Old DVD writer making noise

[samintx]

This whirring and alarming noise just started when I turn it on. After about 2 min all is quiet on the western front. It writes fine but is it telling me something? "I'm on my way out" ????

[Buzz]

how old is "old?"

if it didn't make noise before, that may not bode well; bearing going bad, or some other moving part... OTOH, some opticals are just plain noisy. since it stops after a couple of mins, it's a tough call. good news is that opticals are cheap these days, so if it is a goner, it won't break the piggy bank...

[samintx]

about 5 yrs....and one thing besides mac that I have plenty of is external DVD writers so will be no big loss it this one expires. Just curious if this is the way these babies finally die...not with a whimper but with a bang! ( yes, I know this is backwards)

[Racer X]

Yeah, I could see the bearing/s going bad after the kind of use you probably put them through. I would replace it with whatever the latest Pioneer drive is. I think NEC got out of the market, and NEC and Pioneer have always been the best and most reliable.