What to Look for When Replacing or Upgrading Your Laptop Disk Drive
When it comes to replacing or upgrading your Dell laptops disk drive, you can either replace the internal hardware or find an external drive. External drives might be ideal if you have a laptop that does not have a disk drive, or if you just want extra features that your current working DVD drive does not have, but it is fairly easy to replace the internal laptop drive yourself.
Will Any Drive Work for My Laptop?
When choosing a replacement internal drive for your laptop, you cannot just go with any replacement drive because the fit is usually proprietary to the brand. You can match a brand-specific drive to your machine using the serial number of your laptop. After you get the new drive, it is easy to replace it yourself.
- Make sure your laptop is completely powered down and the battery disconnected. Turn it over.
- Check the manual, but most Windows based laptops have a button you can push to release the drive. Pull the old drive straight out and then insert the new drive in exactly the way the other one came out.
- Turn the laptop over and restart your laptop. It should automatically find the new drive, and if necessary, install any drivers by using the disk that came with the drive or by downloading them from the website.
What DVD or CD-ROM Options Are Available for Internal Laptop Drives?
Whether you are getting a replacement internal drive or an external drive, there are a few features you can look for based on your needs for your computer. There are a number of options for your Dell replacement optical drive, but you need to make sure it is the correct size and shape for your computer. See the manufacturers site for size details.
- 8X Serial ATA DVD+/-RW - This internal optical drive with DVD+/-RW optical storage has a SATA interface and an 8x read speed. This RW drive is for the PowerEdge R520, R720, R820, and T620. It is also compatible with the PowerEdge T630 and the Precision Workstation R7910 XL and T5810 XL.
- Internal DVD SATA for PowerEdge R220 - This is a DVD-ROM drive had DVD-ROM 5.25-inch Slim Line optical storage and is designed for the PowerEdge R220 only.
- Serial ATA DVD+/-RW 9.5mm - This combo drive is only for the PowerEdge R641 and allows you to read and write CDs and read DVDs with crystal clarity.
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