Laptop CD/DVD drives - compatibility

Ok....this may be a dumb question, but I'm not to saavy on laptops. I just registered here, so have pateience with the newbie. I did search, but found nothing that seemed to quite answer my question.



I have a laptop that I've used for a few years, but never added anything to it. Just used it as it was "off the shelf". It's a Toshiba Satellite (not home right now, so don't know the exact model number).

I need a DVD burner. The DVD-R/CD-RW combo drive isn't cutting it any more. I was looking to get an external one, until I suddenly thought I could just get one for the laptop itself (even my 7-port usb hub is starting to get full).

I found this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827152073

Which appears to be rated well, but are all the drives standard? Size/interface standards? How do I know if it will work in my laptop?

 

Hey King,
As someone who just went through the same exact thing i think i can safely answer this for you.I just purchased the same drive from newegg as a replacement for the old burner in my Toshiba qosmio and heres what you need to know.

Yes you can upgrade to a DVD burner but there are some important things to know before doing so.When you purchase a new OEM drive such as the NEC they are set to "Master" by default rather then "slave".Toshiba's are very picky and will not reconize your drive if it is set to master.Because of this you have to use a IDE to Slimline converter and connect the drive to a desktop PC and use tools provided by NEC to change the drive to "slave".

So the answer is yes it will work perfectly but not until you switch it over to Slave setting.Going with another brand of drive will not solve this issue sadly as almost all OEM Drives are set to master by default but if you have access to a desktop it can be done fairly easily.

I purchased this adapter strictly for this purpose http://www.logicsupply.com/products/slimcdide40 i hope that answers your question.

 

Thanks for the info. It kinda sucks I'd have to buy another device (and I don't have any other computer desktop or other anymore) to do this. Could I request newegg send it as slave? Or could I get it done at a local shop like Frye's or Best Buy?

So they are all standard in size and IDE interface?

 

As far as i know Newegg will not do this as they recieve the drives in bulk hence why they are OEM but you might be able to have it done at Best Buy or a Local shop.I would contact them first to see if they provide that service then after being sure purchase the drive and contact NEC to get the software tools you need so you can have it on hand for the shop.

A Slim Drive used in laptops have a different type of IDE connection then a Desktop which is why you need the converter.It basically just changes the Slimline IDE adapter to a normal 40pin Desktop IDE interface.It would be wise to make sure any shop you try has these on hand as well.

 

OK...I understand. I still think it sounds pretty ridiculous though. It would be nice if you could change it by a dip switch like standard desktop drives.

Thanks for the information.

 

Yeah i agree there,But technically it's not the drives fault.Mainly Toshiba and IBM laptops have this problem while other laptop vendors work perfectly fine with Master Drive settings.

Oh and i forgot about your question on if they are standard in size,A majority of them will fit perfectly right out of the box however there are a few that you might need to switch the front plate from your old drive to the new one to make it have a perfect fit.But since you have a Toshiba Satellite which im pretty sure is very close to the same style as the qosmio's i dont think you will have that issue.

 

A year ago I was temporarily loaned a SN-S082D, which was set to slave. However, I don't know whether this is normal for this model, but it suggests that some ODDs are shipped as slaves.

John

 

That was really useful bhxtyrant. Is it possible to get the tools from NEC elsewhere or download them?

 

What do you want ? Firmware flash software ? (which drive ?)

 

NEC's website says to EMAIL them requesting the tools you need,, but they can be found at other locations on the net... CDFREAKS used to have all kinds of NEC firmwares and master/slave flashing tools

 

"use tools provided by NEC to change the drive to "slave"."

The tools Bhx was referring to that change a dvd rom from master to slave. I thought something had to physically be done to the rom to change it.

I have a Toshiba satellite 2410 that i want to get a new DVD rom for. And i have to change it to slave, so i want to make sure i am able to do this before i buy one.

 

Check out this site. (Choose your ODD)