upgrade to dvd super multi

Hi,

I am a happy user of an Acer TM291LCi. The only issue I encountered during 6 months of computing is connected with the combo dvd drive. I got the original drive replaced, but I am having problems with this one too. I was always wondering which company produces the optical drives shipped with Acer laptops. I am pretty sure that they aren't manufactured by Acer.

I would like to upgrade my drive to a dvd super multi, but I am definitely not going to pay $400 for such a drive offered as an accessory by Acer. For example Teac offers slim notebook drives too and it's only $200. Has anyone tried to replace his/her optical drive with another one not branded by Acer?

 

Is this the plug-in drive? I know one problem with using a third party drive is making it fit. Often the bezel and/or caddy of the new does not fit the old one. It may be possible to swap or reshape them depending on your skill level. I was able to swap the CDRW/DVD for a DVD burner on a Compaq Presario, but the drives were exactly the same size. Another problem is the jumper settings. Laptop drives are not like desktop drives. They usually don't have jumpers. It is set by dip switches inside the drive or by the firmware. If you get the drive and it is set master and the Acer wants slave, you are in trouble. Most of the drives sold are OEM, meaning you are not going to get much help from the maufacturer. A safer bet would be to get external slim drive:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-154-021&depa=0

I personally like these as they are Firewire or USB powered although they are hard to find:

http://www.lacie.com/products/range.htm?id=10037

I heard if you get a USB power cable, you can power the NU to play DVDs or CDs without having to plug into the wall, you can't burn that way though. I recently picked up a refurbished 2x LiteOn burner external slim burner on ebay for $70 on ebay. The refurbed 4x goes for around $90 usually. I didn't any today, but I would keep an eye out there. I have a Thinkpad which uses the 9.5mm height bay, which basically means if I wanted an internal drive, I had to buy from IBM. Their burners start around $350, are 2x and only do -R and -Ram. I don't burn a lot on my laptop, so the fact I have to plug it in to the wall and it is only 2x doesn't bother me. I mostly burn CDs anyway, does those at 16x. I ended up getting the modular bay battery, which was only $100. Good Luck.






I know things, things that could get me killed

 

Hi,

Thanks for your comment.
I forgot to state that I definitely not want to buy an external drive. I would like to replace the existing internal one. The fact is that I found the Acer parts' list for my PC on the internet and there are 3 super multi media bay modules available from different manufacturers: Teac, Samsung, Sony. I have managed to find Teac's dv-w24e drive on their European website and it looks compatible. My guess is that this is the same drive (and some black plastic around it) people get when buying an Acer laptop. And this drive costs only $200 in its bare version.

 

EVEREST Home Edition freeware will tell you the specs of your DVD module. Teac does not manufacture drives, they just rename them. My Acer DVD-R 303MXi module is a Pioneer.

 

Thank you bmhome! I didn't know Acer ships laptop with Pioneer burners too. It would be great if other forum members posted their dvd burner's brand and model.

 

I just ordered an updated DVD-R module for my (new) Acer 303XMi which shipped with a Pioneer DVR-K13RA 4X DVD-R module. Pioneer has since updated to an 8X DVD-R/2.4 DL-R module, model DVR-K14 which is still an OEM product, but I found one for $128 shipped from ProAdvantage.com.

By staying with the same brand and chassis series, I am assured the custom Acer faceplate will swap with just two screws with the replacement drive's seamlessly, and other than maybe having to upgrade to NTI 7.0 for DL-R support, it should (will, hopefully) be effortless, particularly since the 303 features bay drive modules.

Trying another brand would guaranteed problems with using the Acer faceplate, and would require possible trimming to fit and a less elegant appearance result (using the OEM drive faceplate). But all modules use the same basic connector at the business end, and unless a slot drive, will all be exactly the same dimensionally, with just differing faceplate physically.

 

The Pioneer DVR-K14 looks good. The problem is that my current faceplate is for a UJDA750 combo drive. I'm not sure, if it would fit on a Pioneer drive. Glad to hear that at least the connectors are the same.
It would look cranky with the OEM faceplate, wouldn't it?

 

Try finding the equivalent Matshu****a/Panasonic module series and upgrade to that model number so you can exchange same series design faceplates. Alternately, the generic supplied OEM faceplates usually don't look too bad if your tray front is just a flat rectangle face. My 303 has a larger curved shape so the flat wouldn't fit well at all.

 

No way! These Matsu.../Panasonic drives worth nothing. I had 2 UJDA750 drives in the past 6 months and both had to be returned because I experienced severe problems with them. I would choose another one and hope that the faceplate matches.

I think we have the same kind of faceplates. Mine is getting thicker from left to right, so a plain OEM one won't do it.

 

I received my DVR-K14L 8X/2.4 DL DVD+R drive module today, and as I expected, the drive was a direct swap with the stock 4X DVRK13RA original. The custom Acer faceplate was directly switchable to the new module for an effortless, minutes to complete task procedure. Pretty cool for a Tablet PC feature that no one even offers retail yet.

The drive is fully XP recognized and original NTI DVD burner version 6.7 offers its 8X DVD burning. I believe DL Multi burning will require the version 7 upgrade.

 

Congratulations for your new drive! I hope it works flawlessly.
So, the drive you ordered is a bare dvr-k14. Does this means that you had to swap the drive holder frame and the connector from your old drive?
Could you make a picture of your faceplate (from above to see the screws)?
Do you want to sell your old drive?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by bmhome1

 

No, haven't tried a DL disk yet (waiting for eventual price slides) but my NTI DVD Maker software lists DL burning at 2.4 available. Does your Nero drive specs at least list DL as an option? Does DVD Indentfier freeware see DL burning as possible?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by bmhome1