Comparison of 4 portable DVD drives using Surface Pro 2, 3, 4, Surface Book

[Don McCubbin]

Hi,

Hope this finds you well.

After reading this thread, I purchased a Samsung Ultra Thin DVD Writer (SE-218) for my Surface Pro 3 (running Windows 8.1), thinking that the DVD player should work, if the Surface Pro 3 is plugged in, as opposed to running just on battery. My experience thus far is that it does not.

When I hooked up the Samsung to my plugged-in Surface Pro, I get the following message: "Power surge on USB port. Unknown device needs more power than the port can provide." The DVD player spins for a while and then stops.

I tried using the installation disk that comes with the Samsung, and I tried a simple CD with various archived files (Word and Excel mostly). Both give the same error.

My Surface Pro has an i5 chip and 8 GB of RAM.

Thoughts on what is going on?

Don

 

[guymalloc]

I'm at a loss, my Samsung usb DVD burner is model SE-218CB/RSBS mfg date august 2013, and it runs and burns fine on a single usb 3 or usb 2 connection to my surface pro 1. I did update the firmware from TS00 to TS01 with the tsst updater, but it worked before I did it. Beyond me....

 

[sharpuser]

@Don McCubbin , Sorry about this problem.

Your Surface Pro 3 seems to have trouble with either the power supply to USB, or the calibration of same. Do you know someone with an SP3 to test on their machine, or could you visit a retailer somewhere to test there? That SE-218 should work fine.

Also, you might try that DVD drive on some other laptop or tablet computer, not an SP3 to try to find out if the DVD drive is defective.

My Samsung drive gets lots of use, with my 8-month old Surface Pro 3 plugged in, and on battery power, with no trouble.

 

[GreyFox7]

Hi,

Hope this finds you well.

After reading this thread, I purchased a Samsung Ultra Thin DVD Writer (SE-218) for my Surface Pro 3 (running Windows 8.1), thinking that the DVD player should work, if the Surface Pro 3 is plugged in, as opposed to running just on battery. My experience thus far is that it does not.

When I hooked up the Samsung to my plugged-in Surface Pro, I get the following message: "Power surge on USB port. Unknown device needs more power than the port can provide." The DVD player spins for a while and then stops.

I tried using the installation disk that comes with the Samsung, and I tried a simple CD with various archived files (Word and Excel mostly). Both give the same error.

My Surface Pro has an i5 chip and 8 GB of RAM.

Thoughts on what is going on?

Don

some devices will just use more power than others... or it may be faulty. Id return/exchange it, a different one may work fine.

 

[Don McCubbin]

some devices will just use more power than others... or it may be faulty. Id return/exchange it, a different one may work fine.

Thanks for your responses. Much appreciated.
As it turns out, I have a Samsung model SE-218GN/RSBD. My hunch is that the slightly different model has a different power requirement -- one that a Surface Pro 3 cannot handle. The Samsung works fine on my ThinkPad laptop. I see that on Amazon, one of the customer reviews ("Great design and function yet still demands to much power for the Surface Pro 3") notes the problem of this particular model with the Surface Pro 3.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-Ultra-Slim-SE-218GN-RSBD/dp/B00MLXA1KI#Ask
I like the Samsung and it is a hassle for me to return stuff, so I am wondering what my options might be. I am thinking of getting a powered USB hub. Don't have much experience with this, but am thinking of:
AmazonBasics 7 Port USB 3.0 Hub with 12V/3A power adapter
Best regards,
Don

.

 

[GreyFox7]

That should work. I use the Amazon Basics 4 port model and with the Power adapter plugged in it drives my old Buffalo DVD drive.

It may have been made back when buffalo roamed the prairies

 

[Don McCubbin]

That should work. I use the Amazon Basics 4 port model and with the Power adapter plugged in it drives my old Buffalo DVD drive.

It may have been made back when buffalo roamed the prairies

Thanks!

You know, I just tried a
AmazonBasics 4 Port USB 3.0 Hub with 5V/2.5A power adapter

After plugging everything in, the Samsung just makes pitiful little noises, like it is trying to spin up, but never makes it. So, I am wondering what are the power requirements of the Samsung? Would the larger hub and seemingly more powerful 3 amps instead of 2.5 amps
AmazonBasics 7 Port USB 3.0 Hub with 12V/3A power adapter
do the trick?

I really don't know what I need, more volts or more amps, or both, or something altogether different!

I am also chatting with someone at Microsoft Surface tech support, but they do not seem to know. The person is flipping through manuals as I type this....

In any case, any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Don

 

[GreyFox7]

Well that's the rating on the power adapter but that would be divided across all USB ports. what the max provided by a single port is not specified that I saw but it says it wont charge an iPad which requires 2.1A, it's likely 1.2A or 1.5A.

My Buffalo drive states 1.5A max. The Samsung should be less than that!

Are you sure the Hub Adapter is plugged in? And working? of course there's no indications of any kind so it might not be.

 

[GreyFox7]

What does it say on the Samsung device for power requirements? It may just specify W (watts)
USB is 5V so W/5V = A

 

[Don McCubbin]

Well that's the rating on the power adapter but that would be divided across all USB ports. what the max provided by a single port is not specified that I saw but it says it wont charge an iPad which requires 2.1A, it's likely 1.2A or 1.5A.

My Buffalo drive states 1.5A max. The Samsung should be less than that!

Are you sure the Hub Adapter is plugged in? And working? of course there's no indications of any kind so it might not be.

Good question!

I disconnected the hub from the Surface Pro 3, and connected the Samsung to the hub by itself. The Samsung lights up and still makes the same pitiful noises (also the eject button does not work), so it seems that the hub is working, though it seems underpowered.

With the Samsung still connected to the hub, I plugged the hub to my laptop, and the Samsung works fines. I then connected the hub to the Surface Pro 3, and the Samsung does not work.

It would seem that the laptop overcomes any shortcomings of the hub. So, it would also seem that the 5V/1.5A 4 port Amazon Basics is underperforming to specs, or the Samsung needs more power.

Best,
Don

 

[GreyFox7]

I don't suppose you have a USB Y cable so you can connect the Samsung to two ports to get extra power. Note often Y cables are asymmetrical meaning one leg is power only, no data signals, so it matters which way you connect them. It wont harm anything but it might just sits there and look stupid.

 

[Don McCubbin]

I don't suppose you have a USB Y cable so you can connect the Samsung to two ports to get extra power. Note often Y cables are asymmetrical meaning one leg is power only, no data signals, so it matters which way you connect them. It wont harm anything but it might just sits there and look stupid.

No USB Y cable. I have read a lot about them.
Not sure how how it work. The two ports would be from the USB powered hub?