How difficult is it to replace a disc drive?

Question

How difficult is it to replace the disc drive of a Gateway Computer?

Answer 1

Fairly simple if you have basic knowledge of your computer hardware.

Answer 2

which disk drive, the hard disk or an optical (cd/dvd) drive? Both are fairly easy to replace.

Assuming you have a desktop PC, unplug the computer and open up the side panel of the case (normally with screws on the back--see your computer's documentation). Then you should see the hard drive and cd/dvd drives. Notice how they are installed (usually two cables going into the back of them, one being a data cable and the other a power cable). Carefully unplug these. There are usually four screws holding the drive in its bay. Take the screws off and slide the drive out its bay, you'll see what i mean when you get there. Slide in your new drive and replace the screws in the same locations as the old drive. Then hook up your cables.

Refer to your drive's documentation on how to set the jumpers on the back of the new drive, if needed. Most computers will notice the drive when you boot up, and Windows XP/Vista should install it for you.

If you have trouble, look on the internet for websites explaining how to build a computer. It will give you a better understanding (with pictures) of what you need to do. It is not difficult at all. Good luck!

Answer 3

So long as you make sure you know what type of drive it is you're replacing (i.e. IDE, SATA or SCSI) and you get the same sort it is generally a fairly easy unplug and unscrew job. The thing that can be difficult is getting around the internals of the case i.e. it may not be a simple case of unscrewing the old one and taking it out, you may have to work around other hardware.

Bear in mind that you'll be voiding any warranty you have left if you open the case though.

Answer 4

What type of disc drive? Floppy, hard drive, CD rom, DVD rom, CD RW, DVD RW? What interface? IDE/ATA? SATA?