Upgrading CD burner to DVD burner

[Poni]

hi everyone, pc newb here.

I would like to upgrade my existing CD burner to a DVD burner that will burn and read cd's and dvd's.

Will I be able to unplug my existing CD burner and plug in the new DVD burner? Is it that simple?

Thanks.

 

[airfoil]

Welcome to the forums!

Thats pretty much all there is to it. The one thing you'll want to check after you take the CD burner out is the jumper settings to check whether it's a Master/Slave or if its set to Cable Select (CS). Just make sure the DVD burner has the same jumper setting.

And yeah, your writing software suite may need to be upgraded too depending on what you currently have.

The NEC 3520A is a favorite among the members here for the most part.

 

[bocamojo]

What airfoil said is right on. Check the jumpers. Also, you will most likely find that the software with your CD burner does not work with the DVD burner, so either buy a retail version of a DVD burner that comes with software, or be prepared to buy Sonic or Nero versions that support DVD writing.

 

[JimPhelpsMI]

Hi, Later versions of Nero and Roxio/Adaptec above about ver. 4 already have the ability to burn DVDs with a DVD burner. Check before you buy new software. Jim

 

[Anonemous]

Originally posted by: Poni
hi everyone, pc newb here.

I would like to upgrade my existing CD burner to a DVD burner that will burn and read cd's and dvd's.

Will I be able to unplug my existing CD burner and plug in the new DVD burner? Is it that simple?

Thanks.

just a question, how old is your system? What airfoil said is right but I want to make sure this isn't an old system (6 years old or more).

 

[corkyg]

All I did was add the DVD player (Plextor external) to my external CD/RW drive. They stack nicely. I use them both.

 

[Poni]

Thanks for the welcome and for the info.

It's a Dell 4550, about two years old.
P4 2.4
Just upgraded to 1 gig ram
put an ATI 9600XT in about a year ago

 

[Anonemous]

Originally posted by: Poni
Thanks for the welcome and for the info.

It's a Dell 4550, about two years old.
P4 2.4
Just upgraded to 1 gig ram
put an ATI 9600XT in about a year ago

yea should be alright just switch them out or add it in.

 

[bocamojo]

Originally posted by: JimPhelpsMI
Hi, Later versions of Nero and Roxio/Adaptec above about ver. 4 already have the ability to burn DVDs with a DVD burner. Check before you buy new software. Jim

While this is true, you have to make sure you have a retail version and not a version that came bundled with your previous CD burner. I made the mistake of assuming my version of Nero would work with my new DVD burner (thus the decision to purchase OEM), but when I installed it with the new DVD burner (on a newly installed system), it said it would only work with the burner it was purchased with... YMMV.

 

[Poni]

ok, i bought the NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Black, Model ND-3520A BK, OEM listed above and installed it.

is there any software that i need to install, like a driver, besides burning software?

 

[jondercik]

no extra software is needed.

 

[L00PY]

No extra software but there may be a different firmware you might want to flash onto the drive. OTOH, unless you absolutely need to do something that the new firmware enables (say to bitset +R's or get around the riplock), you probably shouldn't worry about it.

 

[tren001]

Originally posted by: L00PY
No extra software but there may be a different firmware you might want to flash onto the drive. OTOH, unless you absolutely need to do something that the new firmware enables (say to bitset +R's or get around the riplock), you probably shouldn't worry about it.

Speaking of bitsetting NEC-3520's, I used some little utility to check the settings on my 3520, and according to it at least, it was already on DVD-ROM. All the DVDs that I, er, backed up, to DVD+R work fine in my comp and on my two setup DVD players, so I'm not sure whether the discs are DVD-ROM, or if my DVD player simply support +R (I bought my oldest DVD player, a samsung, in 2003).