Drive removal in Laptop ECS 732E

[Kat_Daddy]

My laptop is a ECS 732E (also sold as Winbook J4) , it doesnt have the latch release to remove the module bay. It looks as though i could just pull it out, but i dont wanna fkit up. I was wondering if anyone has taken the old dvd burner out and replaced it, if so how? I havnt been able to get it to burn a good disc yet and the new drives are much faster anyway.

Also what do you think about these drives?

http://3btech.net/optotsla8xdv.html

http://www.pcdirect.com//product.asp?promo=pricewatch&PID=1&Sku=DVDAO-ISU-8424E

[HardwareGeek]

Laptop optical drives are proprietary, not like DVD drives in a desktop computer. In other words, you cannot put just any notebook optical drive into just any notebook. If upgradeable, you should get a new drive through the manufacturer (in this case ECS or Winbook).

Are you sure that the DVD burning problem does not result from the quality of the media you are using and not the optical drive itself?

All the best

[candre23]

Laptop optical drives are proprietary, not like DVD drives in a desktop computer. In other words, you cannot put just any notebook optical drive into just any notebook. If upgradeable, you should get a new drive through the manufacturer (in this case ECS or Winbook).



That's not entirely true. The majority of notebook optical drives are mostly interchangable. The size, shape, power/data connector, and mounting holes are somewhat standardized. It's not as universal as with desktops, but about 70% of laptops will accept about 80% of generic drives. There will be a specially shaped cable to connect the drive to the MB, and probably special mounting rails and a beazle. But you could take those off of your old drive.

There is no absolute guarentee that any one drive will work, but if you had 2 or 3 drives, you could probably make at least one fit. If you're not into the trial-and-error thing, then you should try to find an original replacement from ECS/Winbook/the actual manufacturer.

[foxyshadis]

If you can get yours out (might require removing a few screws at the bottom), you can see example notebook optical drives (http://www.impactcomputers.com/internal-dvd-writers.html). If yours has that shape it's probably semi-standard, and if you don't care about matching your case style, it's easy to find replacements. Just watch for recessed vs. extended adaptor.

[Kat_Daddy]

Hdgeek im abou 90% sure its not my software i followed this guide to the letter.
http://www.dvd-guides.com/content/view/40/59
and im using ridata -R disks which others with the same drive claim it works well with. It may be i dont have the newest firmware installed for the drive so it could be that. I figured the drive out later after original post. The same latch that releases the hardrive also releases the optical, but i never noticed. But the drives look identical to the generic drives being sold. Actually my whole laptop is a generic barebone, sold with different name brand stickers and configurations.

[HardwareGeek]

Maybe optical drives on notebooks are not as proprietary as I thought. It would be great if you could pick up a drive from a local electronics store. In the U.S., you generally have 30 days to return hardware such as this, no questions asked, if for some reasons it doesn't work, or you still get bad burns.

I still wouldn't entirely rule out your media blanks as the culprit. I've had great luck myself with Ritek, but have also seen reports that quality with Ridata is inconsistent.

Alot of people in this forum will also tell you to not burn at greater than 4x.

Let us know how it goes.