How To Replace A CD/DVD Drive In Your Computer
If you are like me you like to stay up to date with the latest gadgets and hardware that deals with computers. While you may not always need the latest hardware for your computer, it is always fun to get something new, install it and put it to the test. One of the pieces of hardware on my computer that I frequently use is my CD/DVD drive.
I either use it to rip songs from a new CD that I just bought or to watch DVD’s of my favorite bands live performances. Not only that, but it is almost an essential piece of hardware to have because you need it to install a new operating system on your computer as well as installing any other software or games that you buy.
I recently had to upgrade an old CD drive that was in a family members computer to a new CD/DVD drive and burner combo. The new drive was a Plextor PX-800A that also features LightScribe technology. LightScribe lets you use the laser that reads the CD/DVD to burn an image on the top of the disc allowing you to create custom graphics for a CD cover.
I documented the replacement of the drive and decided I would post it up here.
1. Setting up your project
When working with computers it is always wise to have tools at hand as most jobs require the use of a screwdriver of some type. For replacing the CD drive you will most likely only need a phillips screwdriver and of course the new drive itself.
The first thing that we want to do is turn off the power to the computer and then remove all the wires connecting to the back of the case.
Looking at the back of your computer case you should see something similar. Make sure you shut down your computer if you haven’t already from inside the operating system. Once it is shut down, flip the switch next to the plug going into the power supply. Give it a few seconds to completely kill the power and then remove the actual cord.
Once you have done that, continue removing the remaining wires that are plugged into the back of the tower. Make sure to keep an eye on certain connections as some are screwed in and pulling on them with too much force can ruin them permanently.
2. Opening up the case
You should notice a few screws along the outside back of the computer case. Most computers nowadays have a side panel for easy access but older computers sometimes have used one piece for the entire case. Inspect your case and find out which screws you need to remove to get the case off.
Once you have the case opened up look towards the front and you will find the back of the CD drive. It will most likely be held in with screws in between a structure that is designed to hold more CD drives, a floppy drive and hard drives.
Your computer may look slightly different or totally different, but that should give you a general idea. The screws you see are holding the drive in between the metal plates inside of the case. The screws are going into pre-drilled holes placed in strategic spots on the cd drive just for this purpose. It’s possible that the drive may even have 4 screws going into it.
3. Remove cables from the drive
Before removing the screws I normally disconnect the cables from the drive while it is still inside the case.
In the above picture you will notice 2 types of cables going into the CD drive. The one on the right supplies the power to the drive while the one on the left sends the data. Gently remove both of these connections from the drive, forcing them too hard could break off the pins that they use.
Once you have the cables removed from the back of the case unscrew the screws holding the drive in the computer case. Depending upon your computer’s case you can either slide the drive out through the front or you may have to push it back into the case and remove it that way.
4. Slave, Master or Cable Select
This part can be tricky so I will do my best to explain it. In the above picture you will notice that the cable on the left is going into the CD drive and also into another CD drive located above it. The other ends leads back to the motherboard. With this setup you can have 2 devices connected to one cable. The device connected to the end of the cable is known as the master and the device connected to the middle connector on the cable is know as the slave.
Looking at the above picture you can see on the back of the CD drive the settings for the drive itself. The small rectangular object is known as a jumper and is basically just a switch like you have for lights in your house. The lettering near the top of the circle; CS,SL,MA are what determine where the drive is connected on the cable. CS means cable select, SL means slave and MA means master.
In step 3 you will notice that the CD drive I replaced is connected to the middle part of the cable so it is considered the slave drive. Looking at the above image we can see that the jumper on the back of the drive is also set to be slave.
5. Setting up your new drive
Now that we have the old drive out it is time to open up the new one if you haven’t already and make sure it is ready to be put into your computer.
The above 2 pictures are of the new drive that I put into the computer. The first is the back of the CD/DVD drive combo and the 2nd picture is of the sticker located on the top of the drive. Manufacturers will sometimes place important information on these stickers because they are a lot easier to read compared to being placed on the back of the drive itself.
Looking at the back of the drive and the sticker labels we can see that the jumper for the new drive is set to master. We don’t want that, remember our old drive was set to the slave. So to fix the new drive I moved the jumper to the middle 2 prongs to make it a slave. Once you have done that the drive is ready to be placed into your computer.
6. Securing the drive and connecting cables
Place the drive back into your computer the same way you removed the old one. Align the screw holes in the computer case structure to the screw holes in the drive itself and screw in the screws. Now, when you go to plug the cables back into the drive, make sure that you are doing it correctly! The cables will only go in one way and if your force them you could ruin the new drive permanently! The cables should have notches placed in them so that they can only be inserted one way, if you find that you are having trouble plugging them back in try rotating them and see if that works.
7. A job well done
After plugging the cables back in you should be all set. Place the cover back on the computer case and being to plug the wires back into the back of the computer case. Make sure to leave the power supply cord ( the one we unplugged first ) as the very last connection. After connecting all the other wires, plug the power cord into the power supply and flip the switch back into the ON position. Turn your computer back on and you should be all set!
Your computer may or may not recognize your new drive, whether it does or doesn’t you should always install the software on the CD that came with the drive. This will ensure that your drive functions properly and the manufacturer will usually include extra software such as a video player or software to burn CD/DVDs such as was the case with this replacement.
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