Cannot get slimtype optical drive working as external

I have an HL-DT-ST GMA-4080N slimtype optical drive from an old Acer Travelmate.

Since I do not use that laptop anymore, I am trying to make use of its removable optical drive and use it on my Aspire 1810T.

I bought 2x JAE-50 connectors for connecting the drive via USB, but I cannot get it to work.

The first one initially worked, but connnecting the USB would be tricky and would not work all the time and there would always be burning errors, then stopped working altogether.

The second one (which is almost identical to the first, but may be a older model) doesn't work.

I connected them using Windows 7, I don't get any error messages, but with Windows XP when I plug in either cable I get a USB power surge warning.

I really do not know where I can get working connectors for these drives, I can only find them on eBay, and that has failed twice.

I've tried upgrading the firmware on the drive, still doesn't work. I've swapped the cables and it doesn't work.

The drive works fine connected directly to the Travelmate.

What could I possibly do to fix this?

 

any ideas on how to get this working? Is it the drive itself?

 

Sounds like your USB ports might not supply enough power to run the CD Drive (burning errors are common when there isn't enough power to the drive). You're probably best off getting an external enclosure similar to this one ( Amazon.com: Sabrent IDE/PATA CD/DVD/RW USB 2.0 Slim Notebook Drive Enclosure EC-BIDE (CD/DVD burner not Included): Electronics) to put it in. I mention this one specifically because it comes with a Y USB cable, so it can access two USB ports to make sure it gets enough power to run the drive. Alternatively, you can search for one that can be plugged in directly to the wall with a wall wart, that would guarantee enough power, although at the cost of portability.