14 replies to this topic

[shed]

hi

if i wanted to swap my harddrive would i have to buy the specific model one or would any laptop one fit?


cheers

[the_r_sole]

should just be the size of drive, as long as it fits it should work, why are you getting a new one anyway, external not be handier if it's just for capacity or are you going down the ssd route?

[mini77]

hi

if i wanted to swap my harddrive would i have to buy the specific model one or would any laptop one fit?


cheers

Depends on how old your Laptop is...

[shed]

4 yr old.

dont work right (virus?) so was gonna reformat it or start again with a fresh one

[mini77]

4 yr old.

dont work right (virus?) so was gonna reformat it or start again with a fresh one

What's wrong with it, we maybe able to fix it? Plus I would reformat before chucking the drive away! Make sure you have all the installation disc, back up CD (drivers ect) before you format if you have'nt done it before ask for help first...

Edited by mini77, 30 June 2011 - 09:44 PM.

[shed]

i did a post about it in here the other day but noone really seemed to know so lookin at the easier option. i still have the backup disc.

[BlueBell]

It doesnt have to be specific to your model but there are different types mainly depending on the type of connector and capacity of drive your laptop will support. You also need to make sure its a formatted bootable drive unless you have the software to set it up, otherwise your CD install will be of no use. Although generally these days most will be of this type.

Best bet is to google the spec of your laptop, get the hard drive details and then hit ebay for a replacement. I would also add that with laptops some hard drives are more accessible than others, so check you can get the thing out without a hammer before you start.

Steve

[mini77]

i did a post about it in here the other day but noone really seemed to know so lookin at the easier option. i still have the backup disc.

OK in that case I would format your drive using your back up disc.

[Pete93]

i did a post about it in here the other day but noone really seemed to know so lookin at the easier option. i still have the backup disc.

OK in that case I would format your drive using your back up disc.

+1

There are a few different types of hard drives for laptops.

[shed]

as it stands, once ive logged in the screeen goes black. ive put the backup disc in and i cant see it.

if i put the harddrive in a case and plug it into the pc via USB cable im hoping i can take off the pictures i have on it.. but could i use the backup disc with it plugged in to the pc?

[ChrisG10]

Get a cheap internal hardrive hardly any memory and then get a bigger external one. with a fan so it wont overheat XD

[daveholman]

I'm not sure it would work in an external drive casing. Normally, when you first plug it in, the computer will need to format it to correctly use it which would obviously wipe everything on it. Your best bet, if you needed to swap would be to take it to a specialist who (for a small fee of course) would try to recover all data. Obviously, there is a chance that your hard drive is FUBAR and as such it's unlikely to be recoverable but it's worth a go.

The problem you have may be down to the drivers for your video card. I had a very similar problem last night which turned out to be down to the fact that a series of updates had managed to disable my video card, the computer would start normally but once it got past the start-up screens to the log in point it would just go black, the sound still worked and the computer would apparently (based on the sounds) open programs and folders but wouldn't display anything. To rectify the problem I had to start the computer, enter the boot-up options, start in safe mode which displays in the most basic video settings and then reable the video card in the control panels device manager and restart the computer, it is now fine.

In theory swapping the hard drive is easy, as long as you get the correct connection type (SATA/SATA II, PATA/IDE or SCSI/SAS) then as long as the speed in RPM and capacity are matched to the old drive then there should be no problem with it. Remember that most laptops take 2.5" rather than 3.5" drives which are for desktop PCs. I'm guessing that at 4 years old your computer will probably be SATA II and would have a capacity of anywhere between about 120gb to 320gb, the speed should be 5400 or 7200 rpm. This obviously affects how quickly the drive will access things, higher end computers tend to have larger capacity 7200 rpm drives while cheaper ones have lower capacity 5400rpm drives.

Edited to correct my awful english and grammar.

Edited by daveholman, 01 July 2011 - 01:24 PM.

[the_r_sole]

if the drive is still working it should be ok to connect up externally or you can hook it up internally as long as it's set to slave (i've just done something similar with a clicking hd that my computer couldn't see at all, couple of hours in the freezer let it run until i could take all the info from it!)
you should make sure the drive is actually on it's way out before buying a new one! effectively you could hook it up to another machine and format it from that one (after taking your files obviously!) then put it back in and reinstall your os and then copy over the files from the other pc

[shed]

thanks guys

as long as i get the photos of my kids off the hard drive i dont care what happens to it, thats my biggest concern!

ive ordered an external case jobby, only a fiver on fleabay so will try that first

[Deathrow]

From what you've said fitting the drive in an external case and connecting it to another computer should be fine. The drive will already be formatted as it was used as a system drive in the first place so it should work.