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

...of storage you can string together a bunch of old SCSI hard drives and end up with a reasonable amount of storage that isn’t too slow and will function reliably. So in summary SCSI moves data faster, you can connect a lot of devices, it is more reliable but it does cost a bit more. This brings me to Adaptec’s AVA two thousand nine hundred series. I personally am the proud owner of an AVA – 2904. Adaptec seem to increment the numbers (for example, I have seen a 2906 about) but I think this represents minor improvements to the series or cards intended for different markets. First, the good news this card is cheap. I bought mine for only £30, ideal as I am short of cash right now and I only wanted it to run an elderly SCSI cd writer at home. It also installed perfectly, I popped in the new card restarted my PC, it came back... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Gigantic storage capacity, long shelf life for stored disks
Disadvantages: Not cheap, bit slow sometimes.

...are not as cheap as cd and can be bought for around £10 each. Interestingly I am told this is cheaper than the equivalent DVD-R disks. This is apparently because you can’t play DVD-RAM disks in a DVD movie player and the price of DVD-R disks (which will play in a DVD movie player) are being kept high to limit piracy. On to the drive itself, the Panasonic LF-D103 is a little bit old now, alightly new model is available but I don’t think it boasts any major improvements. I can’t remember many problems with installation. The drive is a SCSI device (see my article on the Adaptec AVA 2904 SCSI controller to learn more about SCSI) and so only required connecting to my pc’s SCSI card. The software that came with it is pretty funny, as it has obviously been written by people with a slender grasp of English (and Panasonic obviously... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Gigantic storage capacity, long shelf life for stored disks
Disadvantages: Not cheap, bit slow sometimes.

...The Panasonic LF-D201 is a SCSI DVD-RAM drive. Mmmm, I hear you say, what a bunch of lovely acronyms, if only I knew what they meant I might actually bother to read this article. Never fear all will be explained. SCSI is the way in which it connects to your computer, for the pros and cons of this method, e.g. compared to USB, see my opinion on Adaptec’s AVA-2904 SCSI controller card and to a lesser extent my opinion on the Plextor 12/10/32S SCSI cd writer. DVD-RAM is probably going to be the replacement for cd writers. It has an enormous capacity per DVD disk (up to 9.4 GB) and prices are starting to make it accessible to the likes of you and I. I have also discussed DVD-RAM and its pros and cons more extensively in my opinion on the older Panasonic LF-D103. Having covered the basics in earlier opinions, I can now... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful