The Dell Dimension 4600i comes equipped with only a CD drive, so I was pretty excited when my parents got me an internal DVD drive for Christmas. Here is how to install it.
What you need
- Computer (I used my Dell Dimension 4600i)
- DVD drive (I used the LG GH22NP20 that I got for Christmas)
- IDE cable (I used an 80-wire, neon green IDE cable)
- Small Screwdriver
The Dell Dimension 4600i
The 4600i has two IDE ports and two SATA inputs on the motherboard, and there are bays for two internal hard drives and two optical drives in the case. The CD drive that ships with the computer connects via IDE, and the hard drive uses one of the SATA ports. If needed, a secondary optical drive could use the other SATA connection; I, however, have aspirations of using that port for a secondary internal hard drive, so I decided to use the LG GH22NP20, which connects with IDE.
Getting Started
Good preparation goes a long way in ensuring a successful upgrade. Make sure you have everything you need before you start taking things apart. It’s also useful to have a clean workspace so that you don’t misplace anything.
The case to the 4600i is easy to disassemble, but before beginning, it’s important to make sure every external cable is disconnected from the computer. After unplugging all peripherals and the power source, hold the power button for a few seconds to ground the system.
Opening the Case
Opening the case to the 4600i is very straight-forward. Simply slide the cover latch and pull the cover off. At this point most of the internals of the machine are accessible, but installing the drive into the bay requires some more preparation, namely removing the front cover.
To remove the front cover, apply pressure to the two release levers and rotate the front cover until it comes off. Removing the front cover will reveal some extra alignment screws in the front of the case that are needed to secure the new drive once it is in place.
Setting the Jumpers
As mentioned before, I installed my DVD drive with an IDE cable instead of SATA. If you don’t have experience with IDE cables and devices, some explanation might be necessary. (Here is an explanation that I found useful on PCGuide.com.) Basically, the IDE system is supposed to allow you to have two devices operating off of one input into the motherboard. The jumper configuration allows the computer to decipher which device on the IDE cable is supposed to be receiving which information. At first, there were only a “master” and a “slave” device, but there were some limitations to this setup, so a “cable select” system was created, where both devices would be “masters” or something like that.
To make a long story short, IDE is a practically obsolete technology, and the jumper system doesn’t work very well, so instead of connecting more than one device on a single IDE input, it worked better for me–and for others, I have read–to have a dedicated input for each IDE device. With this setup, you can set the jumpers to either “master” or “cable select.”
Putting the Drive in the Case
Slide the drive into the free bay and fasten the alignment screws so that the drive is flush with the CD drive that is already there. That was simple.
Connect the Drive to the Motherboard
Now, it’s time to connect the drive to the motherboard. As I mentioned before, it’s complicated to connect more than one IDE device on one IDE input, so I connected the DVD drive to the empty input on the motherboard. The pins on IDE cables are numbered, so it is important to make sure that the #1 pin on the cable matches the space for the #1 pin on the port, on both the motherboard and the drive.
Put the Case Back Together
With the new drive in place, it’s time to put the case back together. Follow the above instructions in reverse order: put the front cover back on (removing the second bay cover if necessary), put the cover panel back on, and reconnect your peripherals and power source.
Configuring your New Drive
Installing the physical drive is only half of the process. Now it’s time to tell the computer what to do with this new addition. The first place to do this is in the system BIOS. To get to the BIOS settings screen, boot or reboot your computer, and press F2 when the blue Dell logo splash screen is displayed. When you are in the BIOS screen, use the down arrow on your keyboard to get to “Drive Configuration.” Press Enter to open the Drive Configuration window, and it will display the different drives available on your machine. My configuration looks like this:
- Diskette Drive A: Not Installed
- SATA Primary Drive: Hard Drive
- SATA Secondary Drive: OFF
- Primary Master Drive: CD-ROM Device
- Primary Slave Drive: OFF
- Secondary Master Drive: CD-ROM Device
- Secondary Slave Drive: OFF
- IDE Drive UDMA: On
The Primary and Secondary are the devices connected with your IDE cable(s). I chose to leave the original CD Drive installed, so I have a drive in both the primary and secondary. By default, only the primary drive will be on, so if you are adding the drive and not replacing the drive, you will need to change this configuration so that the primary and secondary drive are turned on.
[To this point, everything we have covered has been applicable to upgrading the Dell Dimension 4600 regardless of what operating system is being used. The following steps depend very much on what operating system you are using. I did this upgrade in Ubuntu, so if you are using Ubuntu or another flavor of Linux, this will apply to you, but if you are using Windows or another operating system, the following steps won’t help you.]
Setting the Region Code
If your drive has never been used before, you will need to set the region code. The easiest way to set the region code is with the command-line program regionset from the Universe Repositories. Open a terminal window and run:
sudo apt-get install regionset
When regionset is installed, decide what region you are going to use, put a DVD from that region in the drive, and run regionset:
sudo regionset
The program will walk you through the process. For more information, run: info regionset
Restricted Formats
Many DVD’s use what are called “restricted formats” that, because of licensing reasons, are not included in your basic Ubuntu installation. The Ubuntu documentation gives a legal warning when discussing these formats, and I will as well:
Legal Warning: Check with your local laws to make sure usage of libdvdcss2 would be legal in your area.
If you decide you are going to use these restricted formats, follow these steps.
- Install libdvdread4 with this code:
sudo apt-get install libdvdread4 - Run this script:
sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh - Reboot your computer
This should enable playback of your DVD’s.
Next Steps
Congratulations on making it through this tome on upgrading your Dell Dimension 4600i with a LG GH22NP20 DVD drive. There is more that can still be discussed concerning your new drive–namely, choosing a video player, finding a good DVD-burning program, etc.–, but these topics are beyond the scope of installation. Check back for those topics in the coming weeks.
Did I forget anything? Need help with anything? Leave a comment.
Leave a Reply