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Rating: 
Summary: good burner; software works, has some quirks
Review: As other reviewers have noted, there are some issues with this CD burner, most notably, with software and drivers (plus, installation - but that applies to all internal SCSI hardware). To its defense, this burner WORKS: if you use Windows 9x then you have driver support (didn't try on NT); if you want to duplicate CDs, software provides a straight-forward way to accomplish it.Limitations of the software show when you are going beyond the trivial and try to accomplish more advanced tasks. The main problem is the interface, which stops being intuitive due to a large number of options available and spread around. It does provide some useful disk information - when you insert a disk, it tells you if it's new or has some sessions already recorded, plus available space in minutes and megabytes (simple, but I don't remember seeing this in Adaptec software). I didn't have a coaster (yet) after burning almost a dozen CDs. One time I almost got a coaster (recording failed because hard drive couldn't keep up at 8x speed), but I was able to record on that same CD at a lower speed (of course, the failed recording session "ate" some portion of the disk). Note to users of computers that are slower than the recommended hardware: I'm using this unit on a Pentium-166 and didn't have any problems (except that the hard drive is not fast enough for 8x speed recording). Of course, I was only using the CD-R/CD-RW portion of the software. Bottom line: if you are comfortable installing hardware, already have a SCSI card, and you don't perform extremely sophisticated disk burns, this burner is a great deal. Plus, according to another reviewer, you can get drivers and buy other software (e.g., from Adaptec), in case you don't like what comes pre-packaged.
Rating: 
Summary: Software Does Not Work on NT 4; Tech support non-existant
Review: Here's a list of what I've discovered I CAN'T do with the Sony Spressa CD-RW. I CANNOT: Do a full backup and restore, Restore large files from CD-RW back to hard disk. Also, when recording music from CD to CD, it is often necessary to first copy to C drive then to CD-RW. This is difficult if you don't have alot of space on your C drive. I'm disapointed with this product, and for more reasons than I've listed.
Rating:
Summary: I'm sorry I bought it.
Review: Here's a list of what I've discovered I CAN'T do with the Sony Spressa CD-RW. I CANNOT: Do a full backup and restore, Restore large files from CD-RW back to hard disk. Also, when recording music from CD to CD, it is often necessary to first copy to C drive then to CD-RW. This is difficult if you don't have alot of space on your C drive. I'm disapointed with this product, and for more reasons than I've listed.
Rating:
Summary: Drive can't read CD-R/CD-RW's
Review: I've had the drive for a few months now, and it worked fine during most of this time. But a couple weeks ago, the drive stopped working with CD-R's. It simply won't recognize the disc, and causes the entire computer to stall at times. It can still read regular CD's. Now I own a broken Sony mini-stero system (a gift), a broken Sony car CD changer (also a gift), and this broken Sony CD-R drive. I won't be fooled again into buying any more Sony junk.
Rating: 
Summary: Quality drive, Lame software
Review: Installation was fairly simple, even for people who don't know much about computers, the manual explains all that you need. The software was fairly easy to install (Although I wish I didn't have to). This drive writes very well, I have been using it for more than a year now and I have had absolutely no problems (Hardware wise) But the big problem is with the software. It is totally disgusting. Besides the fact that it has a clunky interface, it crashes frequently, the readme files are hopeless and it lacks features. To top it off, you can't just run another CDR program because the software seems to be linked to the drivers. By the way, there is a way to overcome this as I have realised people saying how it was impossible to install third party program. Go to the sony site and find the area where you can download the new drivers, the entire drivers not the update. Install this and this alone (Make sure you have removed the original software first) and your good to go. The drivers are very very deep within the Sony support site, so good luck. This drive is very durable, as it is Sony, but for anyone looking to buy a cdrw today, do not buy this drive, maybe the other models don't have the bundled software or look for an equivelant in another brand.
Rating: 
Summary: Sony Burner
Review: The burner is working well so far. Can write a 74 minute cd from the hard drive in less than 8-9 minutes. The Sony CD Creator software is not very versatile, I would recommend purchasing another cd software (preferably Adaptec). You need to know how to install a SCSI Adapter Card in to a PCI slot in order to connect the burner. Some knowledge of hardware installation is definitely needed for SCSI products.
Rating:
Summary: Software Does Not Work on NT 4; Tech support non-existant
Review: The software provided explicitly does not work with NT 4 even though the box claims the drive supports NT 4. I tried to call their tech support number about 6 times to find out what alternative software I could use. Each time there was hold music for 30 minutes followed by a message saying to email them, and then they disconnected me. I don't think they actually have anyone manning the phones. I finally returned the drive. I'll never buy another Sony drive.
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