Hi,wondered if anyone can advise. My optical drive in my Toshiba laptop is malfunctioning. I have only used it 20 - 30 times, and the laptop is only 18 months old. It seems to burn discs, but then tells me the disc is blank. Inserting into another machine shows the disc has burnt. Also it makes quite a rattle when burning. So i was wondering, would it be worth reinstalling windows ( the rattling makes me think not ) Also and more importantly, I have seen a replacement on USA ebay. Would that drive work in my UK model. Many thanks for any suggestions
Reinstalling Windows would likely be a very bad idea as it is not likely to fix your problem and will set you over a year behind in security - not to mention destroy all your data. The US player would work in your system but you may not be able to play any movie DVDs purchased in the UK. You might consider contacting Toshiba. Many of their products are warrantied for 3 years. Another alternative is to buy an external DVD drive that connects via USB.
YES it will work. you can easily change the region code on a new drive up to 4 additional times. so you can set it to play discs from your region. you need to remove your old one and then CAREFULLY remove the bezel from the front. if the drive is not opened you can use a paperclip to slide into the hole on the front to pop the drive open. then there are 2 small plastic clips one the front bezel one on each side and sometimes a very small flat head screwdriver can help to gently push them out. on the new drive you would do the same thing. again on the new one there is a small hole on the front and you use a paperclip to slide into the hole and this will pop the tray open. remove the bezel from the new one and place your toshiba one back on in the same way you removed it. then slide it in and screw it back in. you need to change the bezels because the toshiba one is a different shape. its a very easy task i do more than a few times a week (i own a shop and do pc and laptop repair been in my own business for over 10 years and have 26+ years backround). i suggest the samsung 208 model drive it can be found really cheap and has been compatible with every laptop i have used them in so far. the lite on variant works also but i have had some oem bezels not fit on it without slight mods to the clips the samsung has so far been totally universal for us. i also have better luck with the samsung slim burners than the lite on. for the standard size drives in desktop use its the other way around lite on right now is the best out imo. here are the 2 drives i recc using currently. you may not be able to buy from newegg but this way you have the model's info. the samsung http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151271 the lite on http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106385 shoot me a pm if you need help its a very easy swap to do i do this all the time.
I wish it were that easy all the time, but it is not always that easy - especially with OEM drives in notebooks - which tend to be very proprietary. Certainly worth a try - though not sure if I lived in the UK I would try a drive from US eBay - unless you got a good deal on shipping and you knew the device was new (meaning the country code has not been changed yet). I do agree with if you can get a Samsung and swap the case parts, that would be good.
I've never seen a disc drive that hasn't let you change the region. You just go to device manager, open the drives properties, and there will be an option to set the region. I'd not worry about where the drive is from.
bill sorry but not at all correct. even oem drives can have the region changed. unless you buy a used drive which has used up its region changes you can always change the region of a drive. the only reason would be if you buy used and someone changed the region to many times. otherwise personally have never seen one i could not change. and oem drives are also not proprietary hardly ever. i have stacks of oem drives i keep on hand from all sorts of brands for when someone wants a cheap optical drive, i have installed literally every brand of optical drive in every other brand of laptop. the only one reason they would be proprietary if in some cases like dell they use a slot load drive and you cant change the bezel to a non slot load drive. i repair somewhere in the area of 100 or more laptops every week.
I agree it is typically no problem and as I said, worth trying, but I don't agree it is never a problem. Not sure if I remember correctly but I believe we encountered here some eMachine OEM drives that would not allow any region changes. That was a few years ago so hopefully is no longer the case, and those systems are all retired with parts recycled. In any case, I personally would still be hesitant, if living in the UK, purchasing anything like this from US eBay. If a compatible drive can be found in the UK, then certainly worth a try.
we deal with a pc company in the uk who buys drives in bulk from us they install them all the time. no issues at all playing anything. they order 50+ each time and have been buying from me for almost 2 years. as long as its a new drive he will be fine. i do remember the emachine drives i believe you speak of but if they are the ones im thinking of they just required a reflash to be either region free or with the non oem firmware. though i do agree if you can find it in the uk it would be easier im sure in case there is a issue with it.
Bill Bright and zfactor, thanks a million for all you advice, very much appreciated. I will look into the samsung , that sounds like a great idea. Wilders certainly has a lot of talented people on board Thanks again
