Recommendations for new drive

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parrothead

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#11189 8-Jan-2007 20:11

Hey all,

My internal laptop CD/DVD-RW drive has decided to pack it in.

I'm wondering whether I should replace the internal drive, or buy a USB drive instead?

And do people have any recommendations on where to buy from for the best deal? Internal laptop drives sellers seem to be scarce in New Zealand.

Thanks
Mike

grant_k

3539 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 124

Trusted

#57263 8-Jan-2007 20:55

Hello again Mike,

I just had a quick look on Ingram Micro's web site for internal (slim type) laptop drives. There is no generic type of drive available, only drives that are specific to a given Manufacturer/Model of laptop. And -- they are pretty expensive.

To get a compatible replacement, it will be best to go to the local service centre for the particular brand of laptop you have. I can tell you that the Acer service centre is in Great South Road, Penrose, but I don't know where any others are.

Failing that, you would be best to get an External drive with USB 2.0 or Firewire connection. Firewire seems to provide better performance if your laptop has it, but not many do unless you have an Apple laptop of course.

I hope that helps.

Cheers,
Grant.

willnz

573 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 3

Trusted

#57284 9-Jan-2007 05:23

Best idea would be to contact the support number for your laptop manufacturer. They'll either:

1) Send you out a new drive (if it's still covered by warranty)
2) Tell you where to take it to get a new drive
3) Maybe send you out a new drive and charge the costs to a credit card (I did this with my keyboard for my Lenovo notebook - as keyboards arent covered under some of their warranties)

What model notebook do you have? There are a few places that sell second-hand/refurbished parts which may be a bit cheaper.

If external is the way you want to go, you have two main options:

1) A slim drive inside a slim case. That's a generic laptop CD/DVD drive/writer inside an external (USB) case. Roughly the same cost as what your internal drive is going to be anyway. Doesn't require external power source.

2) A standard PC CD/DVD drive/writer inside an external USB case. This (in 99% of cases - though I have seen it done without) needs power, and needs to be plugged in to a wall socket, so no good if you want to watch movies in the middle of the Sahara while you're dying of thirst :D

You can pick most of the stuff up from your local computer shop, or to find the best deal have a look on www.pricespy.co.nz. Several of the guys on here also have Ingram Micro accounts (the NZ distributor for most gadgety stuff), including myself, and may be more than happy to see if we can pick it up cheaper for you.

Send me an email with the make and model of your laptop and I'll see if I can find anything for you.