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XPS 8940, Blu Ray drive
Can anyone confirm if the XPS 8930 Blu Ray drive will also fit into an XPS 8940? Is it a swap out plug and play process? The part number of the Blu Ray Drive I am attempting to put into the 8940 coming out of the 8930 is 429-ABFD.
Also, is there a tried and true method to get the CyberLink Media Software from the 8930 to put on the 8940? I don't believe I have the option to download individual programs from Dell, just the ROM that reimages the drive.
Tesla1856
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February 17th, 2022 18:00
First, let me ask you ... are you wanting to rip Blu-Rays or just play them?
Well, regardless ... you would be better-off with a "real" 5.25inch Blu-Ray burner in an external enclosure (with external power-supply). Those "slim laotop units" are very low-volume use and fragile.
Get yourself a retail copy of CyberLink Power-DVD v21 (or around there, 20 or so).
Actually, if you just want to "play BD" ... you would be better-off picking up a Sony-BD Player and connecting it to the TV or your monitor.
srpawski
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February 19th, 2022 09:00
I have an 8930 that I configured with a Blu Ray drive that I removed yesterday and put in my 8940 and then replaced the DVD drive that came with the 8940 and put it in the 8930. I can confirm that it works perfectly fine. I was also able to swap the bezels on each drive successfully without breaking them. I rarely use optical drives anymore, but since I won’t get anymore when I go to sell the 8930 than I would with our without the Blu Ray drive, why wouldn’t I keep it?
I wished there was a way I could get the CyberLink software that came with my 8930 to install on the new 8940 without having to purchase it.
Tesla1856
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February 19th, 2022 10:00
The (free) VLC-Player will play real-optical DVD discs (but not Blu-Rays).
Sometimes, you can check your Dell Digital Vault (or something like that) and there might be some installers there.
IIRC, somebody said that Dell's (stripped down) OEM-version of CyberLink was in Microsoft-Store at one point. I think it only ran on Dells by some kind of verification-routine.
alexc32
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September 25th, 2022 16:00
I don't know about that. You'd be surprised at just how robust the BU40N slim drive really is. I would leave the BU40N in the laptop and compliment it with an ASUS BW-16D1HT in an OWC Mercury Pro or Vantec NexStar DX sata > usb enclosure run externally. Why two drives? If you're doing a lot of ripping and especially if 4K UHD blu-rays are being ripped you'll find that there are discs that cant' be read by the LG no matter what you do yet put that same disc in the ASUS and it rips perfect. The opposite applies here too (ASUS can't read but LG can). Feel free to email me to discuss further.
RoHe
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September 25th, 2022 16:00
@srpawski - You should be able to download the Cyberlink "Media Suite Essentials for Dell" that you want for free at Dell's Microsoft Store page. Do the download directly onto the XPS 8940. Each module requires you to run its own separate installer.
If it matters, you won't be able to play 4K Blu Ray discs now that this drive has been installed in the XPS 8940 unless you have a 10th Gen CPU*. Playing 4K Blu Ray discs requires Intel's SGX protocol but that's no longer supported and has been removed from all 11th, 12th, and later generation CPUs.
*CAVEAT: Assumes Dell implemented SGX in BIOS for 10th Gen CPUs installed in the XPS 8940, and it's set to Enabled in BIOS on your PC.
NOTE: XPS 8930 came with either an 8th or 9th Gen CPU so it can play 4K Blu Ray discs...
Tesla1856
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September 25th, 2022 17:00
We are basically recommending the same thing ... do the "heavy lifting" with a high-quality/dependable 5.25-inch optical drive in an external USB-3.0 enclosure (yes, like the OWC Mercury Pro). If fact, I have one on my desk as I type this ... with a 5.25-inch LG BH10LS30 Blu-Ray Burner/Ripper inside it.