How to make an optical drive last as long as possible?

invalid@example.com (mikeymikec), mikeymikec
Sun, 11 Jan 2026 19:38:31 +0000
Memory and Storage

Partly because of the feedback from this thread I created and partly because of my suppliers' stock of optical drives drying up completely for a good long while (at least 3 weeks), I considered the possibility that maybe the manufacture / supply of optical drives is coming to an end much sooner than I thought. Given that I still want to be able to read my BR collection on my computer and also that my DVD drive (my PC has 1x BR-RW and 1x DVDRW internal drives) has been showing signs of giving out (it's getting fussier with discs, I guess it's probably 10 years old), I decided to order a BR-RW drive to forestall the day of potentially never being able to read such discs again in my computer.

I'm not entirely sure what to do with this drive when it arrives because on one hand I need to make sure it works so some testing will be required (probably more testing than just plugging it in and reading a disc), and on the other hand I want the drive to last as long as possible. Any...