can I use laptop's optical drive in a desktop?

newbiesforever · 04-19-2013, 05:58 PM

I decided to replace my failing optical drives. I was about to buy a new DVD drive at Amazon, but then thought of my laptop that just broke down--it has a DVD drive that seems in good shape. If I remove it, is there any reason it probably won't work in my desktop?

TobiSGD · 04-19-2013, 06:13 PM

If it is a drive with SATA connectors then there is no reason that it shouldn't work out of the box. Of course you will not be able to easily fix it into a desktop case. In case it is an older PATA drive you will need an adapter to connect it to your mainboard the the PSU.

newbiesforever · 04-19-2013, 08:48 PM

I pulled it out and found that the only cable port is neither SATA nor IDE but something I don't recognize, perhaps proprietary. How disappointing.

jefro · 04-19-2013, 08:58 PM

I'd peek at web sites for a small adapter. Something like this maybe. http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-CD-RW-D.../dp/B001O4XWZ6
Or maybe a micro sata adapter gizmo.

New dvd's are like $20 or so aren't they?

newbiesforever · 04-19-2013, 09:20 PM

Hmm, that looks like what I would need. But yeah, DVD drives are cheaper than I thought.