Introduction
Mitsumi has strove to make useful
products of all types. Manufacturing everything from
floppy drives to CD-Rs, there is a good chance that
at least something in your computer bears the Mitsumi
name. When I first heard of the 4801TE IDE 4x8 CD-R,
I imagined it would maintain the same quality as other
Mitsumi products, along with a little of that "generic"
feeling. (that's a bad way to describe it, so I hope
you understand that I mean Mitsumi makes some almost-generic
products)
Installation
Installing a CD-R is just like
installing a CD-ROM or hard drive. You'll have to
already have a free 5 1/4" bay, an IDE channel,
and a little patience. (These installation photos
are from the box)
1) You'll have to
remove your 5 1/4" bay cover first. This is usually
not a problem, but in tight spaces with certain ATX
cases it can be difficult. There is usually a metal
guard behind the plastic cover, unless you removed
these prior to assembly. Make sure to be careful.
The edges can cut your hands pretty badly. After working
at a computer store, I would always come home with
at least a few flesh wounds.
2) Sliding in the
CD-R is not a problem in most cases. However, I had
a huge problem here. I have the ABIT BX6 motherboard
and a Mini/Mid tower ATX case. The motherboard is
gigantic, and the CD-R is too long to fit without
smashing right into my SDRAM DIMMs which lie right
behind the 5 1/4" slots. I guess ABIT never thought
about that.. So I have a CD-R hanging about 2"
out of my system. This is okay, but it's just another
hassle. Most cases and motherboards should have no
problem fitting the CD-R in.
3) Next you need
to attach the IDE ribbon, power connector, and CD-ROM
audio cable. Again, most people shouldn't have a problem
here. If you're a real novice, you might run into
troubles. If you're unsure which side is "Pin1",
the IDE ribbon has a red line on it. The red side
plugs into the side of your CD-R connector that says
Pin1, or 99 times out of 100, the side closest to
the power connector. Connecting the power connector
is not hard either. Some times it may take a little
pressure, but fear not. It is also keyed so no mistakes
can be made.
4) Now you should
install the IDE cable onto your motherboard's IDE
connector. This, too, will have the pin # etched in,
so you shouldn't be confused. You might have to set
the CD-R to master and feed it through to your CD-ROM
as slave if you have two hard drives installed, etc.
Now plug the audio cable into the sound card's connector
and you're set. Reboot and install drivers.
This installation
was just as expected. There were no major problems,
but the size issue of my BX6 angered me a bit.
Features
When a product looks good on
paper, it could still be a piece of crap. It's important
to understand these terms when buying specialized
hardware such as CD-Rs.
