I was having yet another birthday, and as a gift I got some money. I bought a $20.oo haircut, two pair of $8.oo flip-flops, and with the remaining cash I decided to buy myself a DVD-RW burner for my old Windows-98 computer system. Yea I know, I should step into the future, and buy a Windows-XP. Well DUH! If I could afford a new computer system, I wouldn't be spending my hard earned birthday cash (did I say earned?) for this hardware. But to be fair, I have done this before, in fact it was just last year when I bought a wireless connection for my computer system, and I am still using it today.

So, here I am, wondering what type of DVD burner I should buy for this old computer system. I do the right thing, and begin to research DVD burners on the Internet. I look only for those that are compatible with Windows-98, and perhaps Windows-95, just to be safe... I narrow the over-all list down to about three units, and then I check the discount web sites for deals. There are two basic web sites that I have had good luck with, and they are: OverStock.com and PriceGrabber.com.

Since I can shop at OverStock.com through PriceGrabber.com, I went straight to PriceGrabber.com, and began looking. I found two DVD-RW models, both were rated 'good' for Windows-98 computers, but only one of them had won awards. Before making a firm decision, I also checked the reviews of both DVD burners, and went to both manufacturers web sites, for further information.

I printed out all of the information, used a highlighter pen, and began to read the reviews. I found far more good qualities with one of the DVD-RW units, than I did with the other one. All of the information said the both unit could be used with Windows-98, but only one unit peeked my interest. Unfortunately I had to go to bed, because it was almost 2-am, and I just can't seem to stay up like I used to do.

The next day I got on the Internet, went to PriceGrabber.com, and began the search for a vendor. I quickly found the perfect choice which was, of course, a business called: NewEgg.com, and I placed an order! The original price of this DVD burner was about $250.oo+, however, the refurbished price was: $68.oo after shipping charges! I had to pay by money-order, so the order took over two weeks to complete.

Anyway, the DVD-RW unit arrives, and I read the box. It says that it is only compatible with Windows-XP, Windows-2000, and Windows-NT. So I began to swear, and mumble, and jump up and down. The Fed-Ex guy got worried. It was too late, I had already signed for it, and it was mine. I checked the make and model numbers, and everything matched my order, so I decided to install it on my Windows-98 computer system.

Installing it was fairly easy, since the unit was actually NEW, and not refurbished, as I had thought. This was great news, since it included an install CD, cables, and miscellaneous crap. Once installed I re-booted the computer, and began to burn a CD. The program said it wouldn't work on my old computer. So I began to swear, and mumble, and jump up and down. Then I remembered that I'm fairly good with these sorts of problems, and decided to fix the problem myself.

I went to the manufacturer's web site, and looked for a software patch, and found NOTHING. Oh sure, there was a small message that said that this model was discontinued, and that a better model was available. I was not impressed. I mumbled some more, and decided to bypass the software, and 'explore' their installation CD-ROM. I found the answer, and installed the cure. Now I have backed up almost all of my entire hard-drive, and I can burn DVDs as well as CDs. I'm happy, my computer is happy, and I haven't seen the Fed-Ex guy for weeks!

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