How to Replace a CD/DVD Drive

From time to time, CD or DVD drives cease to work. You will need to replace the drive to continue to have the capabilities of your computer as before. Others may want to change their CD drive to a DVD drive to enhance capabilities. This task is well within the capabilities of most people if you follow simple instructions.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Turn off the computer and remove the power cord from the back. Unscrew the appropriate screws that hold the case cover on and open the case of your computer. Once you have done this, you will have access to the screws that hold the drives into the case.

2. Locate your CD/DVD drive that you need to replace. Unplug the clip that feeds sound to the sound card and label it. Next, unscrew the four mounting screws that are in the side of the drive. Then remove the power plug from the rear of the drive and disconnect the drive cable. Take note of which end the red wire connects to. It will be either towards the power connector or away from it.

3. Remove the drive, examine the jumpers on the back of the drive and note what setting they indicate. The available settings are Slave, Master or Master Only.

4. Take your new CD/DVD drive and set the jumpers on the back of the drive the same as the jumpers that you saw on the old drive. Reconnect the drive cable, making sure that you align the red wire with the pin 1 on the connector on the drive. Most times this is the same one as on the old drive.

5. Connect the power cable, slide the drive back into the drive bay and secure it with the four mounting screws. The final thing to do before closing the case is to plug in the sound cable that you unplugged in Step 2.

6. Close the case and secure the sides with the screws removed in Step 1. Reconnect the power cable to the computer and restart the computer.