installing a cdrw drive

i was recently given a hewlett packard computer (nothing special). But it does have a cdrw drive i would like to take out and install into my current computer which is a dell. How can I do this? Will i even be able to do this?

 

Sure, just unscrew the back screws. Take the panel off. Then unplug the drive (While the computer is off of course) then unscrew the drive and move it over to the other computer and screw it in and then plug it in.

If you're not sure about how to plug it in look at how it is plugged in before removing it. It should look the same in the other computer. It's very simple.

The only thing you have to watch out for is the jumper setting. There are two settings you have to worry about. Master and Slave. Now you've got a 50% chance of being right by simply not messing with it at all, and if you're worried about it I'd suggest just plugging it in and trying it. If it's wrong nothing will be damaged the drive just won't work. In which case you'd shut it off and change the jumpers.

Master means it's the primary device and slave means it's the second. Each cable can have two devices plugged into it. So if you plug it into a cable which already had one device simply set it as slave. If the cable had no devices on it plug it in as a master.

But like I said above, if you're confused just guess the setting, if you're wrong no harm is done. Also the jumper settings are either written above the jumpers as S and M or there is a label on the top of the drive indicating where to put the jumpers for slave and master settings. Also there is a third setting which is used a lot called cable select (or CS), which simply means it figured out the setting itself. But this doesn't work on all systems so it's best to just ignore it.

 

Make sure you EARTH yourself on EACH computer (on a metal part of the case), EACH and EVERY time BEFORE you delve inside them.

Static discharge from you (to PC bits) can zap them, particularly if you are walking across carpet/rugs. Bazza

 

I wouldn't worry too much about static discharge. The whole static discharge thing is basicly a myth of the industry because to actually build up a large enough charge you have to be pretty close to giving yourself a rather serious shock. I've never actually heard of anyone breaking any computer pieces because of static and I've been doing HW in the industry for 20 years. It's uncommon to see anyone ground themselves outside of a work envorinment and even in the work place you only tend to see people bother with grounding themselves if a supervisor is around.

 

I once worked for 3 weeks in a computer shop, while the owner went on leave. The floor was carpeted. Every time I walked across the carpet to open the door for any reason, I gotta boot off the door handle. I had to buy different shoes to stop the static buildup, and stop the static discharge when I touched the door knob. You could see the static discharge. I know you shouldn't have carpet in a computer repair area, but it was a leased shop, and the lessee had no option.

It may be a myth, but I always earth myself before delving inside a PC box. Bazza
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I'm not saying static doesn't exsist. I'm just saying to build up a large enough charge to actually damage computer components is basicly unheard of? You ever touch a computer piece and shock it? I know I have, its never been an issue though.

I can honestly say the only times I've heard about such things actually occuring it's always been through something like a best friends, sisters, boy friends, uncles, son. Or something stupid that you certainly can't trace for truth. I've honestly never meet anyone who's damaged a computer component with a static shock. I've seen plenty of people touch computer compnents and discharge a little static though.

 

Thanks Coco. I guess that I am just slightly paranoid (slightly?). I earth myself anyhow, risk or not. Bazza

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I talked to someone(with too much time and money on his hands) who built two computers .. one doing everything you're supposed to, and the other doing everything you're not supposed to ... as in not grounding himself, using magnetized screwdrivers, etc etc etc .. and sure enough the former computer worked and the latter didn't .. so I don't think it's a myth and it's easy enough to do and spending XXX$ on components isn't worth the risk in my book

 

You sure he didn't just assemble it wrong? I don't know if I've built a computer where I was grounded and didn't use magnetic screw drivers (Well OK I have tried both at some point but never at the same time as far as I can remember). I've never had one fail and for awhile there I was doing as many as 10 a day.

The magnetic thing is something to pay attention to. But only a bit. You'd need a fairly strong magnetic screw driver to have any impact but IF and I do stress IF you had one that strong all it does is erase data. It doesn't harm anything. Of course if you have sensitive data this could be harmful. It's not really a consideration when building a computer though since the HD's are already blank, just don't hover the screw driver over the bios chip. Of course a screw driver shouldn't be getting anywheres close to the bios chip anyways, regardless of if it's magnetic or not.

 

Maybe you're right, but I've heard what I would have thought were reliable sources suggest that it only takes a few hundred volts of static electricity to fry a CMOS chip -- and you won't feel the zap unless the voltage is in the thousands. There's almost no current involved (which is why it does no damage to a human being), but it punches tiny holes in the CMOS chip layers that then allow a voltage to leak away too fast.

 

Great discussion about ESD with only partial relevance to the topic. Try to stay on topic please.