Replacement and alignment of laser

A system comprising one or more of the following components for optically aligning or pointing a laser in a holographic drive head assembly with respect to an optical path:

• a pair of optical path bending or altering elements positioned in the optical path after the laser and before the next optical component or subassembly in the optical path, wherein the optical path bending or altering elements bend or alter the optical path between the laser and the next optical component or subassembly in the optical path to thereby optically align the laser with the optical path;
• a spatial filter having associated therewith a pinhole through which light generated by the laser may pass, wherein the amount of light passing through the pinhole is used to determine the optical alignment of the laser with respect to the optical path;
• one or more alignment apertures positioned in an optical path after the laser, wherein the alignment apertures are used to determine the optical alignment of the laser with respect to the optical path;
• or
• means for splitting off a portion of the light generated by the laser to provide a monitoring beam, and means for analyzing the monitoring beam to determine whether the laser is optically aligned or pointing correctly.