Hi, everyone! Could someone tell me why the cd drive in my laptop always heats up very quickly? I want to be able to install some game on my computer but I can't do that without using the cd drive. Help! Regards, Minki. Life is but a dream ...

There are only a few reasons why the CD drive would heat up excessively. - the bearings in the drive motor have deteriorated to the point where the friction is a lot more than it should be and that is heating up the motor quickly. This is the most COMMON reason. If this is the reason, the motor will not be excessively hot if you can check it when you have not had a CD in it for a while. Cure: If that is your case you must replace the drive module - sooner or later it will stop spinning altogether in any case. You can get cheaper (or better) drives that will fit if you don't want to pay higher brand name prices - search the web using the part number of the drive or the make and exact model number of the laptop (see the label - often on the case bottom). You can find the Compaq/HP part number for the drive module here: http://partsurfer.hp.com/cgi-bin/sp... For ANY CD drive in a computer, Windows 95 and up frequently spins the CD drive if it has a CD in it whether you are using the CD or not, much of that time without lighting up it's activity led. The useful life of your CD drive and its motor bearings will be a lot longer if you REMOVE any CD when you are not using it!! All these other reasons are caused by excessive heat buildup within the laptop case: - there are airflow problems within the case caused by mung buildup on the cpu fan or other fan and the cpu heatsink, or anywhere in the case that inteferes with airflow. Cure: the case must be opened up and cleaned - check for a Service and Maintenance manual for your model on the HP web site if you want to do it yourself. - there are airflow problems beneath or around the case that are causing reduced airflow within the case. Cure: make sure air inlets are clear of mung, and that there is a good amount of clear space around and under the laptop; elevate the laptop a bit more so there is more space under it where the air inlts are, or use an accessory with fans under the laptop. less likely - the base of your laptop is having cpu fan or other fan problems and it is not spinning fast enough. Cure: the case must be opened up and the cpu fan or other fan must be replaced. - some component within the case is generating more heat that it should - e.g. a well used hard drive. Cure: the case must be opened up and the source of the excess heat found. If it is the hard drive, it is a good idea to replace it as soon as you can.

Hi, Tubesandwires! (Cute name, by the way! :P) After reading your post, I suspect it might be my hard drive. After using the laptop for a while, it starts to heat up (unless I'm just listening to MP3s on it). The only problem is I don't know how to find a hard drive that would be compatible with my laptop. Could you give me a suggestion or two. I don't want to but one over the internet. I don't feel all that comfortable about doing that. Regards, Minki. Life is but a dream ...

The laptop and the hard drive will always heat up and eventually reach a stable temp when used awhile, but is it excessive? If you can check the temp of the CD drive motor when the CD tray is ejected, when the laptop is warm compare the motors temp when it hasn't been used in a while to its temp when the CD drive has been used awhile. If the motor gets quite a bit hotter when used it would probably be more of a priority to replace the CD drive rather than the hard drive, if the hard drive is working okay. Service and Maintenance Manual here: ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/supportinformation/consumerdocs/MaintServcGd/ get 1660.pdf - that's probably the closest to yours. (Right click on 1660.pdf, choose Save Target As) Since this is a 1999 or so laptop, it would probably be a good idea to open it up and make sure there's not excess mung inside and check that the fan is okay. If you don't want to tackle that, maybe someone you know will for you. If you need a new fan see the next link to find the part number, then search on the web using that or use that at a local place to see if you can get one through them. You can find out what hard drive you probably have now and it's Compaq part number here: http://partsurfer.hp.com/cgi-bin/sp... but you need to use the specific model number found on a label on the bottom of the computer case. If it's one of the ones I guessed it might be, it's only 4.3gb. It's often easier to buy parts on the web than it is locally, and buying on the web is relatively quite secure and safe because where you buy has encryption enabled when you enter your credit card number and address, etc. If you don't want to buy on the web, maybe somone you know will do that on your behalf, or you can get the laptop drive from any place locally that stocks laptop drives that physically fit a Presario 1670's connection interface, and it certainly doesn't have to be only 4.3gb. E.g. places that sell laptops, or both laptops and regular computers, or laptop parts. Small places that custom build computers and that sell lots of computer components usually have the best prices. There are ones on the web that will fit a Presario 1670 of 20gb (e.g. $200) and up. If that's too expensive, local places may have used laptop drives, or smaller new drives than that for less, maybe the same size as you have, but I don't recommend buying used hard drives - no or only a short warranty. If your laptop drive is working okay, the whole drive contents can be copied, but you will probably need to have someone do that for you, unless you get yourself a laptop 2.5" IDE drive to desktop IDE wiring adapter and copy on someones desktop computer.

Tubes, I'm just thinking: What if I just get an external cd drive? The only thing is I want to be able to play dvd's on my laptop, but I don't know if modern external dvd drives will be compatible with windows 98. Do you know if they are compatible or not? Life is but a dream ...

You have only one built in USB port. Are you already using it? If you are, an external optical drive may not work properly when connected to a USB hub, even if it is an externally powered hub that can supply the max spec 500ma to each USB port. You can get an inexpensive USB 2.0/1.1 compatible controller adapter (a USB hub adapter may not work) and use it in your Type II card slot if you need to (see the end of this for an example). An external DVD-ROM (DVD reader)drive, or a CD burner/DVD-ROM drive, will play DVDs but your cpu speed and video capabilities are on the low end for that and you likely will be very disappointed with the results - e.g. skipped frames, jumps in the playback. An inexpensive DVD player you plug into your TV will yield much better playback results. Your system doesn't meet the minimum requirements for a DVD burner, which also can be used for burning CDs and reading DVDs and CDs, and your present hard drive is too small - you would need almost all of the drive just to be able to burn a single layer DVD, and DVD burning software that supports Win 98 is harder to find. You could get a DVD burner drive, but you wouldn't be able to burn DVDs on this computer as it is. e.g. Replacement CD drive modules that fit your 1670 NOTE - I found NO DVD-ROM drive modules for your model. That indicates to me your system is probably poor for playing DVDs. $40 20X CD-Rom (reader) http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Compaq-Presa... $60 24X CD-Rom (reader) http://www.priorityelectronics.com/... Hard drives on sale - 20gb - $50 http://www.comptick.com/vtc-hd25-20... 30gb - $60 http://www.comptick.com/vtc-hd25-30... 40gb - $65 http://www.getpartsonline.com/gpohd... Targus Slimline USB 2.0 DVD/CD-ROM External - DVD-ROM drive - Hi-Speed USB Price Range: $120-141 http://inktomi-cnet.com.com/4014-32... Min Operating system Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition "I don't know if modern external dvd drives will be compatible with windows 98." Yes there's that problem. Some may come with software that supports ME or 98SE, but not Win98 (the original version) but you have to look closely at the specs in the ad, or check out the specs on the manufacturer's web site. Or if you know someone who has had a DVD-rom drive for a while, they may have software that works in Win 98/98SE. Actually if you are just playing DVDs, only the software that actually plays them needs to support Win 98. Sabrent USB 2.0 PCMCIA Cardbus Adapter (2 Ports) $17 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...

Sorry I've taken so long to reply. I use the usb port for my thumbdrive but it's not a good idea to keep any usb devices plugged in my laptop for too long. I've decided to to bother about getting an external CD drive. I recently got a dvd drive I can install onto my desktop computer so I'll just watch my dvds on the desktop rather than on my laptop. Thanks so much for the helpful advise, anyway!!! :D Life is but a dream ...