A computer without an optical drive: what to do when you need a CD or DVD

Did you buy a new computer or laptop and find it has no drive for CDs and DVDs? You are not alone. Optical drives are only rarely fitted today, yet occasionally you still need to read an old disc. Let us explain why drives are disappearing and how to solve the problem easily.

Why drives are disappearing

An optical drive is unnecessary in most computers today. Programs are downloaded from the internet, we carry data on USB sticks and in the cloud, and we stream music and films. Meanwhile a drive takes up space that is useful elsewhere in thin laptops, and most people do not use it even once a year. That is why manufacturers leave it out of new devices.

The solution: an external USB drive

Fortunately you miss out on nothing. You just buy a portable external USB drive. It is a small box you connect over USB when you need it, and otherwise keep it tucked away in a drawer. It works on a desktop and a laptop, is cheap and needs no complicated installation. When you finish reading the disc, you simply disconnect it.

Which type to choose: CD, DVD or Blu-ray

• A DVD drive is the most common choice. It also reads old CDs and usually can burn discs too. For most people it is perfectly enough.
• A Blu-ray (BD) drive is more expensive and suits watching Blu-ray films or using high-capacity discs. It also reads DVDs and CDs.

When buying, note whether the drive only reads discs or also burns them (the RW marking means it can write).

What to look at when choosing

• Power. Most drives are powered directly from USB. Some older or Blu-ray models need more current, so they have two USB connectors or a power adapter.
• Connector. Check whether your computer has USB-A or USB-C, or use an adapter.
• Compatibility. With Windows and macOS it usually works right away, without installing drivers.

Alternatives when you do not want a drive

Sometimes a drive can be avoided entirely:

• Copy the disc contents to a USB stick or the cloud once on someone else’s computer with a drive, and you have it forever to hand.
• Create a disc image (ISO), which behaves like an inserted disc, without physical media.
• Share a drive over the network from another computer that has one.
• Buy software, music or films digitally, if you no longer need them on disc.

When you really need one

An external drive comes in handy mainly for old CDs and DVDs with photos and documents, installation discs of older programs, music CDs for the car or films on DVD and Blu-ray. If you have an archive on discs at home, it is worth copying it to a drive or the cloud before the media age, which we write about in the article how to back up data properly.

Do you need to copy old discs or get advice on choosing a drive? Get in touch, we will help with transferring the data and with recovering it if the media is damaged.

This article is part of our Hardware and components overview.