replacement optical drive

steveo · 29 Sep 2008 at 09:27

my dvd burner on my laptop is playing up and dying a slow death so am looking to replace it so am just wondering if the ones on ocuk site are all standard sizes or would i need a specific one for a toshiba laptop, the best spec the better

fizzy · 29 Sep 2008 at 16:49

Well, laptop drives are generally all the same size and connector. However, on laptops they often have an adapter plate on the connecter end of the drive to convert it to whatever connector the manufacturer uses. Normally this can be swapped from the old drive to the new but its something to watch out for.

Also, generic laptop drive have fully square (or rather oblong

) front panels/face plates. Some manufacturers laptop drives have more "shaped" fronts (such as a corner cut out) to cater for styling or to accomodate more connectors on the laptop. You may be able to transfer this if you get a drive model of the same make the laptop is already using. It does mean you may have to undo some small screws to change the panel though.

Hope that helps?

Dreaded_Cheese · 29 Sep 2008 at 18:07

I was wondering this too, my new laptop has a optical drive that is like a desk fan. Are they all this loud?

fizzy · 29 Sep 2008 at 20:18

They are generally pretty loud, especially the higher speed ones. Guess it makes sense as smaller drive means less space to put in any form of sound proofing or fancy anti vibration parts.

steveo · 29 Sep 2008 at 22:34

so really the best bet for me is to take out the old one and take it from there :confused:

cheers

fizzy · 30 Sep 2008 at 20:05

steveo said:
so really the best bet for me is to take out the old one and take it from there cheers

Yup, thats a good place to start. If it's for a toshiba laptop, its highly likely its a toshiba drive too (unless they've stopped releasing their own these days).

Still, as they're all using the same standard connections etc any decent brand replacement should be fine.

ElectroBlaster · 1 Oct 2008 at 16:43

My brothers dell had its dvd writer go bad and I managed to source him an lg drive, it even had the exact same bezal as the original which was a plus point. 2 minutes later and we had it swapped over and working. They all use the same connector afaik.

steveo · 1 Oct 2008 at 22:46

not even sure where start with taking it out :confused:

it looks like its built in if so its game over

will try and post some pics up tomorrow see what you peps think

ElectroBlaster · 2 Oct 2008 at 13:18

Flip the laptop over, place it on a cloth or towel so the lid doesnt get damaged and look around the area where the cd drive is. There should be a single screw around back end area of the drive would be.

Take a picture of the underside of the laptop and we might be able to locate that screw, once you find it its just a case of undoing it and pulling the drive out. You will have to make sure the tray is ejected before doing so to make life easier.

Also there is a website with some good detailed guides on how to dismantle these things: http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2006/02/04/toshiba-laptop-disassembly-manuals/

Hope this helps

Indy500 · 2 Oct 2008 at 15:21

I've got a Toshiba DVD-RW drive that might be suitable, I'll put it up in MM if you're interested.

steveo · 3 Oct 2008 at 10:34

couple of pics for you regarding the dvd drive

any ideas

EDIT well bloody hell just had a look under the memory cover and there was a tiny screw that looked like the same length as the drive and presto

fizzy · 3 Oct 2008 at 13:12

Well, it looks like a standard drive to me although a closer photo of the black connector on the rear would confirm that. Thankfully the faceplate looks standard too.

You would need to transfer that small metal bracket on the back, but it looks like its only fastened on with two screws so should be easy.

You could always go for a slot drive or blu ray model if you want something a little "flashier" in your replacement.

Indy500 · 3 Oct 2008 at 15:14

Looks pretty much like the one I have. 2.5' SATA interface.

Owenb · 2 Feb 2010 at 23:59

sr4470 said:
Looks pretty much like the one I have. 2.5' SATA interface.

I am wondering can anyone verify if that is a SATA or IDE/ATAPI interface? I have been tasked with replacing the DVD drive in a Sony vaio and I came across this thread. The drive in question is a panasonic UJ-870 and most descriptions for it give it as an IDE/ATAPI connector and it looks nothing like a SATA connector that are used in standard Hard/DVD drive's(then against it looks nothing like an old IDE connector either!).

edit: 99.9%(even google gets it wrong sometimes!) sure it's IDE.