Which is better a internal rewriter or external rewriter?
c0bo
Posts: 6,468 Forum Member
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Hi everyone,
My internal rewriter just recently died on me.
I've just bought a new internal rewriter to replace the old one and I'm having second thoughts about it.
I was wondering which one was better a internal rewriter or a external rewriter?
Also if I go for the internal rewriter how do I install it?
My internal rewriter just recently died on me.
I've just bought a new internal rewriter to replace the old one and I'm having second thoughts about it.
I was wondering which one was better a internal rewriter or a external rewriter?
Also if I go for the internal rewriter how do I install it?
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Comments
It's difficult to tell you how to connect an internal drive; you will need to open up your pc case, disconnect the existing drive (making a note of the wires used), slide it out, put the new drive into the same place and use the same wires to connect it.
See post No2
1/ The new drive has the same connector format as the existing drive.
or
2/ The motherboard has a spare connector if the new drive uses a different connector format.
The two formats you are likely to see on the back of the existing drive are either SATA or IDE. The power connectors for each are also different. IDE uses a wide ribbon cable about 5cm or so across while SATA uses a much thinner cable less than a cm across.
The two formats are incompatible with each other. So you either need to match the new to the old exactly or check to see if the motherboard has a free connector of the appropriate type you can use. SATA is the modern replacement for IDE but most recent motherboards ought to have a couple of SATA sockets at least.
Have disc drives switched to SATA? I thought IDE was still the norm for them.
Is a external easier to install?
There are two formats for these connections. SATA and IDE. You cannot plug a SATA drive into a IDE cable or a IDE drive into a SATA cable. They are physically as well as electrically incompatible.
So it is essential when fitting an internal drive to make sure you have the right connectors. Otherwise you will not be able to swap the old for new.
As I said this could be by making sure the two drives have identical connectors or the motherboard of the PC has the appropriate connectors.
But if you still cannot understand a word of that then perhaps trying to install an internal drive won't be your best option.
At least with an external drive you don't have to worry about SATA and IDE. It just plugs into a spare USB port. And of course no need to get intimate with the insides of your PC either.:)
Go for external simplicity in itself for you no messing in the case you would be better off and just install the burning software unless you already have one you like.:)
Haven't had an IDE disc drive for about 5 years.
About 2 1/2 for me.
OP, advantage of internal is it's a neater solution, doesn't occupy any of your USB bus capacity, doesn't need a separate power socket and should be cheaper.
Advantages of external are - easier to install, portable and can use with several devices. An external disc drive was very handy to me a few years ago in reviving a PC that refused to boot from either the HDD or internally fitted disc drive.
I prefer the internal as it cheaper and looks neat but the problem I have with the internal is as a person who hasn't got a clue about computers I would find it hard installing it into the computer because all have you to is open up the computer to install it and I'm afraid that once I'm inside the computer I might do something wrong.
A disc drive has only two cables - a power cable and a data cable. Just open up your PC and have a look. If you don't touch anything, you can't have done any damage right?
Any good website like amazon and ebuyer will sell them. You just unplug the old drive, unscrew it or unclip depending on how it's secured to the case and replace with the new one, plug in cables and screws/clips and that's it.
People are talking about SATA/IDE - this refers to the data cable type used. Just take out your old drive and see if the data cable is wide or small. Wide = IDE, small = SATA. simples. Then buy the appropriate drive.
For someone who is scared about damaging their PC, replacing the disc drive is probably the safest change you can make to your PC.
Are installing DVD rewriters the same?
How ddo open a computer up?
If you know nothing about computers, I'd advise you not to go replacing anything. Why not just get the computer shop to install it for you?
usb2 will only run 480mb /s
you can see how much better internal is.
a pc shop will not charge much for this, it is so simple, can be completed in under 5mins.
check out videos on youtube or the numerous guides available for this sort of thing.
as long as you ground from the static electricity and do not force connections then nothing can really go wrong.
Will PC World install it for you?
try different places though and get some quotes.
I would not even recommend my worst enemy go to PC World for this sort of job! Much better to find a good independent retailer.
Or just buy a USB drive and be done with it.
Are PC world really that bad.
But won't I have to use a cd install it onto the computer?
Thanks