hard drive replacement

[billybellfoot]

if i wanted to replace my laptop hard drive how would i find out what model to replace with

like how do i know if mine is sata pata ide etc i took it out earlier and it didnt really say much on it i measured and it is

W 70mm x L 100mm x D roughly 8mm (i say roughly as it had a metal cage screwed to it)

and pins it had

a group of 15 contact points
then
a group of 7 contact points
then
a group of 4 pins

also thought worth mentioning
(i was under the impression laptops had 2.5 inch HDDS this was nearer 2 3/4 inchs ? )


thankys anyone who can provide any help/info on this

much apreciated

 

[richc46]

Speccy will tell you more than anyone wants to know
Speccy - System Information - Free Download

 

[Madhur B]

Hi billybellfoot,

In addition, based on the description the hard drive which is present in the computer is a SATA hard drive. Refer the following article more information: How to Find Out If Your Laptop Hard Drive Is a PATA | eHow.com

For any clarifications please feel free to contact me.

 

[billybellfoot]

ahh brilliant

thanks rich that looks brilliant i will give that a spin its for my dads hes in 2 minds get a new laptop replace hard to sell or format the existing to sell

or buy new drive keep laptop ?

as otherwise its an ok laptop (bit old but keeps on chugging) its been reliable.


thanks again richc46 for helping

much apreciated.

 

[billybellfoot]

thank

maghur b

much apreciated i will check that out also

thankyou

 

[whs]

All laptop HDDs are 2.5" - and if your laptop is from the last 5 years, it will be a Sata.

Once you replace it, I would go for a SSD - will make the PC a lot faster. Here is a good selection of the best you can buy at this time: Newegg.com - samsung 830 ssd

 

[billybellfoot]

thats what i thought also but i measure 60mm wich is closer to 2 3/4 isnt it?

yes 2007/8 roughly

i was also thinking SSD just for OS then an external or network drive for storage?

but its my fathers and i think hes in the mindset of SSD £30-£40 for 64GB or £30 - £40 for 500GB

so i think hes leaning toward the standard drive for best value for money

thanks ill check those out though

 

[whs]

Don't worry about the 2 3/4 inch. Any 2.5 inch disk will fit. There are only 2.5" and 3.5" disks - and the rare 1.8".

The SSD is a trade-off of speed against size. A 120GB goes nicely on a laptop. An external disk or a large USB stick (even an SD card) can always supplement.

 

[billybellfoot]

ok so mines just a funny size then strange? trust me to be different lol ok so just go for 2.5" what about depth and width do they matter like for fitting inside the casing?

as for the ssd i agree. would be better performance for him but as he writes a lot of data would only be worth him getting a ssd for OS. say 32GB as they only have a finite amount of writes apparently dont they? so he would dramatically reduce the life of the ssd if he used for storage also?
so would have to supplement with an external drive.(wich would mean more money) when i think
(from what he has said when we discussed it as an option for him) that he would rather pay £30 - £40 for a 500gb and that covers everything he needs OS and storage without carrying anything else around with him or paying any more for external storage.

but i agree if it was mine id be tempted to replace OS drive with SSD forreliability performance boot time etc. plus SSD are getting cheaper all the time arent they i can get 32GB - 64GB for around £40 in the uk.


thanks again for help and info etc

much apreciated

 

[whs]

1. The 2.5 disk will fit - trust me

2. Don't worry about writes to SSDs. The SSD will not budge as long as you care to keep it. There is no way a home user can make enough writes to wear it down. I have 4 year old SSDs that are predicted to have a lifetime till 2022.

3. 32GB is a bit tight. Better go for 60GB for the OS.

4. I still think 120GB and a large SD card (or a couple of them) is a very good combination. The SD card does not stick out like a USB stick and can stay in the laptop during transport. My wife has SSDs on her 3 laptops and uses that approach. Works well although her SSDs are only 60 and 90GB.

 

[billybellfoot]

ok sorry i meant does the depth and width matter ? like 8mm deep and 100mm length or will a smaller or larger still fit in the laptop HDD bay?

really? i heard that they are limited.. but then i suppose so are standard HDDs.. but was under the impression SSDs are more limited than HDDs when it comes to lifetime in writes.

oh as the OS only takes up 20GB - 25GB i thought 32GB would be more than enough inc a bit of growing room for say win updates

i agree 120gb is probably big enough as at the moment he fills up his 80GB laptop drive then anything he wants to keep he copys to external at home to free up some space on laptop drive.
however sd not an option as he has no inbuilt card reader on laptop

thanks again for help support

 

[whs]

What kind of laptop is that without a SD card reader.

20 to 25GB is about right for the OS with some tweaks and a good selection of programs.

Besides, you worry too much. The 2.5" disk will fit and SSDs are more rugged than spinners.

 

[billybellfoot]

acer aspire 5315 never really needed sd card reader as use mem stick pro duo mostly and have usb reader for that


ok cool so 32gb would cover it

was just worried about thickness and getting my HDD bay cover back on if its to thich etc.

yes they are more droppable arent they? not that i want to make a habbit of dropping my dads laptop. ha ha

thanks

 

[Cytherian]

SSD's are rather expensive when compared to a traditional HD. If your father rarely runs his laptop on battery power, consider a SSD+HD (hybrid). They perform nearly like an SSD, but at a price just a little above a traditional HD. I installed one and couldn't be happier.

 

[billybellfoot]

hi

does the battery power thing make a difference then to wich HDD he buys?

because i had'nt even considered it? also did not even know of a hybrid drive?

thanks

 

[whs]

The hybrid drives suck. Not worth having them. The SDD needs a lot less power than a HDD (appr. 0.12 Watts) - and it produces a lot less heat. That's how I fixed a heat problem with one of my laptops.

And again, I do not recommend a 32GB SSD even if the OS fits. That would be too snug for my taste.

And when you are ready to move the OS, have a look at my tutorial: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/149969-ssd-install-transfer-operating-system.html

 

[billybellfoot]

oh ok are they really that bad?

even if its only for os if my os is 25 and the drive is 32. what would be the purpose/need for the extra 32gbs


to perform that tut would i need to have a external hdd enclosure for the new ssd to perform the transfer? as my dads laptop only has 1 hdd bay

thanks

 

[whs]

what would be the purpose/need for the extra 32gbs

The SSD needs a certain amount of free space for garbage collection. If you want to know more, read here: Garbage Collection and TRIM in SSDs Explained - An SSD Primer - The SSD Review

to perform that tut would i need to have a external hdd enclosure for the new
ssd to perform the transfer? as my dads laptop only has 1 hdd bay

Yes, but they are cheap. Examples:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182145


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817392032

 

[billybellfoot]

a kind of related question
what would give the most improvement in performance a :

upgrade from mech HDD to SSD
or
upgrade in RAM from 2GB to 4GB

thanks

 

[whs]

Definitely the SSD. But more RAM never hurts. But once you have the SSD, possible paging activities would be a LOT faster.