DVD drive installation

[Lil' Dave]

| I've decided to replace my nonwritable DVD drive with a writable one in
my
| 5-year-old Dell Dimension 8250 desktop computer (running Windows XP Home
and
| SP3). Is this something a complete novice can tackle, or should it be
done
| in a shop? My local shop says it would cost $49 for the drive and $75 to
| install it--and it would come with software for burning discs. (I didn't
| know burning discs required extra software. For my CD drive I use either
| drag and drop or the ancient Easy CD Creator that came with my
computer.)
|
| Thanks much for your help!
|
| Jo-Anne
|

I think you've been way over intimidated for this job.

I have several Dells with this style case and changing optical drives is
very simple. The case swings open with two buttons and has ample room for
working.

The drives aren't screwed into the case. They are on green plastic rails
that slide out with no tools.

Pull off the data cable and the power cable. (the power cable can be a
tight
fit, a little gentle rocking back and forth may be required) Pinch the
green
plastic rails toward each other and the drive slides right out.

The rails are fastened to the drive with four screws. Remove them from the
old drive and place them in the same position on the new drive. The holes
and screw size are standard.

Dells all come with their drives jumpered as "cable select" (which BTW
requires the correct type of data cable so don't change the cable there is
no reason to) Place the jumper on the new drive in the cable select
position. The new drive will have instructions for this. Here's a picture
of
what one looks like
http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2005/02/23/Build_Perfect_BudgetPC.html?page=4
It's a simple matter of moving that little plastic piece (yours will
probably be black not green) from one set of pins to the pair marked "CS."

Slide the new drive into the same spot the old one came out of and plug
the
power and data cable back in. They are keyed and can't be plugged in the
wrong way.

Windows will see and configure the drive at next boot.

In order to write to DVDs you will need extra software. XP doesn't have
any
native DVD writing capabilities. Virtually all name brand retail drives
will
come with software.

If not Nero is a good commercial product to consider.

There are several very capable freeware DVD writing packages available.
http://www.deepburner.com/?r=products (has both free and paid versions)
http://www.cdburnerxp.se/
for example.

Review;
1.) Open case.
2.) Remove two cables and slide drive out.
3.) Move rails from one drive to another (four screws) Move jumper to "CS"
position.
4.) Slide new drive in and replace two cables.

Boot up and install the software for DVD writing.

Having done a few the physical exchange takes me about 5 minutes once the
computer is on the bench. Might take you half an hour.

Hogwash on the special cable. Cable-select is functionality of the ide
device, not the ribbon cable. If more than one on same ribbon cable, both
must be set to cable-select. Cable-select is for the brain-dead, and,
current PC assemblers at the Dell factory.

Rails attached directly for PC front mounted devices are nothing unusual.
Either you screw the rail to the ide device and slide it in (not special to
Dell), or, you mount the ide device to the standard PC front mounted PC
enclosure rail (part of the PC enclosure) with screws. Either way is not a
big deal.

 

[Lil' Dave]

Should be interesting hearing about Doug's thoughts on CD Creator 5 and
burning DVDs.

 

[mae]

Just follow the pictures and directions from Dell.
I have an old Dimension 4300 with the same style case and had no problem.
I installed an old dvd-rw from a cast-off HP.
Windows recognized and worked just fine.
So just try it, if unsuccessful, then have the shop install.
Your local shop price seems reasonable.
I put my first CD drive in old Windows 3.

I can use the EasyCD Creator 5 for the Data disk.
To make a video disk to play on DVD players,
you would need DVD authoring software, which will probably come with the
drive.

mae

| Thank you, Doug! You make it sound much simpler. If I do it myself, is
there
| anything in particular I should look for in a DVD burner? Any brand that
has
| a particularly good reputation? Any online store that specializes in these
| drives? (I saw a few of them on Amazon, but the prices were wildly
divergent
| and I had no idea where to start.)
|
| Also, you said I'd need software to burn the DVDs. Two questions:
|
| Does this mean that you can't use drag and drop for DVDs under Windows XP?
| Or just that there's nothing more sophisticated than that in the OS?
|
| The software that came with my Dell is the free Easy CD Creator 5 by
Roxio.
| When I click on "make a data CD," one of the options is "data DVD
| project--use your DVD recordable drive to store up to 4.7GB of data." I
| assume this software should be sufficient--right?
|
| Thank you again!
|
| Jo-Anne
|
| | >
| > | > | I've decided to replace my nonwritable DVD drive with a writable one
in
| > my
| > | 5-year-old Dell Dimension 8250 desktop computer (running Windows XP
Home
| > and
| > | SP3). Is this something a complete novice can tackle, or should it be
| > done
| > | in a shop? My local shop says it would cost $49 for the drive and $75
to
| > | install it--and it would come with software for burning discs. (I
didn't
| > | know burning discs required extra software. For my CD drive I use
either
| > | drag and drop or the ancient Easy CD Creator that came with my
| > computer.)
| > |
| > | Thanks much for your help!
| > |
| > | Jo-Anne
| > |
| >
| > I think you've been way over intimidated for this job.
| >
| > I have several Dells with this style case and changing optical drives is
| > very simple. The case swings open with two buttons and has ample room
for
| > working.
| >
| > The drives aren't screwed into the case. They are on green plastic rails
| > that slide out with no tools.
| >
| > Pull off the data cable and the power cable. (the power cable can be a
| > tight
| > fit, a little gentle rocking back and forth may be required) Pinch the
| > green
| > plastic rails toward each other and the drive slides right out.
| >
| > The rails are fastened to the drive with four screws. Remove them from
the
| > old drive and place them in the same position on the new drive. The
holes
| > and screw size are standard.
| >
| > Dells all come with their drives jumpered as "cable select" (which BTW
| > requires the correct type of data cable so don't change the cable there
is
| > no reason to) Place the jumper on the new drive in the cable select
| > position. The new drive will have instructions for this. Here's a
picture
| > of
| > what one looks like
| >
http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2005/02/23/Build_Perfect_BudgetPC.html?page=4
| > It's a simple matter of moving that little plastic piece (yours will
| > probably be black not green) from one set of pins to the pair marked
"CS."
| >
| > Slide the new drive into the same spot the old one came out of and plug
| > the
| > power and data cable back in. They are keyed and can't be plugged in the
| > wrong way.
| >
| > Windows will see and configure the drive at next boot.
| >
| > In order to write to DVDs you will need extra software. XP doesn't have
| > any
| > native DVD writing capabilities. Virtually all name brand retail drives
| > will
| > come with software.
| >
| > If not Nero is a good commercial product to consider.
| >
| > There are several very capable freeware DVD writing packages available.
| > http://www.deepburner.com/?r=products (has both free and paid versions)
| > http://www.cdburnerxp.se/
| > for example.
| >
| > Review;
| > 1.) Open case.
| > 2.) Remove two cables and slide drive out.
| > 3.) Move rails from one drive to another (four screws) Move jumper to
"CS"
| > position.
| > 4.) Slide new drive in and replace two cables.
| >
| > Boot up and install the software for DVD writing.
| >
| > Having done a few the physical exchange takes me about 5 minutes once
the
| > computer is on the bench. Might take you half an hour.
| >
| >
|
|

 

[Jo-Anne Naples]

Thank you, Mae!

Jo-Anne

Just follow the pictures and directions from Dell.
I have an old Dimension 4300 with the same style case and had no problem.
I installed an old dvd-rw from a cast-off HP.
Windows recognized and worked just fine.
So just try it, if unsuccessful, then have the shop install.
Your local shop price seems reasonable.
I put my first CD drive in old Windows 3.

I can use the EasyCD Creator 5 for the Data disk.
To make a video disk to play on DVD players,
you would need DVD authoring software, which will probably come with the
drive.

mae

| Thank you, Doug! You make it sound much simpler. If I do it myself, is
there
| anything in particular I should look for in a DVD burner? Any brand that
has
| a particularly good reputation? Any online store that specializes in
these
| drives? (I saw a few of them on Amazon, but the prices were wildly
divergent
| and I had no idea where to start.)
|
| Also, you said I'd need software to burn the DVDs. Two questions:
|
| Does this mean that you can't use drag and drop for DVDs under Windows
XP?
| Or just that there's nothing more sophisticated than that in the OS?
|
| The software that came with my Dell is the free Easy CD Creator 5 by
Roxio.
| When I click on "make a data CD," one of the options is "data DVD
| project--use your DVD recordable drive to store up to 4.7GB of data." I
| assume this software should be sufficient--right?
|
| Thank you again!
|
| Jo-Anne
|
| | >
| > | > | I've decided to replace my nonwritable DVD drive with a writable one
in
| > my
| > | 5-year-old Dell Dimension 8250 desktop computer (running Windows XP
Home
| > and
| > | SP3). Is this something a complete novice can tackle, or should it
be
| > done
| > | in a shop? My local shop says it would cost $49 for the drive and
$75
to
| > | install it--and it would come with software for burning discs. (I
didn't
| > | know burning discs required extra software. For my CD drive I use
either
| > | drag and drop or the ancient Easy CD Creator that came with my
| > computer.)
| > |
| > | Thanks much for your help!
| > |
| > | Jo-Anne
| > |
| >
| > I think you've been way over intimidated for this job.
| >
| > I have several Dells with this style case and changing optical drives
is
| > very simple. The case swings open with two buttons and has ample room
for
| > working.
| >
| > The drives aren't screwed into the case. They are on green plastic
rails
| > that slide out with no tools.
| >
| > Pull off the data cable and the power cable. (the power cable can be a
| > tight
| > fit, a little gentle rocking back and forth may be required) Pinch the
| > green
| > plastic rails toward each other and the drive slides right out.
| >
| > The rails are fastened to the drive with four screws. Remove them from
the
| > old drive and place them in the same position on the new drive. The
holes
| > and screw size are standard.
| >
| > Dells all come with their drives jumpered as "cable select" (which BTW
| > requires the correct type of data cable so don't change the cable
there
is
| > no reason to) Place the jumper on the new drive in the cable select
| > position. The new drive will have instructions for this. Here's a
picture
| > of
| > what one looks like
| >
http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2005/02/23/Build_Perfect_BudgetPC.html?page=4
| > It's a simple matter of moving that little plastic piece (yours will
| > probably be black not green) from one set of pins to the pair marked
"CS."
| >
| > Slide the new drive into the same spot the old one came out of and
plug
| > the
| > power and data cable back in. They are keyed and can't be plugged in
the
| > wrong way.
| >
| > Windows will see and configure the drive at next boot.
| >
| > In order to write to DVDs you will need extra software. XP doesn't
have
| > any
| > native DVD writing capabilities. Virtually all name brand retail
drives
| > will
| > come with software.
| >
| > If not Nero is a good commercial product to consider.
| >
| > There are several very capable freeware DVD writing packages
available.
| > http://www.deepburner.com/?r=products (has both free and paid
versions)
| > http://www.cdburnerxp.se/
| > for example.
| >
| > Review;
| > 1.) Open case.
| > 2.) Remove two cables and slide drive out.
| > 3.) Move rails from one drive to another (four screws) Move jumper to
"CS"
| > position.
| > 4.) Slide new drive in and replace two cables.
| >
| > Boot up and install the software for DVD writing.
| >
| > Having done a few the physical exchange takes me about 5 minutes once
the
| > computer is on the bench. Might take you half an hour.
| >
| >
|
|

 

[Jo-Anne Naples]

Thank you, Dave!

Jo-Anne

Hogwash on the special cable. Cable-select is functionality of the ide
device, not the ribbon cable. If more than one on same ribbon cable, both
must be set to cable-select. Cable-select is for the brain-dead, and,
current PC assemblers at the Dell factory.

Rails attached directly for PC front mounted devices are nothing unusual.
Either you screw the rail to the ide device and slide it in (not special
to Dell), or, you mount the ide device to the standard PC front mounted PC
enclosure rail (part of the PC enclosure) with screws. Either way is not
a big deal.

 

[Doug]

|
| Hogwash on the special cable. Cable-select is functionality of the ide
| device, not the ribbon cable.

| --
| Dave
|
|

Really? Have a read.

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/confCS-c.html
http://www.unixwiz.net/techtips/ide-cable-select.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT_Attachment#Pin_28
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/8320

To use cable select, both devices on the channel are set to the "cable
select" (CS) setting, usually by a special jumper. Then, a special cable is
used. This cable is very similar in most respects to the regular IDE/ATA
cable, except for the CSEL signal. CSEL is carried on wire #28 of the
standard IDE/ATA cable, and is grounded at the host's connector (the one
that attaches to the motherboard or controller). On a cable select cable,
one of the connectors (the "master connector") has pin #28 connected through
to the cable, but the other (the "slave connector") has an open circuit on
that pin (no connection).

Perhaps in the future educate yourself before spouting off? Nah easier just
to spout off eh?

Of course then you run the risk of looking like a fool when you come up
wrong. Though I must say it looks good on you. ;-)

 

[Doug]

| Should be interesting hearing about Doug's thoughts on CD Creator 5 and
| burning DVDs.
|
| --
| Dave

Should it be? I've never burned a DVD with Roxio. Was that interesting?

 

[Andy]

Thank you, Doug! You make it sound much simpler. If I do it myself, is there
anything in particular I should look for in a DVD burner? Any brand that has
a particularly good reputation? Any online store that specializes in these
drives? (I saw a few of them on Amazon, but the prices were wildly divergent
and I had no idea where to start.)

Also, you said I'd need software to burn the DVDs. Two questions:

Does this mean that you can't use drag and drop for DVDs under Windows XP?
Or just that there's nothing more sophisticated than that in the OS?

If you want to do drag and drop to DVD natively under Windows XP, you
have to get a drive that supports DVD-RAM writing, such as the Samsung
SH-S202N

 

[Jo-Anne Naples]

Thank you, Andy!

Jo-Anne

If you want to do drag and drop to DVD natively under Windows XP, you
have to get a drive that supports DVD-RAM writing, such as the Samsung
SH-S202N

 

[Opinicus]

If you want to do drag and drop to DVD natively under Windows XP, you
have to get a drive that supports DVD-RAM writing

"natively under Windows XP"? Does that mean I don't need any other DVD
writing software?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I've decided to replace my nonwritable DVD drive with a writable
one in my 5-year-old Dell Dimension 8250 desktop computer (running
Windows XP Home and SP3). Is this something a complete novice can
tackle, or should it be done in a shop? My local shop says it would
cost $49 for the drive and $75 to install it--and it would come
with software for burning discs. (I didn't know burning discs
required extra software. For my CD drive I use either drag and drop
or the ancient Easy CD Creator that came with my computer.)
Thanks much for your help!

If you want to do drag and drop to DVD natively under Windows XP,
you have to get a drive that supports DVD-RAM writing, such as the
Samsung SH-S202N
<http://www.meritline.com/samsung-sh-s202n-bebn-lightscrible-dvd-drive-with-software.html>.

"natively under Windows XP"? Does that mean I don't need any other
DVD writing software?

Yes. Windows XP does support DVD-RAM drives natively - with the settings
configured in such a way that CD/CD-RW writing natively is disabled for the
same drive.

The general rule of thumb has always seemingly been to ignore this - as most
home users do not have DVD-RAM drives, but DVD +/- R/RW (if they even have a
DVD writer at all.)

Windows XP supports the DVD-RAM file systems
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283588

"In Windows XP, DVD-RAM disks can be used as either CD-ROM/DVD-ROM devices
or as rewriteable disks."

" The following list contains the DVD-RAM drives that are supported in
Windows XP: •Hitachi GF-2000

• Toshiba SD-W2002
• Matsushita LF-D311S
• Matsushita LF-D311BK
• Matsushita LF-D311GK
• Matsushita LF-D311HS
• Matsushita LF-D311H
• Matsushita LF-D311BW
• Matsushita LF-D311SC
• Matsushita LF-D311M
• Matsushita LF-D311G
• Matsushita LF-D311HG
• Matsushita LF-D311F"


You cannot write to a DVD-RAM disc that is in a DVD-RAM/CD-RW combination
drive
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/826510

"Note Windows XP does not support recording UDF-formatted information on a
DVD-RAM disc."

Hope that helps explain things.

For the price of the drive/price of media -- most will come out ahead just
purchasing a good DVD +/- R/RW drive so they can burn the most common
formats and use those formats in their regular CD/DVD players as well.

 

[Lil' Dave]

|
| Hogwash on the special cable. Cable-select is functionality of the ide
| device, not the ribbon cable.

| --
| Dave
|
|

Really? Have a read.

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/confCS-c.html
http://www.unixwiz.net/techtips/ide-cable-select.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT_Attachment#Pin_28
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/8320

To use cable select, both devices on the channel are set to the "cable
select" (CS) setting, usually by a special jumper. Then, a special cable
is
used. This cable is very similar in most respects to the regular IDE/ATA
cable, except for the CSEL signal. CSEL is carried on wire #28 of the
standard IDE/ATA cable, and is grounded at the host's connector (the one
that attaches to the motherboard or controller). On a cable select cable,
one of the connectors (the "master connector") has pin #28 connected
through
to the cable, but the other (the "slave connector") has an open circuit on
that pin (no connection).

Perhaps in the future educate yourself before spouting off? Nah easier
just
to spout off eh?

Of course then you run the risk of looking like a fool when you come up
wrong. Though I must say it looks good on you. ;-)

First off, there is no special jumper. Its the same one that sets either
master or slave. The cable is not special, its standard issue as it works
with either CSEL or master/slave jumpering. What keeps CSEL from working as
you noted in your reply is the grounding at the ide port on the motherboard
(ide has the controller on the ide device itself, not the motherboard). Has
nothing to do with the cable itself. Very old ide ribbon cables did exactly
what you indicated on the slave (middle) position, pin 28 wasn't an open
circuit. These older ide ribbon cables were designed for master/slave
jumpering only. Has nothing to do with it as you indicated the Dell has
working CSEL from factory. Thank you for the reminder...

 

[Jo-Anne Naples]

Thank you again, Beamish!

Jo-Anne

Hello,
The unit is not an easy design. You have plenty of good solid information
from all the posters. Go step by step and use the diagrams (print out) on
the
Dell site, mark each step as completed uninstalling and installing. Make
sure
you check the back of the old drive and set up new drive the same way.
A external drive needs very little interaction. Comes with basic
instructions for a USB hardware install. Most times install the software
and
at some point the software ask to have the USB device plugged in ( make
sure
the device power is turned on before plugging into the USB port), not
unlike
a USB printer.
Windows XP should recognize the drive and assign a letter.
take care.
beamish.

 

[Tobias]

I've decided to replace my nonwritable DVD drive with a writable one in my
5-year-old Dell Dimension 8250 desktop computer (running Windows XP Home and
SP3). Is this something a complete novice can tackle, or should it be done
in a shop? My local shop says it would cost $49 for the drive and $75 to
install it--and it would come with software for burning discs. (I didn't
know burning discs required extra software. For my CD drive I use either
drag and drop or the ancient Easy CD Creator that came with my computer.)

Thanks much for your help!

Jo-Anne

 

[peter]

here is Dell's instructions for installing various parts to your system.
Have a good look especially at all of the plastic parts that need to be
removed/reapplied.
If you feel you can handle that part...installing a DVD drive itself is
pretty
straightforward.
only you can decide
peter