How to Replace an IDE Dvd Drive With an SATA Dvd Drive

Last Updated: July 28, 2015

In the following instructions, this article will explain how to remove your old IDE DVD drive and replace it with a new Serial ATA (SATA) DVD drive. Switching to a SATA drive will reduce the bulk of cables in your computer, and SATA offers increased speeds for data transfer. Most new motherboards have several SATA ports, but if yours does not, adapters are available for IDE ports.

Steps

1
Remove the left panel of the case by removing the two Phillips head screws at the back of the case and using the handle to remove the left panel.
2
Disconnect the power connection and the IDE ribbon from the back of the DVD drive.
3
Disconnect the IDE ribbon from your motherboard.
4
Hold in the two clips on either side of the DVD drive out the front of the tower.
5
Carefully slide the DVD drive out of the case.
6
Remove the mounts from both sides of the DVD drive by removing the four Phillips head screws (two on each side).
7
Install the mounts on your SATA DVD drive.
8
Insert your SATA DVD drive in the front of the case until the clips snap into place.
9
Connect the SATA cable to the back of the DVD drive and to your motherboard (see image for step 2 for position of SATA ports).
10
Connect the power supply cable to the back of the SATA DVD drive.
11
Replace the left panel of the tower by sliding it back into place and replacing the two screws.

Community Q&A

Question

I cannot get my DVD drive to work. Windows 10 insists it is working correctly. Any ideas?

Community Answer

Shut the machine down and make sure the data and power leads are secure by removing them and reconnecting them, then reboot. Go into Device Manager and double-click "DVD/CD-ROM drives." If the drive is listed, right click the name of the drive and "Uninstall Device." Then right click on "DVD/CD-ROM drives" and scan for hardware changes and the system should pick it up and reinstall it.

Warnings

Turn off and unplug your power supply to avoid the possibility of electrocution.

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Wear an anti-static wrist bank to avoid delivering an electrostatic shock to an any electrical components.

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