What is this covered bay on the side of my laptop?

Question

I bought a Toshiba Satellite c50-b-14d and there's this thing on the side:

What is that outline? I know it's not a optical disc drive even though it's displayed in the BIOS.

Toshiba have probably just reused a chassis that has a slot for an optical drive and to save money they didn't install one. — James P, Aug 11 '15 at 10:15
Enhancements to your question:

Are there nuts/ bolts / screws holding it? Can they be unscrewed?

If you put a little pressure, do the seams give; indicating 2 pieces, or are they "joined" as one?

Does it appear - glued, single piece or screwed on? — Alex S, Aug 11 '15 at 11:43

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 11 '15 at 11:13

From what I can see, that looks like a modular drive bay. Some chassis have the option to add devices like drives and adapters.

Some even have the option for additional storage drives.

Note: according to the specs for your system, it appears it did not come with an optical drive. So, what you see is likely a "plug" for aesthetics.

1 Answers1