Dell hardware question

[Julia]

I have a Dell pc, recently the cd drive broke, the data and power cable adapters are different from other cd drives, does anybody know if only Dell parts will fit Dell machines?

[Bobinovich]

Are we talking a standard 5¼" drive? In which case the connections should be the same. However if you have a SFF (Small Form Factor) case then these often use laptop-style slimline drives which do have a different connector.

Can you give the model number of the unit & a quick check should tell...

[Julia]

Have figured it out, it's a SATA connection whereas my old pc is IDE

[Bobinovich]

OK they're probably SATA connectors instead of IDE. You can either plump for a new SATA optical drive, or could fit an IDE one into an external case with a USB interface...

EDIT: OK You got it sussed before I finished! I was taking a look at pics of the E520 to see if there was an IDE connector on the board which you could tap into. Can't get a close enough pic so take a look and see if there is a connector similar to the one on the older CD-ROM drive...

[Julia]

Thanks Bob!