Replacing Laptop CD-ROM

G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Hi,

First, are laptop CD/DVD drives standard or proprietary, in other words
can I order a generic replacement one off the Web and expect it to
probably work?

Second, does anyone by any chance know how to replace the CD drive on
an old CompUSA Amerinote?

Thanks.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"Daveman750" <dsimcha@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1113110484.962644.94620@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> Hi,
>
> First, are laptop CD/DVD drives standard or proprietary, in other words
> can I order a generic replacement one off the Web and expect it to
> probably work?
>
> Second, does anyone by any chance know how to replace the CD drive on
> an old CompUSA Amerinote?
>
> Thanks.
>

I would say proprietary and only buy if the supplier states it will fit "X"
make and "Y" model notebook.

don't know the answer to other Q.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On or about 4/10/2005 2:24 AM, it came to pass that Time Teamer wrote:
> "Daveman750" <dsimcha@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1113110484.962644.94620@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>First, are laptop CD/DVD drives standard or proprietary, in other words
>>can I order a generic replacement one off the Web and expect it to
>>probably work?
>>
>>Second, does anyone by any chance know how to replace the CD drive on
>>an old CompUSA Amerinote?
>>
>>Thanks.
>>
>
>
> I would say proprietary and only buy if the supplier states it will fit "X"
> make and "Y" model notebook.
>
> don't know the answer to other Q.
>
>
Perhaps most of the drive holders are proprietary, but the raw drives
are quite standard, although that may not hold for every machine. One
issue you may bump into is the the CD/DVD drive front bezel size, seems
that many manufacturers customize this for some reason and I've never
figured out how to change the thing.

Each machine varies, but in general you must remove the drive from the
holder, usually requires removing lots of small screws and an adapter
plug, set the new drive to be Master/Slave/Cable Determined, based upon
the settings of the old drive (in some cases like mine this is done with
software after the drive is installed), replace the drive, reboot the
machine and go into the bios setup, save the bios without making any
changes--this may not be needed for all machines but it lets the bios
"know" about the new drive and in some cases (like mine) you can't boot
from the new CD drive without doing this step, although the drive will
likely work in Windows. Windows XP may need a driver for the new device
but likely not.

BTW once you decide on a drive model, check prices on Froogle.com,
Pricewatch.com and EBAY(be careful here) before you purchase. Try this
link on PriceWatch for Cd-RWs
http://www.pricewatch.com/h/prc.aspx?i=103&a=3135

I upgraded my aging Dell 7000 with a Liteon 24082K CD/RW DVD-ROM combo
drive a about a year and a half ago. If I had to do it today I'd go with
a DVD-RW. Good luck with your upgrade.

Arn
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

They are generally standard, but there are some "twists" to this, it's
certainly not totally straightforward. Areas of particular issue
include the plastic bezels, which are almost always custom and not
interchangeable among different drives used by the same laptop mfgrs.,
and the master / slave / cable select jumpering.


Daveman750 wrote:

> Hi,
>
> First, are laptop CD/DVD drives standard or proprietary, in other words
> can I order a generic replacement one off the Web and expect it to
> probably work?
>
> Second, does anyone by any chance know how to replace the CD drive on
> an old CompUSA Amerinote?
>
> Thanks.
>