Read this guide to install a new CD or DVD in no time!
 

Installing a CD or DVD drive is much like installing a hard drive.

All CD and DVD drives nowadays use the standard Ultra IDE Ultra-ATA data cable. This cable looks like a flat wide grey ribbon cable and has been around for years. For power, they use the standard molex power cable that is found on any power supply.

 

To install a CD drive you will have to understand some small details. Every
CD drive will have instructions either in a manual or a diagram on the hard drive or even
abbreviated letters on the bottom of the drive that shows you how to set the CD drive jumper. In
the older motherboards, there is only 1 IDE port for the CD to connect to and you can
only plug 1 IDE cable into each port. Now each IDE cable will have 3 connectors on it, allowing
you to connect 2 CD drives to the IDE cable, which then connects to the motherboard.

(In case you don't know what the "jumper" is, it's the little tiny rectangle 2-pin connector
that's connecting some pins on the back of your drive) Now, there are 3 ways for you to set the
jumper on your HD.

Master (MA) - Use this setting if the hard drive will be the MAIN hard drive in your system that
your operating system (Windows, Linux) will boot from.

Slave (SL) - Use this setting if the hard drive will be the secondary hard drive in your PC

Cable Select (CS) - Use this setting if you want the cable position to decide. This means if your
HD is connected to the very end of the cable, it will be set as MASTER, and if your HD is
connected to the middle of the cable, it will be set as SLAVE. (I highly advise against using this
setting. It is always better to set the drive manually as either a master or slave!)


Now that you've gotten your CD plugged in with the IDE cable and power cable. Go ahead and turn
it on! If for some reason your CD drive doesn't show up, CHECK THE JUMPER POSITIONS. If you have
2 drives set to Master or Slave it will cause a conflict and problems.


A small tip for everyone would be that when you install your CD drive it is helpful to install it on the topmost bay if your PC is going to be on the floor, and on the lowest bay if your PC is going to be on the table. This should be obvious but in case you forget, here's a good time to remember before you already put the case screws back on.


I hope this guide helped somebody out there and thanks for reading.

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