Is there any thing I have to know about changing my drive? Do they have to be a certain size for each brand of laptop or are they a standard size? I it hard to change one out?
zr2152
15-10-2007 19:01:39
Are you looking to upgrade or are you just looking to replace a bad one?
well I have a CD RW/DVD drive and I would like to change it to a CD RW/DVDR RW
hehehhehe
15-10-2007 19:16:35
Yeah you have to buy a drive that is compatible with your laptop. Usually the compatibility is listed when you buy so it is not too hard to lookup.
I've changed laptop drives before, and it wasn't hard at all. You'll probably find a good guide for your specific laptop brand online.
Could you help me find one? I have an Acer Travelmate 2480
hehehhehe
15-10-2007 21:21:09
[quote49334cd45a="Twon"]Think
this one[=http//cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300161840681&ssPageName=STRKMEWAIT&ih=020]this one would be ok?[/quote49334cd45a]
It might but I can't say for sure.
In the 'combo drives' category where you found that drive, I would do a search for acer and check on "Search title and description". That will give you a good list of drives where the seller will say something like "The unit is a standard SLIM LINE with standard laptop ide interface and will fit in virtually all laptops, notebooks, etc. including DELL, ACER, APPLE, IBM, SONY, TEAC, TOSHIBA, GATEWAY, etc."
I would find one that you like and then ask the seller if they know whether it will fit. I googled a bit but couldn't find an exact model for your specific laptop. Can you ask acer if standard slimline drives will fit?
You'll just have to be sure to keep the bezel and mounting pieces from your current drive since you'll probably need them for your new drive.
dmorris68
16-10-2007 07:27:36
Yeah, the internal interface and formfactor for most laptop drives are identical across all makes, but the bezel and possibly mounting brackets or interface converters can be model-specific. Sometimes you can easily transplant a bezel, but I wouldn't guarantee it. First see how hard it is to remove, and if you have little or no trouble, you can probably buy most any generic laptop drive with the same interface. If you can find one at a decent price that is specifically made for your laptop line, then obviously that's the way to go, especially if you aren't familiar with such things.
Worst case, if you can't transplant the bezel from your existing drive, is you wind up with a functional but ugly drive that doesn't match the rest of the laptop's case.
what are your thoughts on an external DVD burner USB?
tylerc
16-10-2007 13:29:21
I had one for my old iBook (didn't have SuperDrive, it was from FreePay), and it worked alright, but kind of slow.
dmorris68
16-10-2007 14:31:01
[quote4497aea623="Twon"]what are your thoughts on an external DVD burner USB?[/quote4497aea623]
I was going to suggest that too. ) I have a couple of them, home-built (internal drive + external enclosure) and they're fine. Not slow at all over a USB connection, although CPU utilization is typically elevated a bit over an internal drive interface.
The major gripe is portability, but only if you tend to carry your laptop around much and want to burn on the go. If you don't mind to leaving the burner behind when you go mobile, then that's a non-issue.
On my Dell laptop, I use both an internal DVD burner when mobile, and an external when I'm docked, because the external is actually faster than my internal.
Thanks for your help guys. I really appreciate it. D