Recommendations for M17XR2 Optical Drive

Hello,

I tried searching but for some reason the search feature doesn't seem to be working for me at the moment.

Anyways my DVD drive died on me today. Disks spin up but it keeps clicking and when I try to open the disks it ejects them and says to insert a disk. I have tried un-installing and re-installing the drivers but there is no improvement.

Anyays at this point mostly because of the off clicking/grinding noise I am thinking my drive is dead. While I am not excited about the long procedure for replacing (use to the ease of replacement on my past notebooks) I need an optical drive.

So I am asking for any recommendations on where and what to buy. I don't have the money for a blu-ray burner ATM being unemployed. I would like to spend under 100 and to be honest unless the cost is close I don't want to spend double on a blu ray drive considering I normally only watch movies on my comp a couple times a month.

Anyways any help is apreciated. I have the PDF maintenance guide but any helpfull walkthroughs are also greatly apreciated.

Thanks for any help.

 

You could grab a blu ray drive for less than your $100 budget here: DELL Alienware m15x m17x BluRay BD-ROM Player DVD±RW DRIVE CA10N CA21N | eBay

Or alternatively, a cheaper DVD RW drive here: Dell Alienware M17x R1/R2/R3 DVD±RW DVDRW ReWriter Laptop Drive 0WT927 | eBay

Both drives are internal replacements for your M17x R2 so it would just be a case of crack her open and replace. As always, I would advise you confirm with the seller that what you buy will indeed fit your machine.....you might find other drives on Ebay but its a good starting point for a bargain....or check NBR Marketplace to see if anyone is selling one....

You can have a look at a Dell's teardown video on YouTube to help you - it's a two part set of vid's.....that and the service manual should get you sorted!

 

If you don't want to have to replace it with a Dell drive, most other slot-loading SATA notebook optical drives will work. Just make sure the bezel (front black plastic cover) is not permanently attached. Usually it won't be but I don't assume.