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    Inspiron 6400 DVD Drive Replacement.

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by phillev, Apr 21, 2007.

  1. phillev

    phillev Newbie

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    I am just after some help on the above please as I was thinking of getting an NEC AD-7540A to replace my Sumsung TS-L632D . Are the 6400's fairly easy to upgrade in this dept as I have read stories of different types of drives not fitting certain machines, thanks in advance for any help.
     
    phillev, Apr 21, 2007
    #1
  2. SideSwipe

    SideSwipe Notebook Virtuoso

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    well itll be easy to take the drive out, but you will have to check the dimensions to see if the new drive is the same size IF those things you heard are true.
     
    SideSwipe, Apr 21, 2007
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  3. phillev

    phillev Newbie

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    my current drive measures 128mm, 12.7mm, 127mm, while the NEC is 128 mm x 12.7 mm x 129 mm so fingers crossed eh!.
     
    phillev, Apr 21, 2007
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  4. f4ding

    f4ding Laptop Owner

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    Will this be the same with a D520/D620? Can anyone confirm this?
     
    f4ding, Apr 21, 2007
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  5. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    In my experience all the standard half inch (12.7mm) thick optical drives have the same basic physical dimensions. There are a few ultra-slim drives with a different thickness.

    Notebook manufacturers fit their own fixing brackets and fascias to the standard drives.

    One potential issue is that whether the optical drive is a master or slave is programmed into the firmware. On the majority of notebooks this is not an issue because the ODD has the second IDE channel to itself and will work equally well in either mode.

    However, there are a few notebooks where the ODD shares the primary channel with the HDD, in which case the ODD needs to be pre-set as slave.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Apr 21, 2007
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  6. f4ding

    f4ding Laptop Owner

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    I am hoping that the D620/520 would have a 12.5mm instead of the 9.5mm drive. Regarding the brackets, can I get parts from the Internet maybe, to fit in the standard drive into the D620/520?

    The firmware is another issue, but if it can't be fit in physically, than it wouldn't matter what the firmware does.
     
    f4ding, Apr 22, 2007
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  7. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    John Ratsey, Apr 22, 2007
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  8. f4ding

    f4ding Laptop Owner

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    Thank you. That is what I have been looking for.
     
    f4ding, Apr 22, 2007
    #8