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    Upgrade faily DVD-RW to blu-ray drive on K72Jr?

    Discussion in 'Asus' started by tyfius, Jun 23, 2011.

  1. tyfius

    tyfius Newbie

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    A few months ago I purchased a ASUS K72Jr notebook which contains an Optiarc AD DVD-RW 7580-S. It seems the optical drive died on me as it's no longer able to play any CD's. DVD's still just work fine.

    Now, I could of course send it to support and lose my notebook for a few months, but since I considered buying an external USB powered blu-ray player I was thinking of replacing it myself.

    After a small investigation I found the Optiarc BC-5640H. It looks similar to my current drive: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2270946/IMAG0015.jpg

    On the picture of my current drive you can see a metal bay attached to the drive, which is screwed into the notebook. On the screenshots of the blu-ray drive I can't make out if: a) they have a metal bay, b) they support my current metal bay.

    Can anyone tell me if it's safe to buy this blu-ray drive, or won't it fit in my notebook?
     
    tyfius, Jun 23, 2011
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  2. Support.3@XOTIC PC

    Support.3@XOTIC PC Company Representative

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    hi Tyfius, welcome to NBR.

    Optical drives have a generic form factor so the new drive you have linked should have no problem fitting into your current computer. You will want to take your original bezel off the stock drive and put it on the new one to keep the flush look.

    The new drive you have linked appears to be a slot load type vs a tray, is your current one a slot load as well?
     
    Support.3@XOTIC PC, Jun 23, 2011
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  3. tyfius

    tyfius Newbie

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    Thanks for the quick reply.

    My current optical drive is a tray. Will it cause a problem if I chance this to a slot load? Personally it doesn't really matter what the type is, as long as it works. :)
    Alternatively, I found a blu-ray writer (which costs slightly more) but it has a tray.

    I also contacted ASUS support, but all they could tell me is that they officially not know this and suggested I handed my notebook in to replace the drive with the same type.

    edit: I uploaded two extra pictures of my current drive
    - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2270946/IMAG0016.jpg
    - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2270946/IMAG0017.jpg
     
    tyfius, Jun 23, 2011
    #3
  4. King of Interns

    King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast

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    Best to get another tray loading drive. Any one will do. I think your laptop is modern enough to have a SATA interface drive so lots of choice. Just swap the front plastic bezel with the one from the old drive and it will work perfectly plug and play.
     
    King of Interns, Jun 23, 2011
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