[justenhansen]

I bought an hp Elite Book 6930P used and it didn't come with any burning software, but I can't even use windows to burn anything. I'm new to Windows 7, but shouldn't I be able to drop stuff on the drive icon in My Computer or open it up as a folder and put stuff in? I have a blank disk in it just says "please insert disk."
I just uninstalled the drive and reinstalled it and still the same thing. Plus it says it has the most current driver. On the side of the drive it says "RW DVD+R DL" and "Compact Disk Rewritable" and "DVD Multirecorder" and "HD DVD"
It does not say it writes to CD-R which is what I have in it though.
My device manager says the drive is a hl-dt-st dvd-rom gdr-d20n

Also, in the device manager on the "details" tab it says the value is "CD ROM"

Thanks for any ideas you have!

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On the side of the drive it says "RW DVD+R DL" and "Compact Disk Rewritable" and "DVD Multirecorder" and "HD DVD"

Is this information from the label attached to the drive or on the plastic drive door? Are there any model numbers on the label?

I guess you must have searched by now, but the model number indicated in Device Manager is for a DVD-ROM drive... it's not a rewritable type drive according to hits on Google.

[makai]

On the side of the drive it says "RW DVD+R DL" and "Compact Disk Rewritable" and "DVD Multirecorder" and "HD DVD"

Is this information from the label attached to the drive or on the plastic drive door? Are there any model numbers on the label?

I guess you must have searched by now, but the model number indicated in Device Manager is for a DVD-ROM drive... it's not a rewritable type drive according to hits on Google.

[justenhansen]

I can't find a model number on the drive itself. For kicks I took a picture of it. Do you think somebody switched out the plastic piece on the end?

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[justenhansen]

I definitely need a burner on this computer. Is it very hard to switch out these types of drives? I've only done it on desktops.

[makai]

Can't really tell if someone changed the drive door.

Did you actually pull the drive out of the laptop? You may need to pull it out to look at the model number. It'll look like the attached photo which is the model number you posted... and is only a DVD ROM drive.

No, it shouldn't be difficult to find a burner type drive or switch it out. Basically if you find the precise drive, it's plug and play. If not, you may need to change the bracket the drive sits in. There should be some on ebay, or if you don't mind spending more, you can go straight to HP.

[justenhansen]

Wow, you've been amazingly helpful. Thank you! One last question. Will any HP SATA internal laptop drive fit? Or is there a specific form that I should be looking for? I wouldn't know where to find the right bracket if I needed one.

[makai]

Before jumping the gun on buying a drive, did you actually pull the drive out of the laptop to verify the part number on the drive? You really need to do this to make sure something else is not up with Windows detecting it as just a DVD ROM drive.

Please pull the DVD drive from your laptop and verify the part number on the label before proceeding.

THIS is a direct link to your Maintenance and Service guide. Follow page 52 to remove the drive.

To answer your question... You can't just buy any Sata drive and install it... it has to be a drive that's compatible with your laptop model. If you buy a drive that's not compatible, the computer/motherboard will not recognize the drive. Beyond that, the aesthetics of your laptop may be compromised because not all drives will have the same type faceplate and so it might not match the laptop. Your door appears to have a curved faceplate... lots of drives have flat faceplates. Something to consider if you care about that kind of thing.

The HP model that's compatible is #AK869AA. It's quite expensive if you buy it directly from HP. HERE'S a link to the drive. On the page, if you click on the link "View all compatible products" you'll see your HP EliteBook 6930P in the listing.

$169 is very expensive for a DVD writer. If you shop on ebay, there's a seller with 100% feedback selling the very same DRIVE for $89.99 + $17.58 shipping... from CANADA. It would probably take a while for the drive to get to you, but this seller seems to be pretty good and if it were me, I wouldn't hesitate to buy from him. There is also another seller selling the drive for $88.51 with free shipping. However this seller has terrible feedback and I wouldn't recommend you purchase from him... but that's up to you. Here's what his feedback looks like for this year as reported by ebaynegs (Firefox extension)...

That's over a hundred negative feedbacks in less than a year! Be very wary of these kinds of sellers!

This is the PAGE for all the AK869AA currently on ebay.

There may be other drives that will work in your laptop but it'll take some investigation into which ones they are. An external USB DVD Writer is also an option to consider. HERE'S some on Amazon. I personally use an external Samsung DVD Writer (an older model), with 3 of the 4 laptops in my signature... it works very well and very fast! Of course, not as well or fast as an internal drive, but 2 of my laptops can't even take an internal drive!

makai

[justenhansen]

I pulled it out. It's the same one that's in your picture. I tried to find the replacement on HP's website and couldn't so thank you soo much. I might go the external route since I'm a student right now. You're the best Makai!

[makai]

You know, actually, now that I think of it, perhaps any number of SATA DVD drives might work in your laptop. In the IDE days, the drive really had to be specific to the model laptop. Many IDE DVD drives weren't interchangeable and people would end up with all kinds of problems. Truthfully, and why I'm bringing this up now, is I haven't ever had to replace a Sata DVD drive in a laptop before... and it didn't even occur to me that perhaps Sata has changed the compatibility world for DVD drives.

Let's keep this thread alive for a while. I know that an external like a Samsung or other will still be cheaper, but the least we can do is investigate if just any ole Sata will work. I'll go do some hunting around and get back to you.

makai

[makai]

Well, I've been hunting around for a few days and have been told that yes, any Sata drive will work in any Sata laptop, however, I cannot find a resource on the internet that can quote this. There's a lot of information about Sata and it's compatibility, but nothing specific to what I'm looking for. You would think that Sata for all that it is, should work with any other Sata port, and personally, I've never had a problem with it not working or being incompatible. However, like I said, I've never had to replace a laptop Sata Optical drive before.

The best recommendation I can give is that you speak directly to HP about possible compatibility issues that can arise, (beyond the face plate not looking too great), from buying/installing a non-HP optical drive. I would hate for you to spend money on a drive and not have it work in your laptop. This is my major concern.

makai