Cases without 5"25 disc drives

[ramm]

My pc still has 2 5"25 bays disc drives but I actually only use it after I formatted my PC to install everything.

 

I've noticed now more than ever we see less and less cases with disc drives and I feel by the time i'm getting a new pc case it's probably not possible to get a nice looking case which still has disc drives.

 

So how do you actually future-proof this? Obviously all my drivers are on cd's, and i've never actually gotten a usb-stick with a new pc component. So should you just buy lots of usb sticks and put all your drivers on there?

 

My motherboard has this beautiful thing that the internet doesn't work unless you've installed the drivers, so an option to just download them whenever you formatted it is out of the question. I really need a disc drive in that case.

 

How would you solve this?

[bleedblue]

Download all the drivers somewhere else? Download the drivers before formatting/upgrading?

[ramm]

Just now, bleedblue said:

Download all the drivers somewhere else? Download the drivers before formatting/upgrading?

And then how do you get them on your pc? With usb sticks?

[Semper]

Just now, ramm said:

And then how do you get them on your pc? With usb sticks?

Yes.

Or an external USB disc reader, if you really can't find another way.

[Spotty]

If you're wanting to move away from having a 5.25" DVD drive, then USB flash drives are a good choice, as well as external DVD drives that connect via USB.

There are still plenty of nice cases that feature 5.25" bays, though. Just check their specifications and most will list if they have 5.25" bay support or not. Should be pretty obvious from the front panel pictures as well.

[bleedblue]

2 minutes ago, ramm said:

And then how do you get them on your pc? With usb sticks?

A single stick, but yes.

[ramm]

3 minutes ago, Semper said:

Yes.

Or an external USB disc reader, if you really can't find another way.

Thats probably the best way, doesnt even have to be an external one you can just use the internet one and connect it to your pc with the side cover off. Mine actually wasn't used for so long it didn't even open well and I had to help it.

2 minutes ago, Spotty said:

If you're wanting to move away from having a 5.25" DVD drive, then USB flash drives are a good choice, as well as external DVD drives that connect via USB.

There are still plenty of nice cases that feature 5.25" bays, though. Just check their specifications and most will list if they have 5.25" bay support or not. Should be pretty obvious from the front panel pictures as well.

Yeah I know there are still alot of cases with 5.25" bays, but also alot not. I think more cases without them than cases with them by now. So basicly, you can only use this if you already am using a pc which has a disc drive. If you buy one and put it in an empty appartment you can't really make it work which I think kinda sucks. They should just include thumb drives with motherboards if you require to install drivers before you can go online.

 

 

 

 

[manikyath]

10 minutes ago, ramm said:

And then how do you get them on your pc? With usb sticks?

if you use any modern operating system, chances are very high you'll at least have enough drivers along with your OS to get yourself on the internet.

 

or.. if you dont buy stupid hardware that is..

[Spotty]

4 minutes ago, ramm said:

They should just include thumb drives with motherboards if you require to install drivers before you can go online.

Some actually are including them now.
I can't remember which company it was, possible Asus or maybe MSI, included a USB drive for the drivers in some of their motherboards, probably the higher end models.

 

Haven't bought any motherboards recently so I'm not sure how common it is; AFAIK it's not very common... But it is a start!

[ramm]

Just now, manikyath said:

if you use any modern operating system, chances are very high you'll at least have enough drivers along with your OS to get yourself on the internet.

 

or.. if you dont buy stupid hardware that is..

I'm using windows 10 and got an Asus z170, doesn't seem like stupid hardware?

[jj9987]

You can just install the OS and then download the drivers from the internet...?

[ramm]

1 minute ago, jj9987 said:

You can just install the OS and then download the drivers from the internet...?

I think you need to install motherboard (network) drivers first before you can go online.

 

At least you do on my Asus Z170

[LambdaCat]

15 minutes ago, ramm said:

I'm using windows 10 and got an Asus z170, doesn't seem like stupid hardware?

Again, Win 10 gets the latest if not the min req drivers for vital components, and if for whatever reason it doesn't, (which sounds more like a flaw with the product rather than a design choice) you can still download the drivers elsewhere or beforehand, or as said, get an external drive, in all my years of PC building I have never once needed a CD drive to get the latest drivers installed properly.

But putting that aside I can understand your frustration, removing drive support does remove a sense of backward compatibility, however, nowadays, especially with a mobo of your spec disc drives are unfortunately simply redundant.

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

I download all drivers for each of my machines, then put them in folders so that I know which is which (a folder per PC, inside that folder there's folders for chipset, USB3, audio, LAN, etc etc). 

I store these on my NAS so that they're always available if I ever need them, but an external backup drive will do just fine.

 

When doing a fresh install I'll make an installer stick, containing Windows and the drivers for that specific machine.  On an 8GB stick you'll typically have 3-5GB of space for the drivers, and seeing as it's typically FAT32 formatted you can just put them on there and read them afterwards.

Basically I install the OS, leave the stick in on the first proper boot, copy the driver folder to the desktop, eject the stick and start installing the drivers. 

[ramm]

1 minute ago, LambdaCat said:

Again, Win 10 gets the latest if not the min req drivers for vital components, and if for whatever reason it doesn't, (which sounds more like a flaw with the product rather than a design choice) you can still download the drivers elsewhere or beforehand, or as said, get an external drive, in all my years of PC building I have never once needed a CD drive to get the latest drivers installed properly.

But putting that aside I can understand your frustration, removing drive support does remove a sense of backward compatibility, however, nowadays, especially with a mobo of your spec disc drives are unfortunately simply redundant.

Yeah I agree theyre redundant. I only use them once a year when I format my pc. But still it beats going through the trouble of not being able to go online/having to download drivers from a different computer and putting them on a usb stick

[Glennieboyyy007]

you can always just plug it into the psu and mobo and have it just lay outside the case if you need to use it. not elegant, but functional though

[ramm]

2 minutes ago, Glennieboyyy007 said:

you can always just plug it into the psu and mobo and have it just lay outside the case if you need to use it. not elegant, but functional though

Im probably gonna do that whenever I get a new case.

 

I still like having a disc drive though, i just feel thats how a case is supposed to look. Also those digital screen and dial front panel things are usually cool to have

[Mooshi]

I haven't used a disc drive in years and honestly don't miss it. I keep a flash drive with a Windows 10 install for emergency, but that's it. You download what you need, simple. I don't like the fact DVD driver discs are pointless trash doing nothing for the environment.

 

As a side note, all 3 ASRock powered PCs in the house didn't need a drive disc for internet connectivity. These machines range from a Skylake i7, Kaby Pentium to a first gen Ryzen build. Honestly, with Windows 10 default drivers and an Intel nic, you shouldn't need network drivers at all.

[ramm]

1 hour ago, Mooshi said:

I haven't used a disc drive in years and honestly don't miss it. I keep a flash drive with a Windows 10 install for emergency, but that's it. You download what you need, simple. I don't like the fact DVD driver discs are pointless trash doing nothing for the environment.

 

As a side note, all 3 ASRock powered PCs in the house didn't need a drive disc for internet connectivity. These machines range from a Skylake i7, Kaby Pentium to a first gen Ryzen build. Honestly, with Windows 10 default drivers and an Intel nic, you shouldn't need network drivers at all.

One thing is I have a windows 7 OEM install disc but i upgraded to windows 10 later, so if I format my pc I have to reinstall the windows 7 disc first i think

[AvogadrosDog]

From what I have seen most people don't even use the CDs that come with new mobos let alone keep ones for fresh installs. Installing the drivers and OS on a USB stick can be a one time thing and then you're sweet to go. Use it for the fresh install when you get the new case and then keep it for a rainy day as most people have said on this thread. Can't really go wrong. However I do understand wanting to have a DVD or even Blu-ray driver for media centres and people interested in "all-round" builds or such. Just feel like that installing drivers from a CD is outdated plus USB sticks feel more reliable but that's just me.

[AvogadrosDog]

5 minutes ago, ramm said:

One thing is I have a windows 7 OEM install disc but i upgraded to windows 10 later, so if I format my pc I have to reinstall the windows 7 disc first i think

Don't think so, you just install a blank version of Windows 10 (from the Microsoft website itself) and then put your old windows key and it should work. I've attempted it before and it worked but it was a while back and I might have forgotten how I did it exactly but I don't remember it being difficult. 

[TVwazhere]

2 hours ago, ramm said:

I think you need to install motherboard (network) drivers first before you can go online.

Generally speaking you do not. Unless you're talking about wireless drivers that windows 10 didnt automatically detect. 

 

I've never had a motherboard on board Lan NOT work immediately after plugging in an ethernet cable. These days it's much more common to get your OS on a flash drive (possibly your wireless drivers if you need those too) before you build a new PC, so that when you're system is finished being assembled you can install the OS (sometimes significantly faster I might add) and be good to go.