Asus Z63A Harddrive and DVD/CD Bay Question

I just purchased the Asus Z63A Barebone and have had some trouble installing the hard drive and dvd drive. I used the 40 gig 4200rpm hard drive out of my old Dell 700m and it works fine. But I literally stuff the thing in there to get it to fit. It works, but I was just wondering if others had the same problem, which would make me feel a lot better. If not, then maybe someone could recommend a hard drive that fit perfectly without problems.

Also, I purchased a NEC Slim DVD burner, but the thing doesn't fit. It's way too small for the bay. I thought that all slim drives were compatible but apparently not. Is there perhaps a kit that is used with the Z63A? If not, can anyone suggest a DVD drive to purchase that fits in the bay?

Link to Dvd Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152048

Thanks for the help guys. :asus:

 

Can't suggest on the OD(You need to carve yourself a bezel for it too right?), but for the HD, I don't know why you have to stuff it in. Besides the common screw not being tight enough, the caddy should fit inside like a glove...

 

You should have bought the optical drive for the unit...... you need the bezel and drive rails in order to make it fit perfectly.... the only way to get those parts are on a new drive. It seems like more and more people buying from places like that are getting other drives and expecting them to be a straight install.

 

Thanks for all the info guys. Yeah I totally thought it'd be a straight install. My mistake. I'll just return it and get an actual Asus drive.

About my HDD, yeah I completely had to stuff it in. The FPC cable was the main culprit in my installation woes. Imagine looking at the bottom end of the laptop. The FPC cable connects to the laptop on the right side of the bay. However, the FPC cable connects to the HDD on the opposite end when it is layed into the bay. The cable stretches over the drive and was barely long enough to connect to the laptop. Also, it touches and bends over the HDD to connect to the laptop. Which brings me to the question as to whether the cable should even be touching the HDD especially if the HDD were to heat up. Or did I do something completely wrong??

 

From what I've read, older 2.5" harddrives were thicker and won't fit in newer thin-and-lights. I think the measurement difference was something like 12mm for the old ones versus 9.5 mm for the new. That might be why you're shoving it in.

 

The 12.5mm (half inch) HDDs haven't been made for several years so I'm sure this is not the problem. The 9.5mm HDD is a tight fit into the bay. I am sure that this is by design so that the foam pads are compressed and hold the HDD securely.

The ribbon cable should lie flat on top (viewed when the computer is upside down) of the HDD and is just the right length. A foam pad on the bay cover holds the plug connecting the cable to the chassis in place.

The bay cover is a tight fit. The challenge is to get the various holding lugs lined up and then tighten the screw.

The optical drive is a standard 12.5mm unit but, as has already been noted, you need the right rails and bezel. Why these aren't available separately is a mystery to me (the excuse is probably that different bezels are needed for different optical drives).

John

 

Thanks again for all the helpful information guys. One more question though. I'm trying to find whether all the Asus Slim Drives work with one another. I found an Asus brand slim drive on Newegg that I can exchange for the one that doesn't fit. Will this drive fit in the Z63A?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827135126R

 

Oh by the way John, you are right on about getting the holding lugs in line and tightening the screws. That's exactly what I had to do to get the HDD in the bay. Makes me a feel at ease knowing that it wasn't an out of the ordinary experience. Thanks again.