If you start looking for laptops that are a few years older,  you’ll find that most of them have a DVD Drive. But in the current scenario, it’s hard to find one with DVD Drive as people now prefer to use a Hard Disk Drive or a Solid-State Drive. If you have an old laptop with DVD Drive, you may want to replace it. You can either replace it with an HDD or an SSD. Want to find out how? Here’s all you need to know.


If you are thinking that changing an internal drive of your system is complicated, then you are wrong. It’s effortless, and all you need is a screwdriver, a drive caddy, a tool to level the plastic, and a hot glue gun, which is optional. Once you have all your equipment handy, it’s time, to begin with, the actual procedure.

Place An Order for A Drive Caddy
A drive caddy is what you will be putting in the place of your DVD drive. The drive caddy fits your HDD or SSD, whatever you choose. You might wonder how you would find the correct drive caddy that fits in your system. While most laptops do not have all parts of the same size, the elements that are upgradeable, such as RAM, HDD, or DVD drives usually come with such connectors that can be used across several devices. All DVD drives mostly exist in a specific structure and size. Therefore, it’s easy to find a caddy and use it in the drive’s place.

Choose Between SSD and HDD
Now you will have to decide whether you want to use an HDD or an SSD to increase your storage capacity. Of course, what kind of drive size you choose is up to you. Still, we would like to advise that always for the largest capacity drive possible. If your drive has a functional storage capacity, it will have a fantastic backup space. Also, this will help save your data to prevent any loss.

Removing the Existing DVD Drive
Now that your external disk drive is all set, you’ll have to remove the DVD drive from your computer. Doing this task is not rocket science; you just need to follow the correct method and have some patience. Start by positioning any kind of towel on the table. Now place your laptop upside down on the table. Its lid has to be facing the towel. Look for the DVD locking screw, that you can find in the center of the laptop. A tiny DVD icon will indicate you the screw. Now, just unscrew it using a screwdriver and take the optical drive out.

Many laptops also appear with a button that you can push to remove any part of it. The process is similar to what you do to remove the battery of a laptop. In some incidents, you may also require a credit card or a plectrum, or maybe a fake knife made of plastic to help you remove the drive. You should not apply much force while doing so. After the drive is out, with the help of a screwdriver, slowly and carefully remove the drive fascia. Also, get rid of the locking screws in the drive. Keep them safe as they will be used for adjusting the caddy.

Inserting the Secondary Drive Into the Caddy
This is the easy part as most of the time, HDD or SSD comes ready to be slipped into the caddy. Your retailer may also give you a screwdriver. Make sure you check if there are any screws provided and if yes, keep all those screws safe as they will be used to secure the solid-state drive or hard disk drive into the caddy. These screws have to be smooth with the surface of the caddy, or else, it won’t fit into your computer.

Placing the Caddy Into the System
Use the fascia from the DVD drive you removed. The fascia has some attached clips that help keep the eject button at a specific place as required. Attach the caddy into the fascia. Use a hot glue gun if needed. Keep the laptop upside down on the towel, and smoothly glide the drive inside. Use the screws to secure the caddy correctly.

And that’s it, guys! Your new laptop storage is ready. But yes, do format it before using it. We hope you’ll try it soon to make your old laptop top-notch efficient.

 Jackson Henry. I’m a writer living in USA. I am a fan of technology, arts, and reading. I’m also interested in writing and education. You can read my blog with a click on the button above.


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