Help with Surface Pro 3 & DVD burner

[noiseredux]

so a while back I bought one of those cheap USB DVD burners for my Surface Pro 3. The main intention was to rip audio CD's as well as movies for use on Surface or to stream over my home network or things like that. It's been problematic. Basically the drive can see that a disc is inserted, but if I try to PLAY a CD or RIP a CD (or DVD) the drive disconnects immediately.

Some Googling says that the Surface Pro 3's USB port is actually not powerful enough to power these USB-powered drives. So I guess (?) what I'm in need of is an external drive that actually utilizes an AC adapter. I think? Does anyone w/ a Surface Pro 3 have an external drive confirmed working? Or know where I can find one w/ external power - they seem increasingly rare. I hate to spend the $ on one if it won't actually work, though.

Bonus points if it can rip Bluray as well.

[marurun]

so a while back I bought one of those cheap USB DVD burners for my Surface Pro 3. The main intention was to rip audio CD's as well as movies for use on Surface or to stream over my home network or things like that. It's been problematic. Basically the drive can see that a disc is inserted, but if I try to PLAY a CD or RIP a CD (or DVD) the drive disconnects immediately.

Some Googling says that the Surface Pro 3's USB port is actually not powerful enough to power these USB-powered drives. So I guess (?) what I'm in need of is an external drive that actually utilizes an AC adapter. I think? Does anyone w/ a Surface Pro 3 have an external drive confirmed working? Or know where I can find one w/ external power - they seem increasingly rare. I hate to spend the $ on one if it won't actually work, though.

Bonus points if it can rip Bluray as well.

What you need is a powered USB hub. Connect the hub to the Surface and the hub's power to the wall and the hub will provide the power needed to the DVD drive.

Some laptops also have low-powered USB ports. When the laptops are connected to their power adapter, however, sometimes they are designed to then be able to deliver full power. So also try with the Surface connected to the charger.

[noiseredux]

yeah the only time I've plugged in the USB drive is when connected to AC power, so that's not the answer. I guess the powered hub could work though. My USB hub is non-powered. (Note: I tried the drive plugged in to the non-powered hub, and also directly to the Surface).

[marurun]

A powered hub is absolutely the answer. A powered hub can deliver full USB power to every port, and is a godsend for laptop users as it can also serve as a kind of pseudo-docking station.

[bmoc]

+1 for powered USB hub

[noiseredux]

Does anyone have a specific powered hub they highly recommend?

[Jagosaurus]

As a secondary note, once you get the drive situation worked out:

Download free MakeMKV for the movie rips. Super easy. I had bad luck with 2 other programs. Last year I ripped 150+ DVDs and 40 or so CDs for the same project. I just used stock Windows Media Player to rip the CDs to mp3s.

For playback of the movies, if you don't have a plex server, download free VLC.