| Replacing a Disc drive...how to's and recommendations
Posted: 9/3/2009 8:21:33 PM | Hello all I have a tech question! I have an ACER pc with a little damage. It got knocked into a wall while the disc tray was out, and it seems to have been dislodged from its "tracks"...when I press the open/close button, it makes some noise but nothing happens..it seems to be trying to open, but can't do it...
So my question is, how easy would it be to buy a new drive and change it myself...or take it somewhere for repairs? Would it be cheaper to get a new computer? I've had it for a few years, and wouldn't mind getting a better system, but if I don't need to, or if it will be much less expensive, I would like to get the drive replaced.
Any advice appreciated | |
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| Replacing a Disc drive...how to's and recommendations
Posted: 9/3/2009 8:29:02 PM | Doesn't sound like the drive is the problem as opposed to the tray/slot it fits into. It depends how adventurous you are. If you feel you can replace the rails the tray slides in and out of, it shouldn't be a big deal. But it sounds like the drive itself is fine.
But when you said you had an "Acer with a little damage" I had to laugh because I've always believed Acer is synonymous with damage. Can you tell I dislike Acers with a passion? | |
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- don
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Joined: 4/23/2009
Msg: 3 | |
| Replacing a Disc drive...how to's and recommendations
Posted: 9/3/2009 8:44:55 PM | I would recommend replacing the cd/dvd drive. They are $20-30 (and up) because replacing the parts in it would be time consuming and may not turn out right. You can replace your cd/dvd drive with a screwdriver, you don't need hire a tech unless you want to...it's pretty easy.
Just order the one you want/need, open up the computer case, take the old one out and put the new one in ....plug in a couple wires & screw a few screws
-done-
http://www.google.com/products
search: internal dvd drive
If it's a laptop it's even easier to replace but you need to buy the one specific to your machine. | |
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| Replacing a Disc drive...how to's and recommendations
Posted: 9/3/2009 9:07:36 PM | If it is a desktop pc,
When the pc is off and power unplugged:
---- get a paperclip, bend it open until you have one side of it straight. Your cd/dvd drive should have a pin hole in which you can slide it through, forcing the tray to be ejected manually. Then all you would need to do is apply slight pressure to the side that is off the track until it snaps back in. This usually works if the drive tray is only slightly off the track.
The alternative is you have to get a new drive, so you might as well take 5-10 minutes to try it.
If it is a laptop,
---- You can try the same trick but I would be very careful as the drive is much more fragile. | |
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| Replacing a Disc drive...how to's and recommendations
Posted: 9/3/2009 10:44:22 PM | If it's a desktop...
Just look at how it is plugged in before you remove it and plug the new one the with the same wires the old one was plugged with. That is if you want to replace it... maybe the guy's above mention of trying to put it back in its thacks might work...
There's little sense in bringing it in for repairs as it's a fairly easy job... You can always bring it in after you tried and failed... | |
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| Replacing a Disc drive...how to's and recommendations
Posted: 9/4/2009 8:39:55 AM | | I regretted buying the damn thing as soon as the payments were over lol...but I was in college and it was the cheapest one and came with a full package so I went for it...yes it does seem to be just the tray itself that's broken | |
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| Replacing a Disc drive...how to's and recommendations
Posted: 9/4/2009 10:21:58 AM | In the most part replacing a CD/DVD drive is easy if you know what your doing, its 2-4 screws and a couple of cables and thats it but in reality its an entire workbook to explain how to swap it over...
Best advice is
Yes a simple optical drive swap is all thats needed by the sounds of it...
ANY PC shop can swap it for you, it will take them somewhere to 1 and 5 mins to install it and boot windows to make sure it works...
It could take us all nite on here to explain step by step how to do it. | |
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| Replacing a Disc drive...how to's and recommendations
Posted: 9/4/2009 10:29:32 PM | personally I would go with newegg.
Know anyone with computer hardware?
You probably have an IDE cd/dvd rom.
Best to check.
Stick with name brand dvd/cd roms.
That was a regular cd/dvd rom or a burner?
Sony or sanyo would be fine. | |
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| Replacing a Disc drive...how to's and recommendations
Posted: 9/5/2009 6:35:35 AM | Is the drive tray track actually broken?
I've had similar things happen before where the drive simply It got knocked off track...working it in and out by hand a few times euventually got it to get back on track and work, however, that might not work for you.
Even Dual-Layer DVD Burners which at one time were hot stuff have gotten down in price...seriously, you'll pay someone more than the cost of a new drive to install it for you. I'm not joking. A new DVD burner can be had for around $29-$40 bucks on places like newegg...a service shop is likely to charge you $80 or more for the drive and $75 or more just to put it in.
From the tone and wording of posts, you've had the thing a while, so it's safe to assume it uses an EIDE interafce for the drives. All you have to to is purcahse an EIDE optical drive on newegg...whichever one you want. Remove the case from your computer. Locate the optical drive (usually at the top, pretty easy to see) and remove the screws from the case that are holding it in. Sometimes they'll slide right out, othertimes the front of the case is keeping them in and you need to look around the front and see how it snaps in (there should be a few places you just have to push a tab). Once the old drive is out, look on the back of the old and new drives. Next to the connector where the data-cable goes in you'll see additional pins, generally with a black piece of plastic over two of them. This is a "jumper" and sets some hardware settings on the drive...which actually tell the drive if it's a master, slave, or cable select configuration. You don't really need to know the difference, but what you need to know is what the original drive is set to, and set the new drive to it.
Slide the drive in, plug up power and data, add screws, and you're done. It takes about 10 minutes. | |
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| Replacing a Disc drive...how to's and recommendations
Posted: 9/5/2009 11:32:29 AM |
It's not the drive folks. Read the thread. It's the tray mechanism.
Yes I know its the tray, but if you have the technical acumen to be able to remove the drive and fix the tray then you wouldnt be asking advice here would you...
It would be cheaper to repair it, but the effort might not be worth it | |
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- don
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Joined: 4/23/2009
Msg: 12 | |
| Replacing a Disc drive...how to's and recommendations
Posted: 9/5/2009 4:13:28 PM |
How to Replace a CD/DVD Drive
Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
From time to time, CD or DVD drives cease to work. You will need to replace the drive to continue to have the capabilities of your computer as before. Others may want to change their CD drive to a DVD drive to enhance capabilities. This task is well within the capabilities of most people if you follow simple instructions.
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Instructions
1. Step 1
Turn off the computer and remove the power cord from the back. Unscrew the appropriate screws that hold the case cover on and open the case of your computer. Once you have done this, you will have access to the screws that hold the drives into the case.
2. Step 2
Locate your CD/DVD drive that you need to replace. Unplug the clip that feeds sound to the sound card and label it. Next, unscrew the four mounting screws that are in the side of the drive. Then remove the power plug from the rear of the drive and disconnect the drive cable. Take note of which end the red wire connects to. It will be either towards the power connector or away from it.
3. Step 3
Remove the drive, examine the jumpers on the back of the drive and note what setting they indicate. The available settings are Slave, Master or Master Only.
4. Step 4
Take your new CD/DVD drive and set the jumpers on the back of the drive the same as the jumpers that you saw on the old drive. Reconnect the drive cable, making sure that you align the red wire with the pin 1 on the connector on the drive. Most times this is the same one as on the old drive.
5. Step 5
Connect the power cable, slide the drive back into the drive bay and secure it with the four mounting screws. The final thing to do before closing the case is to plug in the sound cable that you unplugged in Step 2.
6. Step 6
Close the case and secure the sides with the screws removed in Step 1. Reconnect the power cable to the computer and restart the computer.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2209765_replace-cddvd-drive.html
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| Replacing a Disc drive...how to's and recommendations
Posted: 9/5/2009 4:23:38 PM | Thanks Don...I'll give it a whirl, but I'll probably end up taking it in for repairs...its just the disc tray thats broken, but I don't trust myself to take apart my computer and then put it back together properly..OS I'm good with, hardware not so much (haven't had the best of luck with that in the past lol)
Any thanks everyone for all the advice :) | |
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