Replacing DVD drive on the zv5000 series?

The Toshiba SD-R6372 4x notebook DVD burner can be had for $169+ship from Ultradrives:

http://www.ultradrives.com/product_info.php/cPath/22_29/products_id/525

r3000forums.com had this link to HP's instructions on optical drive replacement:

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00057185.pdf

Toshiba's page is here:
http://sdd.toshiba.com/cda/main.aspx?Path=/818200000007000000010000659800001516/8182000004ef000000010000659c00000d63/81820000095f000000010000659c00001f32

Newegg.com has the older 2x drive for $119:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=27-130-022&DEPA=1

Sooooo... I'm tempted. Really, really tempted. I have the DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive in my zv5000z now. Anyone try anything like this? Anyone know anything about Ultradrives or Toshiba notebook burners in general?

 

Well, I guess the real main concerns would be the interface on the back of the drive. I have seen some drives with a ribbon cable connector & other drives with a "pin" type connector. You just have to make sure you have the correct connector type before you buy the drive.
Another issue will also be the drive face plate. From the picture, it's grey. This will most likely not match your ZV5000, which is black, so you also have to make sure the buttons match up on the face so you can swap the plates. If they don't, you'll be stuck with a grey face plate & black notebook.
If everything looks like a good match with your system, taking the drive out to swap is fairly easy, especially with the instructions. I've swapped notebook drives in notebooks before (depot service) and these units seem to be setup so the drive can be swapped easier. imaging having to tear apart 50% of the system to get to the drive...yesh!

-Vb-

 

I popped the DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive out of my HP today (very easy, secured by two screws on the case bottom, no ribbon cable!) and it has the same standard connector on the back that the Toshiba drive does (from the picture on Toshiba's website). It looks like I can take the Teac drive in the HP out of its sled (once I pick up a suitably tiny Phillips-head screwdriver from Sears), drop the Toshiba drive in, and everything should work... though I may have to remove the bezel from the Toshiba drive, not sure. Works in theory. Anyhow, I placed the order with Ultradrives, hopefully I'll have it late this week.

 

Crap... it doesn't work like it does in the picture. The curved bezel is directly attached to the drive and the clips don't want to budge. I could put in a new drive easily but the bezel won't line up at all. You'll need a #0 Phillips screwdriver to get the drive out of the sled (it slides in, again different from the picture). I picked up a Stanley Precision Screwdriver Set from Target for $5.

Fortunately, the guy from Ultradrives called, concerned that I was going to have this problem, so I'll be able to cancel the order. He does have Teac 4x burners coming soon, those ought to have clips that line up with the bezel on the HP Teac DVD-ROM/CD-RW, but if I can't get the bezel off there's not much I can do. So, major points for Ultradrives, highly recommended.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to get the bezel off? It sure looks like those clips are intended to be permanent. You can see at least a couple of them just by ejecting the drive tray.

 

It's possible that the front bezel may also be screwed to the tray from the underside. I've seen a few like this on the Toshiba notebooks.
If the bezel can't be removed, the only way I can think to get this working, would be to disassemble both drives and swap out the tray. I don't even know if this will work, since the hardware layout inside may be completely different. Plus, it will totally woid all warranties on the drive from Ultradrives and in the HP unit.

-Vb-

 

Howdy,

I'm thinking of trying what you did with a new zv5220us. Did it work for you?

 

Yes, it did. Installation was trivial. The bezel doesn't match, but if anything the normal flat bezel is an improvement over the huge curved one HP shipped. Get the Toshiba from Ultradrives and buy the HP bezel they have (which is for a different HP line but the color sorta matches) or the Panasonic 4x slot-load drive Newegg has (I don't think Ultradrives carries it... hmm, looks like they do now, though Newegg is cheaper). All you need is a #0 Phillips screwdriver. Note that the Toshiba drive is incompatible with Ritek 4x DVD-R blanks (everything else I tried works), Toshiba needs to do a firmware update.