Optical drive for Toshba satellite P50-C-18K

[gerryburn]

I received this laptop for Chtistmas but I found it does not have optical drive installed only a blank insert where drive should be.
Can anyone advise if it is possible to install a drive and where can I get one. Thanking you for any help in this matter

 

[synphul]

Are you sure there's no drive there? Is it just a gaping hole or is there the outline of door? It should come with an optical drive, you might have to access it from within windows to open it.

 

[gerryburn]

Are you sure there's no drive there? Is it just a gaping hole or is there the outline of door? It should come with an optical drive, you might have to access it from within windows to open it.

Hi synphul
thank u for reply There is space for optical drive but no drive installed.
I can remove dummy drive in there but I am unsure if I can install new drive. I dont know which drive would be compatible also I contacted Toshiba forum and I was advised to use external drive !! I am reluctant to remove casing to see if there is a connection to enable install as laptop is only one month old and this may void warranty.
Any advice welcome

 

[synphul]

Maybe it's possible they sell 2 different versions, one without a drive but that seems odd. The listings and reviews/descriptions I found referred to an internal drive. There shouldn't be a 'dummy drive' installed, can you upload a pic of the dummy drive? Trying to sort out what you're dealing with since I can't see it. If you can snap a pic and upload it to someplace like imgur.com, then you can get a link to share it here. Imgur is free.

An inexpensive solution would be to add an external usb drive. Have you asked Toshiba if they make such a model without an optical drive? Rather than a forum I mean actually call them and talk to someone via tech support, especially since it's a new product. I wouldn't advise opening up the laptop either while it's under warranty, if anything a qualified Toshiba repair center should be doing that under warranty to keep it intact (in case anything should break under the warranty period). If that specific laptop model was supposed to come with a drive and didn't, you may need to send it back for replacement or speak with Toshiba about correcting the error.

 

[gerryburn]

Maybe it's possible they sell 2 different versions, one without a drive but that seems odd. The listings and reviews/descriptions I found referred to an internal drive. There shouldn't be a 'dummy drive' installed, can you upload a pic of the dummy drive? Trying to sort out what you're dealing with since I can't see it. If you can snap a pic and upload it to someplace like imgur.com, then you can get a link to share it here. Imgur is free.

An inexpensive solution would be to add an external usb drive. Have you asked Toshiba if they make such a model without an optical drive? Rather than a forum I mean actually call them and talk to someone via tech support, especially since it's a new product. I wouldn't advise opening up the laptop either while it's under warranty, if anything a qualified Toshiba repair center should be doing that under warranty to keep it intact (in case anything should break under the warranty period). If that specific laptop model was supposed to come with a drive and didn't, you may need to send it back for replacement or speak with Toshiba about correcting the error.

 

[gerryburn]

hello again synphul thank you again for ur reply. I have removed dummy and used strong light to look inside and there is a sata connection to enable install.
Now I would need to get a suitable drive to fit. Have u any recommendations?
I am having difficulty with uploading photo and contacting Toshiba support but will keep trying. Thank u once agau-in for your help

 

[synphul]

If you take a photo of the drive, transfer the photo to your computer (name it something easy to find like 'dummy drive.jpg' or whatever you want). Create an account at imgur.com and they give you an option to upload your photos to their site. Upload from your pc and choose the location of your pic to upload it. Once you've done that it shows a list of links for you to use.

Here's an example from a photo off my own account. The orange arrow I put indicates which link to copy, the one that says 'bbcode' is the one to post an image and have it show here on the forums.

 

[gerryburn]

Hi synphul
I have decided to just use an external drive rather than go to all this bother as I am OAP and dont really have patience for all this.
Thank u for all your time and help

 

[synphul]

Sorry there wasn't an easier fix for you. I might be confused by some sort of 'dummy drive' insert too, I've never seen that personally. Either a laptop has an optical drive or it doesn't in my experience though it's a bit limited when it comes to laptops. External drives would probably be your easiest option and likely cheaper than buying a drive to fit into your laptop.