I removed my Lite-On 52X CD-R and replaced it with the LG GSA-4160B. I wanted to leave the Lite-On installed, but it's cable had only one connector, and the cable that came with the LG had 2 connectors, but was too short to connect to both drives (I could only have used the most distant connector). I just left the Lite-On cable attached to the secondary IDE channel on the motherboard and connected the LG to it. I also installed a SoundBlaster Audigy2 ZS. Windows XP installed the DVD drivers automatically, but.

When I display the contents of any CD I put in the LG, it is super slow. Opening a folder takes 6 to 40 seconds. If I draw a box to highlight files, the box will freeze for 8 seconds after the first file is highlighted, then the remaining files will highlight. If I change CDs it takes about 60 seconds to recognize and display the name of the new CD in Windows explorer.

Does anybody know what's going on here? Also, if I keep the LG, is there extra long ribbon cable so I can also connect the Lite-On?

Uh, it may be not a hardware problem but a software one.

If your drive is in PIO Mode, data passes through the IDE cable but is also processed by the CPU, and this slows down everything! One of my friends has experienced problems like this and its drive was in PIO Mode.

To check if this is your problem, go to Control Panel -> System -> (under Hardware) Device manager -> IDE/ATAPI IDE Controller and click Properties on each "IDE Channel" you will find. Navigate the columns and you should arrive in one which shows you your device status. For example: Device 0 -> "DMA if available".

There are 2 options: "PIO Only" and "DMA if available". Try setting them all to DMA if available and reboot.

Thanks for the suggestion. My primary IDE channel is Ultra DMA Mode 5, and the secondary is Mode 4, so that's not the problem. BTW, I found a longer IDE cable for $7.95 at Radio Shack. I reattached the Lite-On, and it's still faster than a Warpsmith. (See Alan Moore's Miracleman for the reference and a ripping good yarn)

The LG GSA-4160B will not read DVDs. I just get read errors. Last week I couldn't even find this model on the LG site. I've never had this much bad luck with an LG drive before.