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Replacing cd drive

weed30 St. Louis

19 years ago

I have a Dell C521 Dimension, and didn't realize it, but didn't get a cd burner with it, just one that plays. I have worked inside a pc case before, no problem. But is there a specific type of burner I need? I have one in my old tower, or I can buy a new one. I suppose I could just remove the current one and take it to the store with me if needed.

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Comments (9)

weed30 St. Louis
Original Author
19 years ago
Or should I just get a portable one?
bob414
19 years ago
The one from your old computer should work fine. If you have use for a portable one this might be a good time to buy, if not I would give the old one a try.
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randy_ca
19 years ago
Take the one out of the old tower, they're all the same size.
When it comes time to buy one, get a DVD/CD Writer.
With DVD, just a single side holds 4.7GB of data compared to the measly 700MB on a CD.
I ended up with a Pioneer for $35 after rebate. Sony is a little more expensive.
weed30 St. Louis
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks to both of you for answering. I can't imagine having a 4.7GB DVD! What would I do with it?? When I back up my pc, I only back up my documents, photos, and email. It fits on my 1G jump drive with plenty of room to spare. Am I missing something? I would only be using the cd burner to make music cds, and I am not the type to make a lot of those.
randy_ca
19 years ago
Am I missing something?
No, you're not missing anything now, maybe someday when your photo collection grows.
A DVD writer and dvd discs are fairly new to me.
I downloaded Windows Vista Ultimate Beta from Microsoft and the file was around 2.5GB and I had to burn it to a DVD because of the size and to install it.
Then I did a backup of my stuff like photos, music, documents, and downloaded programs that I'd been putting off for a long time. Amazing how much stuff will go on a DVD disc.
Yea, 1GB jump drives are cool, that's big enough to hold the important things.
theroselvr
19 years ago
Thumb drives go bad. I had a 4 gig and a 256 mb go bad this year. I lost everything on the drive. A thumb drive is not for storage.
weed30 St. Louis
Original Author
19 years ago
Roselvr, ugh, that's not too comforting!

I tried to put the drive from my old pc into the Dell, but the 'plugs' weren't the same. I ended up finding a new CD/DVD burner on ebay for a good price. Same one on the Dell website. The guy had a ton of good feedback, so I'm pretty confident it will be ok.

Thanks again for all the answers.
iowagirl2006
19 years ago
Weed - it took 4 full DVD's to back up my photos for the year! I do a monthly (or more often if needed) photo backup - but then I do a major full year backup the first part of January.

I have never regreted installing a DVD burner.

Just make sure you have the jumper settings exactly the same as the drive you are taking out. That tripped me up, but was a quick fix once I figured out my mistake.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Install a DVD or CD burner
weed30 St. Louis
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks for the link!

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