Bob Posted January 11, 2005 Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 Hi: I'm planning to replace my CD burner with a DVD burner so... Is it as simple as removing the CD drive and noting where the hookup wires are, then attaching the DVD wires to the same position as the CD then install the software and let Xp find a new piece of hardware?? tell me "That's all there is to it" or are there pitfalls that could hinder the installation. thanks in advance... I'm anxious to put a show on DVD and view it on the TV. Bob.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Cox Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 Bobwelcome to the forumto answer your questionshort answer is yesbut dont quote mesometimes wise to thoroughly examine the software that comes bundled with the drive -- it could be a lite version and not support dvd burningken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted January 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 Ken: Thanks for your speedy reply. I don't see any reason to keep the original CD drive as I understand that the new DVD drives are actually faster when it comes to burning CDs. I will check out the supplied software and if it doesn't allow burning to DVD I'll be back asking more questions. Bob.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alrobin Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 Bob,It's handy to have two drives for copying from one to the other. The installation can be a little tricky with two, though, as connection to the proper controller, and master/slave considerations, are important. I don't remember off-hand what the rule is, but your installation manual(s) should tell you. Seems to me that at least one of them likes to be the "master", either primary or secondary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Cox Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 and if you maintain 2 drives , make sure you set it to boot from a drive other than floppy and make sure you know which one it boots from -- when you are up to ___ in snakes one neede to know these thingsthis getting into the long answerand i am getting out my area -=- this is when i get my techieken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photoCD Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 As well as noting the position of pin 1 on the drive and the IDE cable (usually red stripe), you also need to note the jumper setting of the original drive. If you only have one hard drive and the CD drive, chances are they are both connected to the same IDE cable with the hard drive set as master and CD drive set as slave.If the CD drive is on a separate IDE cable it should be set as master. You can obtain a bit of a performance gain if you keep the optical drive on a separate IDE cable. If you decide to keep the CD drive, then you should have the DVD burner set as master on the secondary IDE channel and the CD drive as slave on the same channel, with the hard disk by itself as master on the primary IDE channel.If you need any more info, feel free to ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted January 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 Wow!! thanks for all the advice. I simply want to replace the existing CD burner with a DVD burner so hopefully it will be as simple as hooking up to the same cables and jacks as the Cd drive. Now I'll place an order for a DVD drive. If you guys have any suggestions as to a paticular drive please jump in. My main concerns are to put P2exe shows on DVD that can be viewed on any home TV, copy CDs and back-up some data from my "C" drive. I know there are many different software packages out there but I would like to think the supplied software will do the trick. thanks again for all your help. Bob.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photoCD Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 Go for the NEC 3520A. It's a 16x unit and supports dual layer. If you are in the UK, you can get it from SVP at http://www.blankdiscshop.co.uk/acatalog/Ha..._Section__.html for under 50 quid.The simplest way to replace it is to match the jumpers on the DVD burner to those currently on the CD burner and then wire it up. Job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alrobin Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 Brian ("Conflow") had some good advice on this Forum re DVD drives a couple of months or so ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted January 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 PhotoCD I'm back...Just checked in to Nec 3520A and find a good price $62.00 US. This is an OEM with no cables or software. Question... will I have to purchase cables and software or is it possible to use the cables etc. on present CD drive? Will the drivers be in Windows XP or do I need installation software? Hate to use up bandwidth with all these questions but when I read some of these DVD forums the chat is way over my head.Thanks............. Bob.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photoCD Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 BobThe cables you have will do fine, both the data and audio ones. XP will detect the drive no problem. Software is your only issue, as you will need something specifically to write to DVD. At this point the list gets endless, as it will depend on what you use it for. Check you present software to see if it supports DVDs before buying something new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted January 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Thank you: My order is in. This forum and all the great people who are willing to give their time helping others, "Make my day" Bob.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Cox Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 did you order a 100 dvd spindledid you talk to your dr about getting some valiumthe fun has just begun just remember "PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE"may all your disks be keepers ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted January 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 Thought I had all the answers My new dvd burner should arrive Tuesday and I find that I have just one more questions for the "Techs" DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW and so on!! What should I get?? I want the best results when it comes to P2exe shows and I want to back-up my Hard drive as well. I have programs such as P2exe, Photoshop etc. that I want to back-up on DVD.thanks once again in advance..Bob.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronniebootwest Posted January 16, 2005 Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 Hate to be the one to dampen your enthusiasm, but don't expect miracles from DVD when you eventually get it up and running. They just 'aint got the medium perfected yet and you may well be disappointed with your first results, especially if you are expecting to get .exe quality on a TV screen.Let us know how you get on please.Ron West Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted January 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 Hi Y'all: After a long search I did find a comlete answer to my question re: DVD types and uses. http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.html?i=118 Thanks to all.Bob.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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