same Hub (even if using a Hub is OK in the first place)? Not good? But what about a Hub which has the option of AC power, as mine has? As well as being better, might that even make the USB power cable to the drive less necessary?

I apologise for all these questions and understand if you cannot or don't want to answer. But for me it is a steep learning curve and I am trying to avoid too much trial and error, especially in the form of buying things that will not do the job.

I have and use both types of cables, depends upon the power needs of the drive. I see the most common is using the Y-cable. They can be used with Self-Powered Hubs as there is sufficient power available, part of the reason of using that type Hub with my ODDs and 2.5" HDDs. The ports on Notebooks have limited power and the same issue applies to the portable HDDs. I also use a case to put my 2.5" HDDs in but they use the Y-cable while my WDC 750GB and 1TB Passport drives use only a single cable. Again, it is due to the power needs of the drive plus what the case/interface needs. I have formatted a 320GB as exFAT to use with my MacBook Pro and it needs the Y-cable for the case it is in, fortunately the MacBook has 2 USB ports. Using a case with the 3.5" HDDs from Desktops always has its own power supply as they need both 5V and 12V power.

A port-powered Hub doesn't usually provide sufficient power to ODDs and HDDs, fine for lesser needs such as mice, keyboard, Thumb drives, etc.

Is a Y-cable better than two separate cables? Why? I have a couple, not appropriate for this purpose, so I have an idea what they are but have not used them.