Two Quick T60 Questions - optical drive and case

[gcrames]

My previous question about buying a T60 from the states was comprehensively answered but I have two quick follow up questions:

If I buy a T60 with a CDR-DVD ROM drive rather than a DVD multiburner (a compromise I may have to make to get it in time) then later purchase the DVD multiburner will I lose anything in terms of, for example, software in the T60, or is it just a straightforward swap with no issues of any kind?

It will be a 15" T60, are there any cases that people would recommend (ideally not too expensive, protection is the main issue and has to be stocked by Euclid computers)?

Thanks in advance.

[ducky2802]

this may or may not be related, but here goes.

When I started messing with the rescue and recovery software to restore a complete factory system, I unwittingly did it with an ultrabay slim hdd installed (not the regular dvd player). After doing a COMPLETE OEM reinstall, I did not have any "Multimedia offerings" from IBM, as in, no sonic record now cd/dvd burner program, and no intervideo dvd player program.

But, when I reinstalled the factory software with the DVD/CD drivein place, the same OEM reinstall included the sonic record now and intervideo dvd player.

My thinking is that IBM probably just makes one set of rescue/recovery install and loads them up on the harddrive. They stick whichever dvd/cd player, and basic optional components, (like bluetooth cards, different wlan cards, etc), and when they preinstall the factory software, it automatically configures and installs the only relavent programs. With that said, I suspect that the hidden service partition on any T60 has the programs you would need to fully utilize the dvd player/burner in the future, provided you do a reinstall with the new dvd drive in place.

[dr_st]

Here's something to know:

If your machine comes with a 3-yr warranty, then the optical drive also has 3-yr warranty.

Any optical drive you purchase separately (after you buy the machine) will only have 1-yr warranty.

[gcrames]

That is a good point about the warranty, and hadn't occurred to me, cheers for that, I might hold on to see if they manage to get the dvd multiburner model in stock in time.