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Upgrade 101 - 5: DVD & CD-R/RW drivesToronto Star Fast Forward Upgrade series Part 5 for October 21/99Preparation and cautions (READ THIS FIRST)In part 5 our of series on upgrading PCs, we're going to tackle replacing an aging CD-ROM drive. The hardware installation part of this task is difficulty level 2 (you have to open the case), but making a decision about what to replace that old CD-ROM drive with is a bit harder. Tools required: Phillips screwdriver. Okay, we won't dodge the question of why you might want to replace that older CD-ROM drive. If you got yours more than three years ago, it may suffer from some or all of the following problems: While it still plays music well enough, and is perfectly adequate for installing new software, a drive rated at under 24X is slow by comparison to today's newer drives. CD-ROM speed affects software installation, graphics software that keeps part of itself on disc (most Microsoft home graphics products, for example) and playing games that do the same thing. Finally, if you regularly share data with someone who makes discs on a CD-R (recordable) or CD-RW (rewritable) drive, you either cannot read their discs or can only read them sporadically. A new drive should fix all these problems. The replacement choices include a faster CD-ROM drive. So long as it's rated at 32X or higher, you'll get better performance than a 16X drive (Why? See below). You might also opt for a CD-R or CD-RW drive (probably the CD-RW - it's the best of both worlds because it can use both recordable and rewritable discs). You could also abandon CD drives altogether and go directly for a DVD-ROM (digital video/versatile disc read only memory) drive, or one of several incompatible versions of recordable DVD drives (such as DVD-RAM, DVD+RW, or DVD-R). Last but not least, if you're prepared to shop in the US without warranty support in Canada, you could try to get hold of Toshiba's new SD-R1002 drive (both CD-RW <italic>and<italic> DVD). However, according to the company, this unit isn't available through Toshiba Canada, "and won't be for at least two years, if then. It's strictly a US initiative." Before you ShopNo matter which replacement drive type you get, there are a couple of things you need to know before you leave the house (otherwise, you'll be making some extra trips to the store). See our preparation and precaution guide published in part 1 on September 23, then open the case. Find the rear of your CD-ROM drive and examine the side that is normally farthest away from you. You should discover a small wire attached to both the CD-ROM drive and your sound card. which carries sound from your CD-ROM drive to the sound card. Remove the cable at both ends by gently pulling the connector out of the socket. If it resists, and depending on the age of your CD-ROM drive and sound card, the connector may be held in place by a small spring clip similar to that found on telephone plugs. You need to slightly depress the clip before removing the cable. After making clear notes about which end of the cable went where and which side was up, take it with you when you go to the store.
It would also be very helpful for you to know if your existing drive uses the ATA (sometimes called ATAPI or IDE) standard, whether it was attached to your motherboard or to your existing sound card, or whether it uses SCSI (small computer systems interface). Discuss all of these things with the vendor, as well as the age and type of your computer, the operating system you're running, whether you ever try to read CD-R or CD-RW discs (or might), and so on. Failure to discuss these items may result in much confusion later. ShoppingFaster CD-ROMOnce upon a time, CD-ROM drives sped up and slowed down, depending on whether the laser read head was at the beginning of the disc (in the centre) or at the end of the data (near the outer edge), so that the speed of the disc passing over the head was constant at all times. The drives' speed, based on this constant linear velocity was rated based on the first CD-ROM drives that fed data at the rate of 150 kilobytes per second (KB/sec). And that's the way it was right up until 16X drives appeared. From that time on, the rules changed. Drive rotational speed remained constant, so that depending on where the read head was placed, data passed over it at a slower or faster rate. Drives marketed as 16X or higher are rated using constant angular velocity, with the number reported in the marketing bumpf being the fastest (achieved only at the outside edge of the disc). The average speed is about half the reported number or slightly better. So, for example, a "24X" drive gets closer to 12X performance. A "32X" drive actually gets an average of 18X performance using the old measuring scale. A "40X" drive gets closer to 27X. In short, if you already have a 12X drive, you need to get a 32X drive at the very least to show any serious performance improvement. If you're even thinking of playing back CD-R or CD-RW discs on your new CD-ROM drive, you need to make sure it has some form of automatic gain control (AGC) or is explicitly labelled "MultiRead." CD-R and CD-RW discs use a photosensitive dye (either cyanine or pthalocyanine just in case you're curious), giving them a green or yellow-green appearance. It also makes them less reflective than commercially produced "silver" discs, so they don't send back as much light to the drive's read head. Newer drives with AGC step up the laser intensity so the discs can be read. You'll find that ATA (ATAPI, IDE) type CD-ROM drives are much less expensive than SCSI alternatives and, even at 40X, there is no discernable difference in performance, which accounts for the popularity of the ATA format. It doesn't affect whether the drives are compatible with any CD-ROM discs. Where you might have SCSI already or prefer it is in an older system that has only one ATA/IDE controller and where your existing CD-ROM drive uses a proprietary data connection to your sound card instead. A SCSI controller can co-exist quite happily in this environment and so can devices attached to it (up to 7 for a standard, relatively inexpensive controller). There's one other little item to look for, particularly if you plan to use this drive as a playback unit as well as adding a CD-RW drive. I don't want to know why you'd want to do this (discussions of software and music copyrights are best held on another day). Instead, I'll merely point out that most articles written about recording sound from audio CDs discuss digital audio extraction (DAE) which allows you to "rip" audio from a compact disc more quickly than otherwise. CD-R/RWWhile the primary hassle-free use of a CD-R (recordable) or CD-RW (rewritable) drive is as a relatively inexpensive backup device, it also doubles as your CD-ROM playback unit. Overall, the news is good. Prices have been steadily dropping, the number of choices has been increasing and speeds are up as well. Part of the story about prices falling has to do with the popularity of these drives over DVD. According to at least one US analyst, for example, CD-R/RW drives are outselling DVD by a factor of 5 to 1. So, while prices used to hover around $800 Cdn for a CD-RW drive, they're now in the $300 and up category. Companies in the market include Sony, Hewlett Packard (rumours that HP is getting out of the market being spread by some retailers have been denied by the company), Creative Labs, Yamaha, Smart & Friendly, and a handful of others. Speeds are up with several units boasting 6X record, 4X re-write, and 24X CD playback. DVD recordableI'm starting with DVD recordable because it will take the least time to dismiss. So far, only Pioneer's US$16,000-plus DVD-R unit produces discs that will play back on any DVD drive. True, the DVD-RAM "standard" is growing in popularity, but until later this year or early next, when DVD-RAM 2 discs arrive, the results can only be played back on the drive that created it. The same is true of the less popular DVD+RW "standard." In short, this is a technology whose time has not yet come - and probably won't for some time yet. DVD-ROMLack of titles, confusion over recording standards, and the popularity of CD-RW drives have all combined to keep DVD in the background. The current rule of thumb is quite straightforward: if your new PC comes with DVD and that doesn't push the price past where you can afford it, you have little to lose by taking the drive. Otherwise, the only reason to retrofit an existing system with DVD is if there's a movie or software title you can't get in any other medium. There are only a handful of recommendable DVD upgrade kits. For example, the Ziff-Davis magazine, Computer Shopper recommends only Creative Labs PC-DVD Encore 5x and the Sony DDU-220E/H DVD-ROM Bundle. Or you can assemble a kit yourself. For example, for this particular exercise, Grey-Tech suggested a Pioneer DVD103S ($219), plus a RealMagic Hollywood Plus DVD/MPEG-2 decoder board ($119). You'll know you're getting an up-to-date DVD drive if all of the following factors are true:
Some technical restraints are worth noting. MPEG (motion picture experts group) is the compression standard used for DVD movies. It comes in two flavours, MPEG-1 and the more recent MPEG-2. Lots of current PCs come with MPEG-1 decoding done by software available through your graphics controllers (and executed by your processor). You may also unknowingly settle for MPEG-2 software decoding, but you won't like the results any better. Most sources I checked, for example, said not to even bother if you have less than a 300 MHz processor. Others sneered at that and suggested 450 MHz would be better. The alternative is hardware decoding and you'll like the results much better (fewer dropped frames, less jerky motion, clearer pictures at full screen, etc.). However, all hardware decoders don't work and play well with all graphics controllers. Discussing which graphics controller you already have with the vendor is a must. Of course if your graphics controller - like the Diamond Viper V770 we installed in our test bed last week - already has hardware MPEG decoding, you may not want to bother (and it may be a conflict). That leaves audio. The audio standard used on most DVD movies is called Digital Dolby (formerly called AC3). It can provide six-channel surround sound which, with the proper sound controller and speakers, can provide that home theatre experience. Few standard audio controllers come with the Digital Dolby decoder on board. And, even though our RealMagic board does, it doesn't come with the extra board needed to sort out the channels (are you beginning to get the sense that retrofitting DVD can be lots of fun?). We didn't investigate these boards, but lots of retailers will be glad to sell you one, and the speakers, and the amplifier... InstallingAfter the shopping experience, installing one of these drives is duck soup. Assuming you read the bit above about the audio cable and have the proper one handy, here's how it goes. Whether you're installing a CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW or DVD-ROM drive (ATA type), there are no differences in this part of the installation procedure. Replacing an existing driveOpen the system case and do whatever you must to get access to the drive bays. You'll probably have to remove the case front at some point. (see part 1, Sept. 23). The CD-ROM drive will be held in place, from both sides, by screws (usually three of a possible four). If there's room for your hand, remove the data cable, power plug and, if you haven't already done so, the sound connector leading to your sound controller. Slide the old drive out of its bay. Like a hard drive, the CD-ROM drive should have master, slave and cable select settings controlled by a block of jumpers on the rear of the drive. If the jumper block is clearly labelled (or there's an explanatory diagram on a label on the top of the drive), note their current settings. Examine the new drive's jumper blocks and, if the information is available, reset the jumpers to match those of your old drive. Otherwise, put everything back together, get on the Internet, find the company's Web site and see if you can get the information from tech support. Better yet, have the manuals for both drives handy. When all the jumper assignments are sorted out, slide the new drive in and reverse what you've already done. Pay attention to the pin 1 side of the data cable (part 1, Sept., 23). Don't forget to reconnect the audio link to your sound controller. Don't button up the case yet. Go on to setup and troubleshooting, below. Adding a drive and keeping your old oneLet's assume you checked ahead of time and you know you have a free 5.25" drive bay. Otherwise, you're in trouble. You may also want to check to see whether the data cable from your motherboard to the existing CD-ROM drive has two connectors on it (some companies save a ha'penny by leaving the secondary connector off). No? Back to the store. If your BIOS supports cable select (part 1, Sept. 23), set the new drive's jumpers to that position; otherwise, set it as a slave. (See the manual that should have come with the drive, or the label on the top. There isn't one of either? My, my. You don't want this brand.) Slide it into the open drive bay. Attach the middle connector on the data cable leading to your existing CD-ROM drive to the data port on the new drive. Did you check to see which side of the port corresponds to pin one on the cable (the side with the odd colour or writing on it)?
If you're adding a decoder board, note that some of them interact with your existing video graphics controller through your system's PCI bus (no direct connection), while others, such as our RealMagic board, uses a supplied external cable. It attaches to our old graphics card through the VGA port where the monitor used to connect. The monitor will now be connected to a similar port on the RealMagic board. Likewise, stereo DVD audio out (not Digital Dolby surround sound) from this board will be routed through an external cable to our sound controller's line-in port. We'll end up with quite a nest of wires behind the system. There's also an S-Video out port to take the RealMagic's output to a TV set. It's about eight inches long. We'll need a long extension (because our TV is in the basement and the computer isn't), so we're not going to try it. Setup and troubleRegardless of which drive we installed and regardless of whether we left our old drive in place or not, Windows 95 and 98 should find the newby as soon as the system starts, then offer to install appropriate drivers for it. If Windows does not find the drive, exit and reboot. When it's appropriate, enter the BIOS/CMOS setup (part 1, Sept 23 - we told you you'd want to refer to this often). You may have to tell your BIOS that there is another drive in the system if it hasn't detected it automatically. If the second position on your secondary IDE controller reports 'none', manually change it to Auto. Restart the system. If the drive is still not being reported, power down. Check to see if the power plug is firmly seated. Check to see if the data cable is both firmly seated and that pin 1 is aligned properly with the data port's pin one. While you're at it, check to see if the data connector to your existing drive (if you kept it) hasn't worked loose. If you set the new drive to master (and didn't keep the old drive), try setting it to cable select or slave. If you set it to cable select (and kept the old drive), try it in the slave position. Keep working at it until the BIOS finds the new drive. Was this a used drive? If it came from a system where it was attached through a proprietary connection to a sound card, it may not work in your PC (Gotcha! That will teach you about buying computer hardware at a yard sale). If nothing works, throw yourself on the mercy of the vendor of the drive and ask politely if s/he will install it for you. Other things that can go wrong:The BIOS can find the drive, but Windows can't (go to the Add New Hardware wizard in Control panel and install the drivers manually). Both find the drive, but you can't get any sound from it (Did you reattach the sound cable? To the same port on the sound card it was in before? Was it the correct kind of cable?). It doesn't work in DOS. Of course not; you need to install DOS-level drivers. Check the documentation. Assuming that everything works, there's just one last thing to do. Make another Windows Emergency Startup disk, so that the new DOS-level drivers for your new drive are on the disk, just in case you ever have to reinstall Windows (shudder). Windows should also find any decoder boards you've installed. Follow the manual's instructions for installing any software drivers. Questions?Send queries related to this series to troubleshooter@computerwriter.com Components for this series were supplied by Markham-based Grey-Tech Computers Inc., www.greytech.com |
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Back to Upgrade 101 Contents
Why?
Not all of these cables are the same. They may have two,
three, or four wires, or may be for transferring digital or
analog sound. The trick is to come home with a cable that
matches your sound card on one end and your new drive on the
other.
Oops,
what about the audio connector? The SoundBlaster 128 in our
test system has three sockets for audio connectors. We'd try
one of the others. Otherwise, that could be a problem, but
only for CD-audio out. DVD audio out doesn't use this link.
Part
6, Upgrader's guide to external ports and peripherals