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Optical Drives Write for Us

Optical drives capture and store data on optical discs such as CDs, DVDs, and BDs (Blu-ray discs), storing more information than previously available portable media options such as floppy disks.

Optical drives usually go by other names such as disk drive, ODD (abbreviation), CD drive, DVD drive, or BD drive.

Some famous optical disc drive makers include LG, ASUS, Memorex, and NEC. One of these companies probably manufactured your computer’s optical drive or other device, even though you never see its name anywhere on the drive itself.

What Does Optical Drive Mean?

An optical drive is an internal or external computer disk drive that uses laser light technology to read and write data.

Optical disc drives are associated with compact discs, DVD, and Blu-Ray technologies. Like floppy disk drives of the last century, ODDs are outdated and no longer included as a default component on new desktop and laptop computers. External disk drives can be found if you need to access information stored on disk, but due to reduced demand in the market, they are becoming increasingly difficult to come by.

Optical drives work by spinning an inserted disk at a constant speed, calculated in revolutions per minute (RPM). The rotating disk in an optical drive is read with a laser beam using a lens embedded in the head of the optical drive. Optical drives primarily use an Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) bus or Serial ATA (SATA) bus, along with a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) to send and receive data from a computer.

Optical drives may also be called optical disk drives (ODD).

How to Use a Computer Without an Optical Disc Drive

Some computers no longer come with internal disk drives, which is a problem if you have a disk that you want to read or write to. Luckily, there are several solutions for you.

The first solution may be using another computer with an optical disc drive. You can copy files from a disk to a flash drive and then copy them from the flash drive to the computer that needs them. DVD ripping software is helpful if you need to back up DVDs to your computer. Unfortunately, this type of setup is not ideal long term, and you may not have access to another computer with a disk drive.

If the files on the disk also exist online, such as a printer driver, you can almost always download the same software from the manufacturer’s website or another driver download site.

The digital software you buy today is downloaded directly from the distributor, so purchasing software such as MS Office or Adobe Photoshop can be done entirely without ODD. Steam is a popular way to download PC video games. One of these methods allows you to download and install software without needing a disk drive.

Backing Up Files Without an Optical Disc Drive

Some people use disks to back up their files, but you can keep a copy of your data without an optical disk drive. Online backup services provide a way to store files online, and offline backup tools can save your data to a flash drive, another computer on your network, or an external hard drive.

If you need an optical disc drive but want to go the easy route and avoid opening your computer to install it, you can buy an external drive that works almost the same as a regular internal drive but comes with a plug. To an outside computer via USB.