On Sat, 23 May 2009 00:04:47 +0100, Eeyore
wrote:

CDRs really. And I don't know if it's the make of the blank alone ( I
usually use 'name' ones of some reasonably quality reputation ) or the
drives pack up early. I've thrown out more CD drives than any other
piece of PC kit.

The first generation of CD drives certainly seemed to have about a 3
year life.

A lot of my failed CD-Rs date from days before I realised that burning
at the manufacturer's maximum rated speed was NOT a good idea. The
better burn utilities prominently feature a choice of burn speeds.
Unfortunately many of the consumer-aimed programs hide this setting.