[SOLVED] Replacement slim DVD drive for HP Z440

[silversmithy]

Hello. I have an HP Z440 that the slim DVD drive was rarely used. I would say it maybe saw less than 2 hours of actual read/write use before the machine was recently retired. I inherited the 440 and am in the process of trying to get it set up for home use which is becoming more work than expected as everything on all drives was wiped clean and it is a RAID setup which I normally do not deal with at all. Anyway, I am trying to install Windows on it, and the stock slim DVD drive works sporadically, and when it does work I have to push the already closed door in to get the drive light and drive itself to work, and this sometimes does not even help. I have checked all connections and they seem fine. I realize that the drive is older, but has been in a clean, climate controlled ofc its' whole life, and again hardly used. Am I missing something, or is this drive trash. Also, does it need to be the exact same 9.5 mm DVD drive or will any slim drive work? Thanks in advance.

 

[popatim]

I haven't worked on a z440 but I seldom have an issue replacing he slim drives with another brand. You often have to swap the bezels.

 

[Cj-tech]

Hello. I have an HP Z440 that the slim DVD drive was rarely used. I would say it maybe saw less than 2 hours of actual read/write use before the machine was recently retired. I inherited the 440 and am in the process of trying to get it set up for home use which is becoming more work than expected as everything on all drives was wiped clean and it is a RAID setup which I normally do not deal with at all. Anyway, I am trying to install Windows on it, and the stock slim DVD drive works sporadically, and when it does work I have to push the already closed door in to get the drive light and drive itself to work, and this sometimes does not even help. I have checked all connections and they seem fine. I realize that the drive is older, but has been in a clean, climate controlled ofc its' whole life, and again hardly used. Am I missing something, or is this drive trash. Also, does it need to be the exact same 9.5 mm DVD drive or will any slim drive work? Thanks in advance.

I looked up your PC on the HP support website. It looks like there are a few different DVD drives that it could be manufactured with.

If you go to the official HP Support website, you can enter your serial number and hopefully get more information on your exact device and the parts within it. Or you could just disassemble to get the part number if you haven’t already done so.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I am trying to install Windows on it, and the stock slim DVD drive works sporadically

Use usb flash drive to install windows (like a normal person).
Nobody uses DVDs.

 

[GoofyOne]

What version of MS Windows is it?

You have a couple of options. If you have another computer you can use or borrow, you could download and install the MS Windows 10 setup files onto a USB flash drive. The flash drive just needs to be 8G or bigger.

Of course as already suggested, you can replace the slim DVD drive, and also you could get a external DVD drive that plugs in via USB port.

Alot of people refurbish older pc's by getting rid of their optical drive, and putting in a SSD or extra HDD instead. To do that you just need an appropriate adapter, depending on whether its a 9.5mm slot or a 12.7mm slot. If it is a SATA device you could use ... HDD Caddy


{GoofyOne's 2c worth}

 

[Cj-tech]

Use usb flash drive to install windows (like a normal person).
Nobody uses DVDs.

Using DVDs or not doesn’t make you normal or not. The OP didn’t mention which version of Windows they were trying to install on there system. Maybe the version they have is installed through the use of a DVD....

 

[silversmithy]

Thanks for the replies. I would definitely have gone thumb drive route but I am trying to reinstall Windows 7 pro which is what was previously on the Z, and I have only my original authentic DVD version available. Also the 3 DVD restore media is on well.... DVD's. Anyway I put in another full size DVD drive I had and that starts to load the Windows 7 files, but when I go to click on the actual install I get an error that no media drivers are present. The Z is set up as RAID, and as mentioned earlier machine was wiped. I have never worked with RAID before so not sure how this will work.

 

[GoofyOne]

Sorry for your woes.

You can use the same product key from your Windows 7 Pro, to install and activate Windows 10 Pro. I did that on my old laptop, upgraded it to Windows 10 and just used the same product key for the Windows 7 Pro that came with the laptop.

Not saying you have to do it, just saying you can.


{GoofyOne's 2c worth}

 

[silversmithy]

Sorry for your woes.

You can use the same product key from your Windows 7 Pro, to install and activate Windows 10 Pro. I did that on my old laptop, upgraded it to Windows 10 and just used the same product key for the Windows 7 Pro that came with the laptop.

Not saying you have to do it, just saying you can.


{GoofyOne's 2c worth}

Thank you for the help. I was actually thinking about that. The main issue though is that even with the correct media DVD or thumb drive it looks like a lot, drivers, etc. are missing after the drives were wiped so I not sure I will be able to get Windows 7 pro reinstalled and then upgrade to 10. Never had this much trouble reinstalling an operating system.

 

[GoofyOne]

No no ... just install Windows 10.

You won't have to install Windows 7 first, you just install Windows 10. Don't use the Windows 7 DVD at all, but after you install Windows 10 use the product key from your Windows 7 to activate it.

Windows 10 should find any drivers you need as you install.


{GoofyOne's 2c worth}