How do you control a Sony external DVD burner without its original software disk?

October 4, 2005 3:44 PM

I recently bought a Sony external DVD/CD dual-layer burner (DRX-710UL/T), but didn't get the CD that comes with it and Sony won't sell me one. The four-year old Vaio laptop I'm using it on sees the device, but I have no way of controlling it. I know that Windows XP Pro (the Vaio's OS) supposedly has all the drivers built in. Is there an application that would act as an interface between the burner and the laptop? Or does anyone know where I can get a copy of the disk?
posted by Toolshed to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

are you on SP2? Have you looked here?
posted by Zed_Lopez at 3:59 PM on October 4, 2005

The disc probably had a licensed copy of nero on it. You're not going to be able to find a free, legal replacement.
posted by I Love Tacos at 4:19 PM on October 4, 2005

If it sees the device, you probably just need an application to burn crap to the disk, like CDBurnerXP.
posted by cmonkey at 4:23 PM on October 4, 2005

Try Nero. There are alternatives, but Nero works pretty well.
posted by majick at 4:36 PM on October 4, 2005

The guy who originally wrote DVDDecrypter has stripped some code and issued IMGBurn. I used the built-in burner in DVDDecrypter and it worked very well.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 4:39 PM on October 4, 2005

didn't get the CD that comes with it

You probably bought an OEM unit, which means no retail packaging and no bundled software. This is legit and it's one reason it cost you so little.

I second Nero. It will understand your device and it's the best burning app under the sun. It will cost you some scrill, but it's by far worth the $30.

As an incentive to buy it, chekck out the free DVD-Shrink, which combines with Nero to copy DVDs in one click. I've used it hundreds of times and it a great combo.
posted by scarabic at 7:17 PM on October 4, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks to all who replied--as usual a helpful list of things to try. The burner was bought from a guy who lost the CD in his room somewhere ( ... ), but he's still looking for it. It did have Nero on it. I'll try buying Nero--I'm guessing the Nero-lisence reason (thank you I Love Tacos) is why Sony won't fork over a new one. I will also look for IMGBurn. Details to follow.
posted by Toolshed at 8:44 AM on October 5, 2005