Advantages: A bargain. Easy to install and used. Good entry level SCSI controller.
Disadvantages: No support for higher data rates.

...If you plug an SCSI card into your pc, don’t hold your breath because nothing exciting is going to happen. (Unless of course you have made a very bad job of installing the card. Then you might see smoke and flames coming from your cherished/reviled PC or even, in extreme cases, find yourself moving down a tunnel towards a bright light.) However, once you have installed you SCSI card you will be able to attach any number of exciting devices to your pc. Although this is an opinion of Adaptecs AVA-2900 series of SCSI card, it is also a general review of SCSI. I have done this because as far as I can tell this is the first review at Ciao of a SCSI controller card. This seems to be a bit of an over sight to me as any number of SCSI devices have been reviewed, (such as the excellent Plextor external SCSI cd writer which... Read review

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Advantages: Easy to use
Disadvantages: To slow formatting - not enough features as Nero

...Adaptec direct Cd is an okay program, but for the most part it is too limited for the average or advanced user. If you are a beginner it is good only because it is easy and straightforward. But as you get better at rewriting cds, you'll notice you are missing a lot of the main features you will need to do it quickly and efficiently. The number 1 gripe I have with adaptec is how fast it takes to format your rewriteable cd. Adaptec's software is too slow (about 20 mins) as compared to Nero which takes a couple minutes. And on top of that, you can sometimes get errors depending on the rewriteable cds you buy and it will not format correctly. As soon as you get it formatted, it works well for the most part. Its quick to read and write, but if your going for settings, reliability and a fast writer program, then i suggest to use Nero... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent quick fire program
Disadvantages: WILL NOT WORK WITH XP....EVER

...About 10 months ago I purchased a Memorex CD-RW complete with adaptec Easy CD Creator v4 and Direct CD v3 how happy I was burning CD's and re-writing, erasing and saving all sorts to cd instead of clogging up my hard drive with rubbish....I could drag drop and delete pictures direct from my camera just like using windows explorer taking my work with me so that I could add to it any where. I am so impressed by every aspect of this programe , the speed and ease of use, extra program for jewel case labels, data copying, music CD copying is ideal so that I can have a perfect copy of my cd's in my car. It was dead easy to intall, with absolutely no hicups and for several months my Memorex CD-RW has had lots of use....UNTIL NOW GRRRRRR IT WILL NOT AND WILL NEVER WORK IN WINDOWS XP Adaptec software has been handed... Read review

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Advantages: Stable and easy to use
Disadvantages: Can destroy perfectly good blank CD's

...Having read other peoples opinions i feel i must have my say. Although I started with adaptec easy CD creator and had only a few problems, mainly installation, at first. I have since found that I have had to scrap over 5 CD-R's when doing direct copying. This is not down to my hardware, as will become clearer later, but I believe is down to the software itself. I recemtly installed Nero v5.0.2.2 and have had absolutely no problems since and not even one wasted CD-R or CD-RW. If you have the choice then go for Nero, although Adaptec is suitable it is nowhere near as good and versatile as NERO... Read review

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Advantages: Very easy to use - drag & drop features
Disadvantages: Can lock RW CDs

...This is probably the fastest and easiest to use CD creation product. Unlike some other software Adaptec Direct CD uses drag & drop so that you can make your CD in Windows Explorer like you would do with a floppy disk. You can use the application for backing up essential files (or your whole hard drive) or, if your CD-R/RW drive is fast enough, you can install onto and run programs from CDs to save valuable Hard Disk space. The only problem I've found with Direct CD is that it can lock a Re-Writable CD on its own, stopping any programs on the CD from working properly and making it impossible to delete or add files. This has only happened once on my computer and I doubt it will happen again. Overall the software is easy to use and quite reliable. If you have a CD writer on your computer Direct CD is definitely a must buy.... Read review

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Advantages: so easy an elephant could use it
Disadvantages: short on features, slow format

...Like it's CDR sister, Easy CD Creator, Adaptec's Direct CD, the king of CDRW copying, is pre-packaged with every decent CDR drive under the sun. And what do I say about that? Thank goodness. Using Direct CD is so so sooo easy. You just slap in a CDRW, and load up the program. It will confirm that the CDRW can be formatted for rewrite access, you press one button and the CD is formatted. Now here comes the main problem with this software. It is rather slow when it comes to formatting. It takes about 20 mins (or slower, depending on drive and PC) which didn't seem that bad to me, but having looked around I have found some bits of software which do the same job in about a fifth of that time (Nero). However, once it's done, then you basically have a new hard drive on a CD. If you know how to save a file from a program like Word... Read review

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Advantages: You've got to be kidding
Disadvantages: Doesn't work, can screw up your system

...Adaptec is one of the biggest names in CD recording for computers and its Easy CD Writer is pretty simple and effective, but be very careful when you use Direct CD - it can seriously damage your health. I could never get the software working properly from the day I had it and it sometimes refused to allow me to get a CD out of the machine. I have a CD rewriter which allows me to burn CD-RW disks and I got it so that I could use it to back up my system on the basis that I could reformat the CD-RW disks and use them over and over again. Direct CD, however, has always refused to work properly for me and I just gave up using it, meaning that in the end I stuck to the CD Copier software included in the pack and just burning CD-ROMs. That always worked fine. In teh end, I had a problem with my PC and I took it back to the suppliers... Read review

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Advantages: Plug n play, reliable, efficient
Disadvantages: A bit pricy

...Finally, just when I was begining to give up on ever attaching my SCSI drive to my system, along came the answer to my prayers. A neat fitted in seconds, no need to open the case solution; the Adaptec USB to SCSI connector. This piece of electronic genius allows you to connect virtually any SCSI device directly to your PC through its USB port. It works and is brilliant. It just plugs in and away it goes. Everything is supplied and with easy to follow directions. It is not cheap though, expect to pay about $50 ($90) for it but compared with a SCSI card & cables it probably works out the same and is definately 100% less hastle than trying to configure an already stuffed full to the brim machine. It's got my vote.... Read review

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Advantages: Allows easy and quick Audio CD compilation. Burns every conceivable type of CD you can imagine.
Disadvantages: Direct packet writing software is only CDRW compatible. Slightly harder to get to grips with than Adaptec software.

...Ahead Nero is CD writing software that is growing in popularity. But is it as good as it’s major rival Adaptec? Read on and I’ll give you my view of that. About 4 months ago I finally got round to upgrading my PC. Along with that of course went all my old hardware upgrades, which while top of the range at the time were looking somewhat dated. In particular, out went my trusty old 8x SCSI Hewlett Packard CD rewriter in favour of the brand spanking new 12 speed burnproof writer bundled with the new Evesham PC. The bundled Adaptec software that came with my old HP had become my best friend, especially the Packet writing software, DirectCD, which I used constantly, leaving a CDR in the drive permanently (or until it filled up at least) to write directly to the CD like an extra drive. Perfect for digital camera images, and MP3 writes... Read review

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Advantages: Very easy to use and lots of features
Disadvantages: None

...When i first got my CD-Rewriter, all i knew was that i was able to write my own CDs, but it never occurred to me how i would do until after i brought my CDRW drive. Bu luckily, i didn't have to worry too much as my drive came with Adaptec Easy CD Creator. It was like any other program, you put the CD into your drive and just install it. Adaptec is very easy to install and once i had done that, i was able to write onto CDs just like that. Part of the Adaptec cd writing suite was DirectCD, i was impressed by this particular tool as it will detect whether the CD in it's drive is a blank CD, a rewritable CD or a commercial CD. I normally only use my CDRW drive for writing only as i have a separate CD-ROM to read other CDs. The DirectCD Wizard made my life easier by running through step by step what to do, whet