DVD drives in cases with no external bays

[dduplessis]

Sorry for the noob question, but I am really curious about this. In cases with no external drive bays like the NZXT S340 (see link below), can one install a DVD drive that is functional. I.e. can I install it internally, making tray face the interior of the case, and if I really need to use a DVD, I remove the front panel and use the DVD drive.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146189&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

You cannot fit an optical drive in it with the tray facing inwards, imagine how inconvenient that would be! (even if it was possible).

The NZXT S340 is for those who don't want to fit an optical drive but instead want a case with a clean, flat front.
If you want an optical drive you buy an external one that plugs in to a USB port.

If that doesn't appeal to you, buy a conventional case instead.

 

[dduplessis]

Hmmm. Thanks Philip. I did not even think about the external optical drive solution. That sounds like a good plan. Out of curiosity. If I went the USB optical drive route... would it boot from the optical drive when doing a new windows 7 install?

 

[Zentrino]

Hmmm. Thanks Philip. I did not even think about the external optical drive solution. That sounds like a good plan. Out of curiosity. If I went the USB optical drive route... would it boot from the optical drive when doing a new windows 7 install?

You can have the computer boot from a bootable USB device (whether it be a USB drive or an optical drive) by selecting the appropriate option in BIOS. Usually, you have to set the boot order to have the USB device higher than the primary boot device (i.e. your HDD or SSD) and also set an option to enable booting from an external device (although this may not be necessary depending on BIOS version).