How do I connect another optical drive along side a current one on wst3500?

What is the specific problem you have connecting this internal drive? This is an internal SATA optical drive for a desktop with a standard 5 1/4" drive opening. Many optical drives ship as OEM devices; you will need to reuse the data and power cable from a previous drive or purchase a SATA data cable (7 pin). A locking cable can help keep the cable connected to the drive. If your power supply (PSU) doesn't have SATA power connectors (15 pin), you will need an IDE to SATA adapter. Most online cable shops have the best prices for these.

If your computer doesn't have a SATA port available, you need to add a controller card or use a SATA to IDE converter.

If your case is a ultra-small form factor, you may have a modified optical drive opening. These cases use a slim optical drive (mostly sold as laptop drives). In that case, get an external 5 1/4" enclosure or a USB to SATA adapter.

If you have the drive in the computer, press the Eject button. If that works, then the power cable to the drive is fine. Check the data cable to both the drive and the motherboard. My old computer had SATA connections on the motherboard that would not allow the cable to lock. When I bumped anything in the case, I had to check that the cable was re-secured.

What OS are you using? For most versions of Windows, your OS should have the correct driver or find it with Windows Update (if the computer is on the network). Try launching Windows Update and checking if an optional driver is waiting to be installed. I don't know if Unix or Mac OSX drivers exist for this drive. You may need a different optical drive.

The drive should now be listed in the storage devices (Computer/My Computer). If you can't read files, try another disk. If it still doesn't work, try cleaning the lens or a different drive. Some drives are sensitive to the power supply for burning optical discs.

I hope these suggestions help. Please add a comment with the specific problem and case/OS that you are using for additional solutions.

Cindy Wells

1) Unplug the computer from power.

2) FOLLOW Anti-Static Precautions.

Anti-Static Precautions:
Your body carries Static electricity. Static WILL fry out
(Short Circuit) the delicate hardware components inside a computer.
Relieve your body of Static BEFORE reaching inside your computer.

Computer on a table, computer unplugged from power, computer case open.
TOUCH an unpainted surface, of the metal frame of the open computer case.
This action will relieve your body of Static.

IF you leave your computer in the middle of working on it, be SURE to Touch the metal frame again upon your return.

3) Facing the front of the computer the LEFT Side Panel removes.
At the rear of the computer, and on the back edge of the Side Panel, are three Philips head screws to remove.

One towards the Top, one towards the Bottom. Along that edge. There is another screw on the bottom, below the screw on the edge, and towards the middle somewhat.

Use the fingergrip molded out of the back of the Side Panel, and pull the Side Panel towards the back of the computer, then lift off.

4) Remove the Front Panel. (Proper speak for Lenovo = Front Bezel)
Once the Side Panel is removed there are three tabs on the Front Bezel to depress.

These look like flat plastic 'fingers' with a flat hooked end. They are molded out of the plastic of the Front Bezel. They go through slots in the metal framework of the computer case.

Ease the Top plastic tab towards the OUTSIDE, and ease the Front Bezel out a little, at the top.
Now go to the middle plastic tab, and ease it to the outside.
When the bottom plastic tab is eased towards the outside, the Front bezel will swing off. It is just a cover.

5) Now look for a tiny hole near the optical drive's tray.
(CD/DVD drive = optical drive)
Straighten out a paperclip, and bend the end over so that you have a little handle.
Put the straightened out paperclip in the hole, and push in. This is a manual override, and makes the optical drive's tray come partially out.
Then you can grab the tray, and ease it on out.

If there is no manual override hole, you'll have to disconnect the power cable, and data cable, and remove the optical drive's mounting screws.
Then remove the small case cover screws for the optical drive, and remove the disk.

Regards,
joecoolvette

The front of your computer is the Front Panel. The Front Panel needs to be removed, along with the Side Panel, to replace an optical disk drive. (CD/DVD drive)

Gateway Support > LX6810-01 Desktop PC > Main Support page,

http://support.gateway.com/us/en/product/default.aspx?tab=1&modelId=2308

In the list click on -> User Guides
In this list click on the blue -> Gateway Hardware Reference Guide
This is a Zip file. If you do not know how to 'unzip' a Zip file, please state in a Comment, and I will guide you.

Page 45: Opening the case

FIRST <-
A) Unplug the computer from power.
B) FOLLOW Anti-Static Precautions

Anti-Static Precautions:
Your body carries Static electricity.
Static WILL fry out (Short Circuit), the delicate hardware components inside a computer.
Relieve your body of Static BEFORE reaching inside your computer.

Computer on a table, computer unplugged from power, computer case open.
TOUCH an unpainted surface, of the metal frame of the open computer case.
This action will relieve your body of Static.

IF you leave your computer in the middle of working on it, be SURE to Touch the metal frame again upon your return.

Looking at the Front of the computer the LEFT Side Panel removes.
There are two Philips head screws along the edge of the Side Panel, on the back. One towards the Top, one towards the Bottom.
These are removed.

The Side Panel is then slid back with the 'finger bump' on the panel, until it stops. Then the top is brought out, and the Side Panel removed.

Removing the Front Panel: Page 47
Look towards the inside, and towards the Front.
See the 3 black plastic tabs, sticking in slots of the metal framework?

One towards the Top, one in the Middle, and one towards the Bottom.
These tabs are gently squeezed in towards the inside. Towards the motherboard.

These tabs are formed out of the plastic of the Front Panel. They have a hook on the end. The hooked end catches on the side of the slot, in the metal framework of the computer case.

Once the hooked end is moved to the center of the slot, the tab is free.
Ease the Top tab in, then follow with the Middle tab. The Front panel should start to come off.
Now move the Bottom tab in.
The Front Panel will now swing towards the Right.

USE CARE as it is NOT stated, or shown, if the main wires are going to the Front Panel, OR the Front Panel is merely a cover.

You DO NOT want to pull the wires off of the Front Panel header, on the motherboard.
If the Front Panel has wires attached, and is not just a cover, use care, and set it to the side.

[The Front Panel header, is the area of contact pins on the motherboard, that the main wires from the Front Panel connect to ]

You will see two Philips head mounting screws, along the rail in the optical drive bay cage, that hold the optical drive in, that you wish to remove.

Remove these screws, keep track of them. (They like to roll off of the table, lol!)
Slide the drive forward a little, then holding onto the drive, remove the power cable, and data cable. If it is the main optical drive, (And you have two drives), you may also have to remove a small audio cable.

Now slide the drive out of the front.

Harddrive removal: Page 52
Remove the power cable, and the data cable.

[For a 4-pin standard Peripheral power cable, you just ease the connector out,

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html#peripheral

BY THE CONNECTOR, and NOT the wires.
For a SATA power cable there may be a small lock tab on top, that you depress down with a thumbnail,

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html#sata ]

The Harddrive has a metal 'box' cage around it. The harddrive cage.
On the back of the cage, (Towards back of computer), there is a thumbscrew located at the top of the cage.

This thumbscrew is removed, and the Harddrive cage is slid out, towards the back of the computer.
Remove the screws that hold the Harddrive in the harddrive cage.
Then remove the Harddrive.

For additional questions please post in a Comment.

Regards,
joecoolvette

Two things have to be done in order to add a second optical drive.
1. Open case, remove front cover of case.
2. Remove blank from lower optical drive from front of case - remove blank (chassis part) from optical drive space.

The black insert that can be seen, removes from back on this model.
The 'steel' part on the chassis should pop out fairly easily.

Hi Dear...........


If you want open any electronice think you need to complete tool box with first ad. If you have a complete tool then follow the mention instruction and open the laptop, if you don;t know anything about laptop then don;t try to open it.

1. Reverse the laptop as shown in the figure. And remove the battery. Open the the screws from back side for the Wi-Fi card cover, the modem card cover, the memory card cover, the hard disk cover.
2. Reverse the laptop as shown in the figure. And remove the battery. Open the the screws from back side for the Wi-Fi card cover, the modem card cover, the memory card cover, the hard disk cover.
3. Take out the Wi-Fi card cover, the memory card cover, the modem card cover, the hard drive cover. Place them at safe place.
4. You may require to Open the DVD drive with a paper clip.
   Carefully take out the DVD drive from the computer. In most of the computer one screw from the back site of the laptop fix the DVD Drive. So you have to remove all the screw from the bottom of the laptop.
5. Insert a thin object under the securing strip(keyboard bezel) and lift it up. Be careful, it may be very tight(there are no screw at keyboard bezel in most of the cases)
6. Take out the securing strip(keyboard bezel).
7. Now you can see two screws securing the keyboard and these screws are easily visible remove those screws.
8. Now careful keyboard is connected with flate ribbon cable to the system board. Disconnect the keyboard cable from the main board and remove the keyboard.
9. Now you can fine one cable(most probably black colors) from LCD and it is connected to system board. Disconnect the LCD cable from the system board.
   Remove the screw connecting the LCD cable to the base.
   Disconnect the flat LED board cable from the system board.
10. Carefully lift the display/LCD assembly off the base.
    The display/top cover assembly - LCD assembly and top cover assembly connected by hinges.
11. Remove the screw securing the HardDisk holder.
    Remove the Hard disk holder.
    Disconnect the left and right speaker cables from the system board.
12. Now remove five screws securing the heatsink assembly for CPU. And disconnect the fan cable from the main board.
13. Carefully take out the heat sink off the CPU. And be sure to put heat sink thermal jel /glue when reconnecting the heat sink.
14. Remove two screws normally at the corner side connecting the system board to the base
15. Now lift of the system board starting from the left side, be careful with the PC card connector.
16. Remove the system board off the base.
17. Modem card is still connected to the system board with screws securing the modem card. If you want you can remove modem card.
18. Remove the screw securing the optical drive holder.The screw is hidden under the black tape.
19. Remove the optical drive holder.
20. Remove four screws securing the card bus connector (PC card connector).
21. Turn the system board right side up.
22. Carefully remove the cardbus connector.Unlock the CPU and lift it off the system board.
23. Turn the system board upside down.Remove two screws securing the video chip fan.
24. Remove the fan cable on the system board.
    Remove the video chip fan
25. Hay great techie guy you have done it.

Video :
Part 1
Part 2

These are the steps for installing your optical drive:
1. Remove both side covers on your PC case. 2. Locate a free 5.25 in bay on your desktop computer. This is usually located near the front/top part of a PC ATX case. 3. Remove the front/external cover for your chosen drive bay. This cover is usually not screwed in. You just have to pry it open. 4. Screw in the optical drive to the drive bay. You need 4 screws, 2 on each side. 5. Power connection : Locate a SATA power connector from your power supply and plug this into your new optical drive. The SATA power connector looks like this
6. Data Connection - Locate the SATA ports on your motherboard which looks like this
You need to plug in a SATA cable from your motherboard to your new optical drive
SATA cable
SATA power and data ports on the back of the optical drive


7. That's it! Your new optical drive should now work. it's plug n Play so you don't need to install any drivers for this device.

The Compaq desktops use the same basic case. Before opening the case, disconnect all of the cables attached to the back or front of the computer. Remove the two screws that hold the side panel, then slide the panel towards the back of the computer to remove it. Press in on the tabs that hold the front panel (they are on the sides of the front panel) and rotate the front panel away from the computer to remove it. Remove the other side panel if needed (most models do not need this).

Then disconnect the power and data cables from the old optical drive if one is present. Remove the screws holding the drive into the case (or rotate or press in the slides for a tool-free case) and slide the drive foward. Then slide your new drive in and secure it with the screws. (Remove the insert if there was no drive in the bay.) Attach the data and power cables. Then close up the computer, connect the cables and power up the machine. If the drive is seen, the drivers need to be loaded (Windows may do this automatically). If it isn't, reopen the case and make sure the cables are fully connected both to the motherboard and the drive. (With IDE drives, it is possible to connect the cable to the drive 180 degrees out of position. Try turning the cable connector over.)

For pictures, see http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&taskId=125&prodSeriesId=96382&prodTypeId=12454&prodSeriesId=96382&objectID=bph07164 .

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells

In order to replace the optical drive on your PC, you would need to first remove the side panel (opposite side that the motherboard outputs are on). Next, you disconnect the cables for your existing drive and motherboard (unless the drives are the same type of connection) install the replacement optical drive, connect the cables the the drive and your motherboard. Replace the side panel and you are done.

This is Dell Support>Dell Dimension E520 Desktop PC>Service Manual,

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dime520/en/SM_EN/index.htm

I invite you to left-click on - Specifications

Scroll down to the heading - Drives

Available devices - 4 Serial ATA drives - CD/DVD drive.

Serial ATA. Looks kind of confusing, huh?
= SATA

IDE has been changed to PATA.
(Integrated Drive Electronics)
It has been felt that there would be less confusion this way.
PATA = Parallel ATA
SATA = Serial ATA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_Drive_Electronics

The Dell Dimension E520 Desktop PC comes with a dual layer DVD burner, and a DVD drive.

(DVD burner will have DVD-R/W or R/RW on the front usually)

You need a SATA DVD R/RW drive.

Myself I use Lite-On optical drives.
Why?
Cheap in price, high in quality. I have one I have been using for over 3 years, with no problems. Price was around $35 US.
Not advertising for Lite-On.

It's a dual layer, DVD combo drive. Burns CD's, and DVD's. Has the HP LightScribe technology. If I use the HP disks for LightScribe, I can make labels for the disks, or burn a label right on the middle of the disk itself.

TIP: Everyone looks for a f-a-s-t burner! The Lite-On I have is Fast. You Do Not want to burn disks in a fast mode.
Better quality of copying, or recording is done at a slower speed.

Should your optical drive not come with burner software, I recommend Infra Recorder.
It's Free, and works Very well.
(I like it better than Nero)

1) Computer unplugged from power

2) Open the computer case side panel (Side panel release latch is on top, at the rear. In the Service Manua,l you can click on Removing and Installing Parts. Scroll down to Removing the Computer Cover)

3) TOUCH the metal frame of the computer case, to relieve your body of Static electricity.

(Your body carries Static. Static will fry out computer hardware components. Computer unplugged from power you are safe. TOUCH the metal frame, your computer is safe)

4) Removing and replacing an optical drive.

In Removing and Replacing Parts, you can scroll down the page for details.

(Approximately half way down. Under the heading Removing the Drive Panel)

I find the instructions 'Less Than'

The Drive Panel is the Front Cover.
The Front Cover has to be removed, in order to remove either optical drive.
This is done by releasing the blue Slide Latch.
The blue plastic slide, on the side of the optical drive bays.

The plastic tabs are depressed, and the blue plastic slide goes towards the rear of the computer.
This allows the optical drive you wish to remove, to slide forward, and out.

I slide the drive I want forward a little, so that I can get my big hands on those cables.
You will have a 7-pin Data cable, and a 15-pin power cable to remove.

Installation is the reverse of these steps.

Hi,
Opening the case
Use the following steps to open the case: WARNING: The edges of metal panels can cut skin. Be careful not to slide skin along any interior metal edge of the computer. CAUTION: This product contains components that can be damaged by electrostatic discharge (ESD). To reduce the chance of ESD damage, work over a non-carpeted floor, use a static dissipative work surface (like a conductive foam pad), and wear an ESD wrist strap connected to a grounded surface.

1. Unplug all cables except for the power. Write down each cable location if you do not already know where it connects.
2. Unplug the power cable and with the power cable removed press the Power button.
3. Remove the screws on the rear of the desktop (Your PC case may appear different than the images in this document). Figure 1: Example of screws for the side panel
4. Slide the side panel off from the rear of the desktop. Figure 2: Removing the side panel

Thanks proton