Other

Category overview

This catch-all groups storage devices that are no longer the main daily option but remain important for specific tasks: reading older media, performing long-term archival backups, or interfacing with industrial and specialized equipment that still uses optical or tape storage.

What this category covers

External USB CD, DVD and Blu-ray drives for notebooks and modern desktops without internal optical bays; LTO tape drives and tape cartridges for long-term backup; blank optical media; and specialty storage adapters for legacy interfaces.

Who this category is for

IT departments running long-term backup and compliance archives on tape; users who need to read or burn legacy CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs; anyone working with older equipment or media that cannot move to current storage standards.

What to look for

Optical drives

External USB optical drives are the simplest option for reading legacy discs. Most are bus-powered and work without drivers on current operating systems. Blu-ray drives also read DVDs and CDs and are useful where archival Blu-ray discs are still in use.

Tape backup

LTO tape remains the lowest cost-per-gigabyte option for offline backup at scale and is the standard medium for long-term retention. The current LTO generation determines compatibility with cartridges of different ages: drives can usually read two generations back and write one generation back.

Specialty media

Some industrial equipment still uses older media (floppy drives, magneto-optical disks, ZIP cartridges). Adapter drives for these formats are still produced in small numbers and matter for organizations with legacy gear.

What to check before buying

Frequently asked questions

Are optical drives still useful?

For most users, no. Software distribution moved online and storage moved to USB drives. Optical drives still matter for reading legacy archives, working with installation discs for older equipment, and some niche broadcast and audio workflows where physical media is still in use.

Is tape backup still relevant?

For backup at scale, yes. LTO tape has the lowest cost per gigabyte for offline storage, very long shelf life when stored properly, and is fully offline (immune to ransomware that encrypts online storage). For long-term retention and compliance archives, tape is still the standard.

How long does data last on optical media?

Standard CD-R and DVD-R media degrade over years to decades depending on quality and storage conditions. Archival-grade media (M-DISC) is rated for much longer retention. For long-term archives, optical is risky compared to tape unless archival-grade media and proper storage are used.

Can I still read floppy disks?

Yes. USB floppy drives are still produced for users who need to read 3.5-inch disks. Older 5.25-inch disks need specialty drives that are now mostly second-hand. The bigger problem is often the format on the disks rather than reading them physically.

Why does my external optical drive eject discs?

Bus-powered USB optical drives are sensitive to underpowered USB ports. Try a different port directly on the host, or use the secondary power cable some drives include. Old or damaged discs that the drive cannot read also trigger an eject.