Replace CDRW drive with DVDRW drive?

[scrambler]

My Acer 20X10X40 CDRW drive appears to have 'died' can I replace it with DVDRW? will it in fit the same slot? - Is it difficult to do? - Any advice appreciated. Thanks

[Lord Finesse]

It's real easy scrambler. Take the ribbon out of the bck of your CD/RW drive, put the ribbon in the back of the DVD/RW drive boot up and it should be all set. It's all I done and it worked fine for me... ; )

Best o Luck

LF

[Catso]

PS don't forget the little audio lead, as well, if you have one, or you won't be able to play music.

[fo3nix]

Finally, make sure that you set the master/slave jumper on the back of the drives to be the same.

For example, you may have two disc drives on the same ribbon cable. One has to be set to slave, and the other to master. On the back of your old drive there'll be some small pins with a piece of plastic connecting two of them vertically. Above these will be the letters SL, MA, and another one. Check to see if your old is SL (slave) or MA (master), and make sure the same setting is replicated on your new one. Again, really simple to do.

[scrambler]

Thanks a lot men. - regards

[Lord Finesse]

Forgot to mention that Fo3,

glad you put that in there. ; ) Nice One.

LF

[dodgyshirt]

It might be a good idea to plug the power lead in as well.

[scrambler]

Dodgy shirt - is this a genuine point? please confirm. While I have the attention of you clever chaps, I have a 1.4gh ram to add to my MB (INSTEAD OF A 1.2) The clip holding the ram and heat sink look a bit tricky to remove in situ, any advice would also be appreciated. Plus the protective cover over the new HS compound has touched it slightly, causing a small imperfection in the surface, Any danger?

[fo3nix]

scambler: dodgyshirt is right on the money there, yes. When you unplug your old drive you'll probably find two cables to unplug. One will be a wide ribbon cable that carries the data, the other the power cable. Whatever your system is like, unplug everything and then plug the same things back in on the new drive, making sure the slave/master stuff is correct.

Then boot your computer back up and check it works before installing any other stuff.

As for the other part of your question, I'm not sure. But boot up your machine with new DVD drive before fitting anything else. That way if something bad happens you know it's the drive and not the RAM or anything else. The side switches on the RAM modules should move to an almost 45-degree angle when you push them to the sides, away from the RAM itself. This will cause the RAM to pop out slightly (perhaps 2mm), and then just pull it out and put the new stuff in.

[dodgyshirt]

It seems to me you are talking about replacing the CPU with a slightly more powerful one rather than a RAM module.
If so, then yes it can be a little tricky in situ.You will need to slip a well-fitting screwdriver into the metal clip and press down with some force until the clip can then be levered outwards away from the plastic lug.
I find it advisable to place a piece of strong plastic between the clip and the mobo circuitry in case the screwdriver slips out .
Discolouration by excess HS compound will not matter but when re-applying do not overdo it.
Having done all that, the difference in performance after such an upgrade will be barely noticeable.
Finally and most important, take anti-static precautions when doing any work on the inside of a PC. The human body can generate up to 3000volts of static electricity, just 60volts will kill a processor stone-dead.

[scrambler]

Thanks again, Yes I did mean CPU. I was' tired and emotional' at the time of posting. I give it a little try earlier but the screwdriver 'skittered' across the MB, frightened the life out of me. Quickly put it back together! Perhaps I won't do this up-grade. Get my money back on Ebay. Thanks for the sound advice.