Are laptop optical drives always compatible? Do they come in different physical sizes? Are there any specs I need to match on the new drive, such as whether it has SATA?
If so, how would I find these specs for my dell? (the details don't seem to be in the users manual or service manual)
Background:
I have a Dell 1720 and want to buy a new optical drive for it - I'm replacing an existing DVD drive with a blu-ray drive.
I almost just bought the first laptop drive I found on eBay, when it occurred to me they might not all be standard in size/interface/power/etc.
The Dell service manual has clear instructions on how to remove/replace it, looks easy:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1720/en/SM/optical.htm#wp1179838
but no specs on what kind of drive I'd need to replace it with.