can another dvd drive be installed compaq presario desktop?

whatsamsn

having problems with the dvd drive i got with my pc. I opened it up to install another dvd drive from another pc i had. To my annoyance ( :P ) i found that my compaq presario uses different cables to connect the dvd drive. Not the standard cable.

so ... anyone know what the story is?
can i only install compaq presario dvd drives and not standard ones?

thanks

Venom

What do you mean by different cables?

Ide http://images.google.ie/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&um=1&sa=1&q=ide+cable&btnG=Search+images&aq=f&oq=&start=0

or Sata http://images.google.ie/images?q=sata+cable&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=Gc4CS-mQAYHd-QbV-Lz_Dw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCcQsAQwAw

whatsamsn

yes the second (http://images.google.ie/images?q=sata+cable&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GBfficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=Gc4CS-mQAYHd-QbV-Lz_Dw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCcQsAQwAw )


sata cables.

any other pc i had used IDE cables.
So it causes a problem changing the drives (as the drive stopped working)

so what do i have to do?
the other dvd drive i wanna stick in doesnt have Sata cable ports.

Venom

whatsamsn wrote: »

yes the second (http://images.google.ie/images?q=sata+cable&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GBfficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=Gc4CS-mQAYHd-QbV-Lz_Dw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCcQsAQwAw )


sata cables.

any other pc i had used IDE cables.
So it causes a problem changing the drives (as the drive stopped working)

so what do i have to do?
the other dvd drive i wanna stick in doesnt have Sata cable ports.

Simple mate just buy a new Sata DVD drive, you can get a good Sata DVD re-writer for about €20-40. IDE is going the way of the Dodo tbh as most new midlevel motherboards dont support it.

Biggins

A word of caution.
Check the length needed for your Compaq Presario desktop, from the motherboard to where you want to insert your second drive.
There is some that run into problems here with this particular model.
Everything in the Compaq Presario is particularly awkward to work around internally too.
Note the length of the second internal free power sata cable - its very short and might not reach to where the second one will be inserted.

monkeypants

Biggins wrote: »

A word of caution.
Check the length needed for your Compaq Presario desktop, from the motherboard to where you want to insert your second drive.
There is some that run into problems here with this particular model.
Everything in the Compaq Presario is particularly awkward to work around internally too.
Note the length of the second internal free power sata cable - its very short and might not reach to where the second one will be inserted.

I bloody hate that! All the manufacturers have started to do that. The cables are just long enough to connect the component and that's all.

monkeypants

I just thought; maybe your motherboard still has an IDE connector. In which case, take the cable from your old PC with the drive and install both. It's worth while checking it out.

IDE connectors look like this:
.

I was going to say, "trace the cable back from your floppy drive and then look for similar but larger connectors," but then I remembered that you probably don't have a floppy drive. Not many people do.

Venom

Biggins wrote: »

A word of caution.
Check the length needed for your Compaq Presario desktop, from the motherboard to where you want to insert your second drive.
There is some that run into problems here with this particular model.
Everything in the Compaq Presario is particularly awkward to work around internally too.
Note the length of the second internal free power sata cable - its very short and might not reach to where the second one will be inserted.

The OP seems to be replacing a sata drive tho so cable length wont be an issue.

Biggins

Venom wrote: »

The OP seems to be replacing a sata drive tho so cable length wont be an issue.

O' I though he said "I opened it up to install another dvd drive from another pc i had."
O' well, if your right, no problem then.
Me being daft thinking he was installing a second one.

whatsamsn

thanks for the help guys.
i think i saw an ide connector on my motherboard.
i'll try it now

monkeypants

whatsamsn wrote: »

i think i saw an ide connector on my motherboard.

Looks like you might be in business. Hope the IDE cable is long enough.

whatsamsn

bought a ide cable.
its to big for the ide connector on my motherboard, well i assume its an ide connector.


maybe i'll take a pic for you guys and someone can tell me what exactly it is if its not an ide connector.

tman

whatsamsn wrote: »

bought a ide cable.
its to big for the ide connector on my motherboard, well i assume its an ide connector.


maybe i'll take a pic for you guys and someone can tell me what exactly it is if its not an ide connector.

If the cable is too big, then I'd say that the motherboard only has a floppy connector, which is no use to you...
As has been said, you might as well just pick up a new SATA drive for less than €30.
You could always get a SATA to serial adapter as well if you're really loathe to splash out that much

monkeypants

tman wrote: »

If the cable is too big, then I'd say that the motherboard only has a floppy connector, which is no use to you...

+1
Looks exactly the same, but it's shorter.