I've been thinking of getting a DVD burner and I'm trying to find out if anyone has had any problems burning on an older system. I've found mixed results on Min. system Requirements. For instance some say you need a PC with Intel Pentium processor 166MHz or faster; Windows 98, NT 4.0, 2000, ME or XP; 128MB DRAM required. While others say Pentium III 450 MHz or faster CPU and 128 MB or higher RAM are required 650 MB HDD available capacity; and 5 GB free space for creating a DVD image file Windows 98 / NT4.0 / ME / 2000 / XP.

My piece of crap system specs: 466MHz Celeron, Win98, 128MB SDRAM.

What do you think pretty much a lost cause? I plan on getting a new machine soon but for now a DVD burner would be great for data backup on DVD's.

How big is the HD? I would say that it is probably a lost cause because it is a 466 MHZ Celeron. The MHZ are borderline and the fact that it is a Celeron processor makes it all the more difficult. Also with Windows 98 you have a 4GB file size limit. I would get a new machine first and then worry about a DVD Burner.

Yep, lost cause. I believe most burners require p3 700mhz 128mb ram

Maybe a real old dvd writer might have easier specs? A03?

It may work, but you really have everything working against you, including W98.
Why not try it .... grab a 106 and whack it in .... nothing really lost, as you can always use it on your new PC later, if it doesn't work.

It may work ok on Data, but I doubt very much if it will cope with movies ..... also it will probably work very slow, if it fires up.

Set it up as the Secondary Master, as this will give you a better chance, when copying from your HD.

I've had an A03 (extrernal USB2.0) enclosure running with a PII 350Mhz (192MB SDRAM) - granted DVD2One took ages but it still worked in the end. This is probably 'the minimum spec' and copying a DVD takes 2-3 hours rather than 40mins-1hr. Get a cheap 256MB SDRAM module off e-bay or this board, put in at least a 20gig HD and install Win2k on the machine and you should be away.

Well i'm running a P2 330mhz 40 gig hard drive and mine works perfect

Thanks guys for the feedback. I think my best bet would be a new PC first.

Have at least 12 gig free on hand if you plan on ripping DVD9 to the HDD first, then downsample. Your HD must also be NTFS instead of Fat32 to handle file over 4.gig , from what I heard.

PC are your best friend. They're also cheap these day and with some skill, they're easy to assemble.

Yup FAT32 systems cannot handle file sizes of more than 4GB. It's definitely worth having XP for burning DVDs (although Win2k will also give you the NTFS option).

Originally posted by Bumfield007
Well i'm running a P2 330mhz 40 gig hard drive and mine works perfect

Yes but the P2 is a faster processor than a celeron.

had a celeron 433 mhz system with a 105 for a while , burn speeds were the same, but ripping took a while

My 2.4ghz writes the same speed as my 800ghz....

You know these days you can get a nice computer for $350 after rebate, e.g. dell
Dimension 2400 Desktop P4-2.53Ghz 256MB/40GB HD, Free Printer, PDA, or camera, 48x CD Writer, Ethernet, Modem, Word Perfect/MS Money, XP Home $549 - $200 rebate = $349 shipped free.