Modern computers do not have DVD drives built into them and I have found a lot of new DVD drives do not seem to work at all. We can reuse an old laptop DVD drive with an adapter in our modern computer. This method also works with laptop Blu-Ray drives.
Desktop vs Laptop DVD drives
Desktop DVD drives are designed to fit in a 5.25″ drive bay that was created for older 5.25″ floppy drives. Just like desktop hard drives, these require 12v, 5v and 3.3v to power the motors and logic inside them.
An enclosure for a desktop DVD drive requires its own power supply to provide enough power to work externally.
Laptop DVD drives, like laptop hard drives only require 5v for motor operation and therefore can be powered over USB.
SATA connectors
For desktop DVD drives, laptop hard drives and desktop hard drives the SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Adapter) connector is used to provide 3.3v, 5v and 12v over a 15 pin connector and a 7 pin data connector.
Laptop DVD drives use a different connector known as Slimline-SATA which provides just 5v over a 6 pin connector combined with the 7 pin data connector.
Slimline-SATA to USB
We can use a Slimline SATA to USB adapter to connect the laptop DVD drive directly to our new computer and it works as a native DVD drive.