Replacing a laptop optical disc drive

[jjakobsen]

I have a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop that has a dead cd drive, it cannot read any cds I put probably due to mechanical problems (old drive). My question is are all optical disc drives a universal size? Can I go to Newegg and buy a LITE-ON slim dvd burner for $50 or do I have to get the exact Dell replacement drive?

Maybe the real question is whether it is IDE or SATA? Since it is so old, I'm thinking IDE.

Thanks!

[osprey4]

Hi, jjak:

Any drive will do. As long as you're replacing it, might as well upgrade to a DVD drive. This laptop needs an IDE drive.