Successfull upgrades on my TP 600E : DVD/CD-RW Drive, RAM...

[WarMachine]

Hello,

I've just bought a DVD / CD-RW combo to replace my old CD drive.

It fits perfectly in the bay.

Here it is :

http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00024615.html

So, it's a Sony CRX830E-11T.

The lid isn't exacty identical compared to the original one, it's thinner and tinier, but better that than thicker.

I've compared the two lids, it seems I could put the original lid, using glue. I will see that.

And how do movies run ?

Well, not choppy at all, even in 24 bits !

FIY :

TP 600E
PII 366 MHz
288 MB RAM PC 100
Travelstar 5K80 20 GB/5400 rpm/8 MB cache.

I use PowerDVD 3.

Voilà !

W.

[cmarti]

I've compared the two lids, it seems I could put the original lid, using glue. I will see that.

Before "glue it" check that the activity light,the emergency ejector hole an the ejector bottom align with the old drive front cover.

[WarMachine]

I've compared the two lids, it seems I could put the original lid, using glue. I will see that.

Before "glue it" check that the activity light,the emergency ejector hole an the ejector bottom align with the old drive front cover.

The ejector hole isn't at the same place, but everything is right with the LED and the ejection button.

The nitpick is that the contact surface between the two pieces is very tiny, so, it's difficult to glue it. I will see what I can do...

W.

[WarMachine]

Done !

I used glue for boats (called "Araldite" in french, I don't know the word in english).

The laptop doesn't seem to have changed, but now, it has a DVD/CD-RW Combo in it !



W.

EDIT : It's a trademark, so, it's the same everywhere in the world !
http://www.huntsman.com/advanced_materi ... ageID=5850

[cmarti]

It would be good to see pictures, can you post them?

[farna]

Did you think to drill a small hole where the emergency eject is before gluing? Two small holes wouldn't be to unsightly, but if done already... As long as no disc is in the drive if it conks out or your battery goes dead you're okay!

[WarMachine]

It would be good to see pictures, can you post them?

Not at the moment (I don't have photo hardware). But I will try.

Did you think to drill a small hole where the emergency eject is before gluing? Two small holes wouldn't be to unsightly, but if done already... As long as no disc is in the drive if it conks out or your battery goes dead you're okay!

Excuse me, but I'm not sure to understand what you say (english is not my native language). Do you mean I should have done a small ejector hole before glueing the lid to avoid problems ?

Thx.

W.

[Rob Mayercik]

The "lid", as you call it, has a small hole in it to allow you to poke a paper clip in and manually trigger the eject mechanism.

It's provided so that if power/the drive/the ejector button fails, you can still open the tray and remove the CD/DVD inside without anything but a paper clip. It's also useful when you shut the computer off (or put it in standby/suspend/hibernate) and then realize you left the darn disc in the drive.

I've noticed that most desktop optical drives seem to have this feature, and so far every laptop drive I've seen (not all that many) has it as well.

Is there a companion solvent for removing this glue (for cleanup, etc)? If so, you might be able to unglue it, add the hole, and then reglue again.

Of course, whether you feel you need to add it is entirely your decision.

Rob

[WarMachine]

OK !

So, I was right, I had understood the previous reply.

I don't want to modify the drive again. And I have nothing to make the hole.

Everything is OK !

Thx.

W.

[Rob Mayercik]

I wouldn't worry about not having the hole (and I don't blame you for not wanting to go fiddling with something that is working). The circumstances under which you'd need the it are relatively rare - odds are you''ll never need it.

Rob

[WarMachine]

Yes !

I have had a lot of computers for the last 12 or 13 years... I have never used the ejector hole !

If, unfortunately, I had a big problem with this drive, I can play with my screwdriver.

W.

[WarMachine]

Up !

I have changed the title of the topic, because I didn't want to create another topic (I've created one this morning yet ! )

Well, I'm going further into the upgrade process !

After the DVD/CD-RW Combo, I've decided to test my Paddie ( ) with the 256 MB RAM which is currently used in my Dell L400...

And ?

Guess what ?

Yessss ! Successful too !

Here are the specs of the RAM :

Samsung M464S3323CN0-L1L

256 MB PC100 SDR-SDRAM

Nothing on Samsung's site, but detailed specs here :

http://www.digchip.com/datasheets/parts ... N0-L1L.php

I need this RAM for my Dell L400... But it sounds promising, I'm now sure my TP can run with 256 MB sticks ! (I knew that, but I wanted to see that with my proper eyes).

The more I learn from this machine, the more I love it !

Will try to buy, if I have enough money, a bigger and faster drive.

The cheapest I can have will be this one :

Hitachi Travelstar 7K60 - 60 Go 2"1/2 7200 RPM 8 Mo IDE (bulk)
http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00017967.html



W.

[rkawakami]

The circumstances under which you'd need the it are relatively rare - odds are you''ll never need it.

Funny, I'm always using that feature on my drives... Just as you said earlier, it's usually right after the realization that the CD or DVD that I want to use in another system, is now slowly spinning down because I turned off the laptop and don't want to turn it back on just to eject the disk.

For the "full face" bezels, I prefer to simply "notch" them with a Dremel to fit the Ultrabay 2000. No drilling of holes or glue needed. Most of the drives I buy as upgrades have the standard flat bezel which doesn't match either the curve of the Ultraslimbay or the thickness of the Ultrabay 2000. However, I buy for function not looks so it doesn't bother me. As you can see in my .sig, all my 600X systems are running full memory with CDRW/DVD combo drives.

[WarMachine]

Hiyaaa all !

Another sucessful upgrade today !

I bought a new CPU for my lappy (what a nice Xmas gift ! )

Indeed, I've replaced my old PII 366 with and brand new PIII 500 (Well... Not so brand new, but not as old as the PII ).

Well, everything is working fine, after 15 minutes of screwdriver playing, editing the BIOS to get rid of the 127 Error, and downloading PowerLeap to enable the L2 cache once Windows is started.

PowerLeap was zipped, and a file seemed corrupted (data1.hdr). I just decompressed the Zip file in "My documents", and I have installed it without problem.

Everything goes right now.

I will see, using the lappy, if there is a lot of difference between the 2 CPU.

W.

EDIT : Ooooh, yes ! I have cleaned the new CPU and added thermal paste. Not AS5, I don't have at home unfortunately, but Zalman Thermal Grease, the same I use in my desktop machine.