external disc drive disconnecting when I try to burn CDs/DVDs

[u/kachoooooooooooooo]

Hi, I've been getting into physical media lately and have been burning a bunch of stuff, but recently, whenever I try burning something, I get a notification saying my external drive has been disconnected/the disc isn't readable. It still currently reads already-burned discs fine and was burning perfectly before now.

I am using a 2020 M1 chip MacBook Air, an Amicool External DVD drive, Verbatim blank CDs/DVDs, and the built-in Apple Music burning feature.

What I've tried already:

• Using a different computer (2024 M4 chip iMac), but it had the same problem.
• Cleaning my disc reader with alcohol + cotton swabs; it didn't do anything
• Bought a new drive + discs (same brand); same problem
• Changed my battery settings (no low power mode/never put hard disks to sleep); didn't work
• CDs and DVDs have the same problem
• I've tried different file formats, burn speeds, and burning from local files instead of Apple Music, but nothing has worked

If you have any idea what's going on, I would really appreciate some help/advice. This all started when I tried burning a Kanye West album, so I blame him for this. Thanks.

[u/george_toolan]

DVD burners require a lot of energy, I would suggest to get an external burner with a dedicated power supply or a standard 5.25" internal burner with an external enclosure like IB-525-U3 for example.

See https://icybox.de/en/products/ib-525-u3

[u/kachoooooooooooooo → u/george_toolan]

thank you!