DVD Drive On PC Laptop No Longer Opens Without Paperclip Trick! (1 Viewer)

[BobO'Link]

Hi Howie!

Unfortunately, I feel that I need to keep it under $200 in Canadian Dollars, especially with a PC system that may or may not be Windows 11 capable, great as the other specs are. It's really too bad there appears to be no current listings for such PCs manufactured in the last few years that ARE Windows 11 capable. I already know my current non Dell PC Laptop isn't Windows 11 capable, thank you very much, Dell!

CHEERS!

Then go for that 2nd one I added a bit later... it has slightly better specs than what you found (more RAM, larger HD) though the processor is *just a bit* slower (likely not enough for you to even notice) and is only a couple of $$ more than the one you found.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

OK the basic MS rule is Intel 8th gen or later processors to run Win 11. Or equivalent AMD parts - I worked for Intel so I know their part numbers but not AMD numbers. That system above said i5-3470. The first digit(s) after the hyphen is the Intel generation number: in this case 3rd generation. That's over a decade old.

That link I posted above has a full list of Dell PCs that can be upgraded to Win 11. You have to click on the list header to open up the list.

Hmm ... USB 3 ports are supposed to have a blue plastic insert, not black.

Those older machines above appear to have "display ports" not HDMI ports. What's your monitor Tony?

 

[Tony Bensley]

OK the basic MS rule is Intel 8th gen or later processors to run Win 11. Or equivalent AMD parts - I worked for Intel so I know their part numbers but not AMD numbers. That system above said i5-3470. The first digit(s) after the hyphen is the Intel generation number: in this case 3rd generation. That's over a decade old.

That link I posted above has a full list of Dell PCs that can be upgraded to Win 11. You have to click on the list header to open up the list.

Hmm ... USB 3 ports are supposed to have a blue plastic insert, not black.

Those older machines above appear to have "display ports" not HDMI ports. What's your monitor Tony?

OK, there's a bit to unpack here.

Are we looking at the same *Dell PC? The specs distinctly indicate 2 HDMI connectors, one of which I do need for connection to my TV, which has 2 HDMI ports, and is what I currently use as my monitor. (It's a 32 inch Flatscreen Toshiba).

Second, if this PC is over a decade old as you say it is, so much for my getting a somewhat newer than my decade old Laptop setup. That does give me a bit of pause! A slightly older Desktop might still be a bit more robust than a decade old Laptop though, no?

Maybe I should just go back to my original idea of getting a backup External DVD Drive and hope for the best? My main misgiving regarding that is my 240 GB SSD is down to 6% (Caution), and the cost of just replacing this AND my DVD Drive could get me a refurbished PC that includes both (Albeit a used HDD instead of a brand new SSD!), however low grade it may be.

CHEERS!

* OK, I see now you were referencing the first Dell PC Howie posted. No HDMI port = No sale!

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

I'm shocked that I can't find any good deals on ebay.ca or amazon.ca . The best deals are getting a used PC from a company, which means they pull out the HDD/SSD for security reasons. You can buy a 512 GB NVMe SSD for $30 these days and put it in, and load Win 10 from a USB drive. Basically do the refurbishment yourself. The cost of shipping from US to CA is terrible. I thought that USMCA was supposed to do away with tariffs.

The photos of the PCs in post 16 and post 19 all show DP display port video connectors.

 

[BobO'Link]

OK the basic MS rule is Intel 8th gen or later processors to run Win 11. Or equivalent AMD parts - I worked for Intel so I know their part numbers but not AMD numbers. That system above said i5-3470. The first digit(s) after the hyphen is the Intel generation number: in this case 3rd generation. That's over a decade old.

That link I posted above has a full list of Dell PCs that can be upgraded to Win 11. You have to click on the list header to open up the list.

Hmm ... USB 3 ports are supposed to have a blue plastic insert, not black.

Those older machines above appear to have "display ports" not HDMI ports. What's your monitor Tony?

Yes, they are black but on those systems Dell just used the USB3 icon off to the side of the ports if they were high speed instead of blue plastic. Yeah... Dell... And, yes, those are display ports. In spite of having 2, those systems really don't support dual monitors like you'd think. They'll do for a couple of years but, like you've indicated, are old. That's why I encouraged Tony to go with a SSD as it will make it feel faster than it really is.

 

[BobO'Link]

OK, there's a bit to unpack here.

Are we looking at the same *Dell PC? The specs distinctly indicate 2 HDMI connectors, one of which I do need for connection to my TV, which has 2 HDMI ports, and is what I currently use as my monitor. (It's a 32 inch Flatscreen Toshiba).

Second, if this PC is over a decade old as you say it is, so much for my getting a somewhat newer than my decade old Laptop setup. That does give me a bit of pause! A slightly older Desktop might still be a bit more robust than a decade old Laptop though, no?

Maybe I should just go back to my original idea of getting a backup External DVD Drive and hope for the best? My main misgiving regarding that is my 240 GB SSD is down to 6% (Caution), and the cost of just replacing this AND my DVD Drive could get me a refurbished PC that includes both (Albeit a used HDD instead of a brand new SSD!), however low grade it may be.

CHEERS!

* OK, I see now you were referencing the first Dell PC Howie posted. No HDMI port = No sale!

The Dell you linked from Amazon and *all* of those refurb Dells I linked have only display port and VGA. They're that old...

The one Dennis linked on eBay does have HDMI (and display port and VGA) but it's now OOS.

That said, you can get display port to HDMI cables for around $10 or less.

 

[Tony Bensley]

I'm shocked that I can't find any good deals on ebay.ca or amazon.ca . The best deals are getting a used PC from a company, which means they pull out the HDD/SSD for security reasons. You can buy a 512 GB NVMe SSD for $30 these days and put it in, and load Win 10 from a USB drive. Basically do the refurbishment yourself. The cost of shipping from US to CA is terrible. I thought that USMCA was supposed to do away with tariffs.

The photos of the PCs in post 16 and post 19 all show DP display port video connectors.

In Canada, we also lose big time on the exchange rate! That's the main reason I generally avoid non domestic vendors, these days.

CHEERS!