[redandwhites]

Hi there,

My Pismo CD/DVD drive has crapped out, surprise.

I'd love to get a MCE DVD/CDRW Combo Drive (http://store.powerbook1.com/mcexcarprome.html) but also going on holiday, can't have both

So, I just want to replace the drive I had, but do I buy these like new, or used or what?

I got lost @ the Apple Store (yeah, I know it's designed for kids...shoot me... and found places like <a href="http://www.wegenermedia.com/pismop.htm" target="_blank">http://www.wegenermedia.com/pismop.htm</a> who list $139.00 for a replacement drive but...hmmm..I dunno....

I'm in the South Pacific so prefer dealing with a) successful online store and b) experience shipping o/seas so if shipping should the product be faulty.

Your comments/suggestions appreciated.

[icruise]

First of all, was your drive an LG drive? Just curious since my LG drive died (under warranty, luckily) and I have heard of a fair amount of trouble with those. $139 doesn't sound like a bad price, really. You might be able to get a cheaper price on eBay, but that has hassles associated with it too.

[icruise]

I also notice that smartdisk has their CDRW expansion bay drive for $199.99 (plus an additional 10% off during their current sale) which might be a good solution if you don't need DVD.

<a href="http://store.yahoo.com/smartdiskstore/exbaycddriv4.html" target="_blank">http://store.yahoo.com/smartdiskstore/exbaycddriv4.html</a>

[flatsix]

I experienced the same failure here too, that damned LG drive had to die as predicted I suppose. I really wish Apple will do something about this. Anyway get yourself a UJDA710 combo drive from ebay. This is what I decided to do. It sells for ~150 USD. Well, I'm glad I bought the combo drive. Have done about a couple of gigs of burning since yesterday!

[waffffffle]

My pismo's DVD drive died last summer. I was without an optical drive for a while until I was able to acquire one from a dead lombard. It was a different drive but it worked. I then acquired a CD rom drive off a dead iMac and was able to use the dead drive's sled to house the iMac's drive and it actually worked. The only problem was that the bezel wouldn't attach because the screw holes didn't line up.

[drewman]

The same SmartDisk store listed above has the same drive in their refurbished section for $120:

<a href="http://store.yahoo.com/smartdiskstore/exbayandulde.html" target="_blank">http://store.yahoo.com/smartdiskstore/exbayandulde.html</a>

Andrew

[icruise]

Almost everything in the refurbished section (including that) is not in stock and hasn't been for weeks -- it's a bit misleading.

[redandwhites]

Thanks for the comments, so who sells these besides Apple?

The two options (ebay & SmartDisk) are the best/only ones?