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MicroSolutions Backpack DVD+RW (USB 2.0)
For $300 you could do much better
by Charlie White
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 If you'd like to take DVD burning on the road or from computer to computer, MicroSolutions has released the Backpack DVD+RW external drive ($300), a unit that can get the job done, but not without a bit of set-up tension. Hooking up to your computer via USB 2.0, the unit works well enough, as long as you follow the instructions on how to set it up and download its proprietary drivers.
Maybe it's just that I have been experimenting with quite a few FireWire external drives lately, but I have little patience with peripherals that aren't truly plug-and-play. Even on PCs, which used to be laughable as plug-and-play hosts, I'm accustomed to plugging in the FireWire drive, and poof! It shows up as a disk in the "My Computer" window. No such luck with the Backpack. As I usually do as a reviewer, to see how easy the product is to use, I'll try to get a unit running without reading the instructions. To my dismay, the Backpack didn't work right out of the box, so I had to check the reed-thin instruction pamphlet, which instructed me to install the drivers and accompanying software before plugging in the drive. Figuring I had sullied the computer with this first attempt, I unplugged the drive and first installed its software, then the drive, on another of our USB 2.0-equipped test machines here at the Midwest Test Facility. After that, I plugged the backpack into the USB port and voila! Uh, nothing. Undaunted, I went to a third USB 2.0-equipped computer, and tried the same install routine there. Still nothing. So, I went to the MicroSolutions Web site and downloaded the latest drivers for the unit. Then, it finally worked. By then I was muttering various oaths at the little plastic box.
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I don't think a DVD drive should be this difficult to get working. But, once I had it up and running, all was well with the drive. Its performance was about even with other DVD writers we've tested here, able to write our 1-gigabyte test file to the DVD from the computer's hard disk in 5:58 (2.70MB/sec., albeit with another minute taken up staring at a "waiting for drive" box). The unit is versatile, too -- in addition to its 2.4x DVD+RW write speed and DVD+R (at 4x) capabilities, it's able to write a CD-R at 16X and a CD-RW at 10x. You're also able to write DVDs that will play back on most home DVD players by using the included Sonic MyDVD software, an easy-to use application that makes short work out of an erstwhile-laborious process. For writing files to the drive for backup purposes, MicroSolutions has included SpeedyCD, software that works for both CDs and DVDs. This software can write data to DVDs, but only in "sessions," where once you've written one session on a disk, it won't let you write another. On a DVD+RW, you're able to erase the whole disk and write another complete session on there, but with a DVD-R, one session and you're done. With CD-RW and CD-R, by the way, you're able to write multi-sessions. For archiving on DVD+R, though, you might want to compile enough files to fill an entire 4.7GB disk unless you don't mind wasting blank DVD space.
This brings up a major omission with the Backpack: drive letter access, affectionately known in the business as DLA. In a call to MicroSolutions tech support (which, by the way, was superb, with a astute, friendly and enthusiastic rep answering the phone after one ring/no waiting), the staffer said the company is working on a drive letter access driver which should be available in about four months. I think that will make a huge difference in the usability of this drive. With DLA, you can just drag and drop a few files onto the disk, backing them up as you go. I think it's a must-have with any DVD or CD writer.
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