Changing the DVD RAM drive on 5634WLMi

Hi

I bought this 5634 a couple of months back but it never recognises cds. I have played DVD once but I believe that the CD reading diode on the lens is gone and the one to read DVD is working on its own. I emailed Acer and they are willing to send someone to take it off me and fix it. On the other hand, the shop that I bought the laptop from are willing to send me a new replacement drive. Which options should I take?

Removing the drive seems to be complicated, very complicated, involving the removal of screen hinges and the keyboard. Would doing this void my warranty?

Sending it back to Acer involves putting it back to factory settings which means backing up all the data and removal of installed programs and all customisation. It also involves packing it up for the courier to collect and I can't use the original box as they wouldn't return it. Living without my pc for an indefinite period of time would not be nice either.

Which option would you take if you were in my shoes?

Thanks (in advance) for your response.

Razi

 

If that is true, it is very unusual construction.

On most notebooks the optical drive is held in place by one or two screws which are usually on the bottom of the computer but may be under the keyboard. The optical drive is about 5" square. Look at the bottom of the computer and see if there are any screws around the edge of the 5" - 6" square formed by the optical drive. If so, take them out and then see if you can remove the optical drive.

I would strongly recommend the DIY replacement as an alternative to sending the computer away. However, the replacement process usually includes swapping a fixing bracket and the front bezel (easy when you know how).

John

 

I managed to change the drive. There is a plastic panel underneath held there by six screws. Undo those screws and prize the panel off using a flat screw driver. Underneath it you will see access to the RAM modules, cooling fan, wifi card an empty slot (I think it could be used for the non-existent Bluetooth hardware). On the right side is a tiny screw holding the media drive in place. The replacement drive works fine. I have burned 4 CDs (takes only 5 minutes) played a DVD, run a CD Rom game. It does it all. Will go to Tesco later to buy some DVD-Rs to check if it burns DVDs as well. Check the photo below. The hole that holds the DVD RAM drive is pointed by an arrow and circled.




k/w DVD RAM drive on Acer Aspire 5630 5634WLMi. Replacing drive. Changing drive. Faulty drive. CD DVD ROM removal removing drive (Hope this helps people in future)

 

Congratulations! It wasn't so difficult (but not as easy as I expected). I hope my comments gave you the confidence to try.

Thank you for posting the picture and the instructions for the benefit of others.

John

PS: What model is your old and new optical drive?

 

It's a Hitachi-Lg drive, model no: GSA- T1ON. I have swapped the old drive with the same model drive.

Oh yes, but for your comments, I would not have tried it. Cheers.

 

thanks for the pic Raz. nice one.