Optical drive for laptop

[tarek]

The DVD/CDRW drive on my HP ZE5475CA laptop hasn't been burning properly for the last few months and I was looking to replace it (warranty has expired). Are there any stores in GTA which sell laptop optical drives? I've seen a few new ones on e-bay for about $100-110USD + shipping and they are DVD+-RW DL drives. Is that a good deal? Are optical drives difficult to install on laptops?

[itsmypostoffice]

due to proprietary designs, it's best you join a forum geared toward your specific laptop. this is because manufacturers require suppliers to change connectors/specs and you may discover retail models will not install into your model -- you must do your homework. and yes, ebay prices are very competitive unless you live in a major city and your laptop is a popular model (ie. lot's of customers means more turnover/stock). don't forget to post your laptop model & specs on RFD so we can lend a hand; that's what makes this place special. one of my first RFD purchase was a thinkpad cdrom from synaptech -- we determined his drive functioned in my laptop and he offered a fantastic deal. we later became friends and i invited him to join our aquarium forum on another site :)

although there are 3rd party aftermarket sales support, in canada there are 3 reliable routes:

1) your laptop manufacturer
2) reputable store handling laptop upgrade/repair such as OTA
3) ebay (after you have researched your model in depth)

EDIT: if your laptop is over a year old you must also download drivers to enable the DL feature. upgrading a laptop requires a bit of research and can turn into an expensive mistake if you don't do your homework. good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

[tarek]

Thanks for the info. Here are links to my laptop specs and the e-bay auction in question. The auction says the drive is compatible with my model.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?cc=ca&docname=c00031620&lc=en

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6796076623&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

[tarek]

Are there any online retailers such as NewEgg that ship to Canada? I've seen a lot of better deals on those kinds of sites but they only ship within the US.