HP External Portable Slim Design CD/DVD RW Write/Read Drive, USB, Black (F2B56AA)

I am accustomed to having a device listed in File Explorer by simply plugging it in the a USB port (i.e. jump drive). This is not the case with this HP DVDRW unit. You need to have a CD/DVD disk inserted when plugged in and it will then wake up. Personally, I like to know that a plug in is recognized and set to go whenever plugged in. Hence, a little change on my part...I just need to have a disk loaded and then look at File Explorer to insure it is connected and ready to read and or write. By the way, another separate issue is to pick a app that will allow you to use your DVDRW unit. Windows 10 does not come with an app. Would be great if HP could simply have a free app listed and wed access versus going third party route. Im using Any Player which is alright but makes it really feel like its a third party provider. I believe Windows has the Media Player app at $14.99.

Plug & play only plugs and plays VERY basic functions. Forget burning a music cd or something like that. You have to find and download a driver to get full function with this device. No one tells you this. Instructions in microscopic folded page impossible to read unless you’re Antman. Look, I’m not a computer nerd. Plug and play seemed like a simple thing to do, plug it in and play. NOT. Luckily I have a computer nerd available to help me out. Remember when you’d buy a computer device that came with a cd to stall and there you go! Easier that this plug and play.

i bought an off brand unit that said plug and play. no matter what i did, it would not work. bought the hp unit and it literally took me longer to get it out of the box than it did to hook it up and have it performing beautifully. yeah, id buy their stuff again.

I was so glad to find something reliable at an affordable price.

I really liked the design of this CD drive; worked without any issues when I connected it to my laptop.

optical drive on my laptop failed, new laptop has no optical drive this worked great first time, no set up or installation issues

Good device and good price

Worked well right out of the box. Built a new computer for which I needed to load the OS. Changed the boot sequence in the bios, plugged in the HP DVD unit, performed a save/exit in BIOS, the DVD Unit started up and the OS prompt came up and all was good! :)

This product was described as a CD/DVD RW external drive. It isnt. Its only a DVD drive. Useless to me. And perhaps counterfeit. When I ran the serial number by HP they did not recognize it. If youre looking for a CD RW drive avoid this one!

Dont know if it works yet since it didnt auto-connect. Need help with it.