Is it possible to replace DVD drive with Blu Ray on a Dell Inspiron 530s??

twghost

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Jun 24, 2014
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Hi,

I have a 2008 model Dell Inspiron 530S, the DVD tray is having trouble closing without a final push by hand, instead of replacing it with the same DVD drive, i was wondering if its possible to replace it with a Blu Ray player?

If its possible, what other hardware do i need to upgrade before i can take full advantage of the Blu Ray player? I just want to be able to watch Blu Ray movies, don't need to write it.

I have upgrade the ram to 5GB, and the graphic card to Radion 1GB DDR3
CPU is still the same.

thank you.
 
Solution
Like I said, you have to open your case and look inside. You will just use the existing SATA cable that connects your current DVD drive with the motherboard, assuming that your current drive is a SATA drive. If your drive isn't SATA, then use Google to see what a SATA connector looks like on a motherboard, then you'll be able to determine if yours' has them.

mbreslin1954

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Should not be a problem as long as the drive bay is a standard 5.25 inch drive bay, and assuming the drive is a SATA DVD drive. You'll need to crack the case open and check that the current drive is SATA, because I don't think you'll be able to find a parallel ATA blu-ray drive anywhere, I don't 'think they make them.

Assuming that your system checks out as having a SATA DVD drive, then all you need is a read-only Blu-ray player drive. As to software to watch Blu-ray discs with, well, you'll have to pay for it. CyberPower, Nero, the usual suspects offer them.

Here's a good place to start:

http://blu-ray-player-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
 

mbreslin1954

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There's a very good chance that the Blu-ray drive you purchase will come with blu-ray player software. Most of them do. In fact, if you make sure that you only buy drives that come with player software, you can save yourself a lot of money from not having to buy the software separately.
 

twghost

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Jun 24, 2014
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4,510
hey thanks for the speedy reply!
i am fully aware of the software situation now after doing some research, its unfortunate that the drive i am looking at does not include the software nor SATA cable.

So now all i have to do is the get the SATA cable to connect the player to motherboard? how do i know if my motherboard even supports SATA drive?
I am so out of the loop with computers if this sound like a silly question....
 

mbreslin1954

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Like I said, you have to open your case and look inside. You will just use the existing SATA cable that connects your current DVD drive with the motherboard, assuming that your current drive is a SATA drive. If your drive isn't SATA, then use Google to see what a SATA connector looks like on a motherboard, then you'll be able to determine if yours' has them.
 
Solution