Buy the Right CD and DVD Drive - IDE or SATA
Don't Buy the Wrong CD or DVD Drive
DVD drives come in two different types depending on their connection, but are generally IDE or SATA. IDE stands for Integrated Drive Electronics and is a bus used for CD, DVD, or Hard drives on older computer models. SATA is the newer standard for bus drives (connectors) and is usually the type of drive you'll be looking for if you have a newer computer model.
My daughter blew out the power supply on my wife's computer and I was forced to buy another power supply to replace it. My wife's computer is pretty old and had a busted DVD drive so I figured that if I was going to fix her computer; I might as well fix everything. I'd been meaning to install Windows 7 on her computer and this provided a great opportunity.
I ran to the local electronics store and purchased a low priced IDE DVD drive. I usually don't buy IDE, but my wife's computer was pretty old (3-4 years) so I went for it. When I got home, I unwrapped and unraveled everything, and installed the power supply, but when I tried to install the DVD drive I noticed that the connections were wrong - I should have bought a SATA DVD drive instead of an IDE.
The store was closed that night so the next morning I rushed back to the electronics store, returned my outdated IDE drive, and purchased a SATA drive in its place. I returned home and was able to hook the SATA drive up without a hitch. The situation was embarrassing and I know that if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone that just grabs a DVD or CD drive without thinking about it. Make sure you know whether you need to buy an IDE or SATA drive the next time you buy a CD or DVD drive.
Has this ever happened to you? Discuss.
Published by Millionaire Hoy - Featured Contributor in Technology
1 of 2 people in the world named Millionaire, I enjoy writing edgy and and sometimes warped articles (with a splash of humor). I'm from Chicago so I'm always inspired by the crazy things I see everyday. Enjoy. View profile
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1 Comments
Post a CommentThanks for the info!