Posted on 09/05/2011 8:00:33 AM PDT by Keltik
Last week I started a thread telling how my Asus laptop HD crashed and I was considering replacing it myself (despite my limited computer skills): http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2771426/posts?page=21
I'm considering ordering this HD: http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/267860 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?nm_mc=AFC-TechBargains&cm_mmc=AFC-TechBargains-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA&Item=N82E16822148374
I have a few questions, if anybody can help out:
1. My old HD was 5400 RPM and 8MB cache. This new one is 7200 RPM and 16MB cache. Will it still work in my laptop?
2. It's "bare drive" -- what does that mean? Will I need any extra cables or anything?
3. I found a page online showing how to open an Asus laptop: http://www.insidemylaptop.com/disassemble-asus-k-series-notebook/
Asus, I've discovered, guards their manuals zealously and the ones you can find online don't really tell a whole lot. Will a none-too-cyber-savvy newb (me) be able to perofm this procedure?
Thanks for any help and advice!
I typed in “replace asus laptop hard drive” to YouTube and got a bunch of videos.
Seriously, dude, it’s just a few screws, you’ll be OK.
My Asus was my video-watching PC, I’m typing this on a Win98.
Any opinion on the HD I listed? Wan to make sure it’s the right specs
Over the years, I have frequently upgraded all my laptops to a faster drive. A “bare drive” is just the hard drive itself. You really shouldn't have much trouble replacing the drive yourself.
The 7200 is a faster drive. It should work, assuming it meets the drive-type specifications for your computer.
Bare means it does not come with the encasement kit (connectors/wiring). If you are replacing an existing drive, that drive already has the encasement kit holding it in. If this is an additional drive, you will need to purchase an encasing kit, if you do not have one.
IIRC, I recommended you do a search on Youtube. Youtube has many installion videos. They give some good info and demonstrations.
You should be fine. Just follow the steps to remove the hard drive, swap the aluminum ‘cradle’ to the new one, and slide it into place. You’ll need to boot from the CD drive with the rescue disk. It should guide you from there.
The right specs to worry about are the size of the drive. Typically, laptop hard drives are 2.5 inches, though there are some that are 1.8 inches. Desktops are 3.5 inches, typically.
The RPM (5400 vs. 7200) are a measure of how fast your hard drive’s disk (which contains the memory) rotates; faster is better.
You first turn the machine off, unplug it completely, and then remove one or two screws (I don’t have an Asus) on the door that holds the hard drive.
Then there might be a cradle (metal) that fits onto the hard drive and mates it to the door (plastic). These are the parts that are integral. A “bare” hard drive probably lacks these parts. But you already have them.
It is important also to find out if your machine is a “PATA”
or “SATA” drive. The first has parallel rows of pins that mate up with the computer’s internals. The second has serial (or just a few metal tabs in a row) that connect. The SATA is newer and faster. Be sure you get the right one.
Also make sure that when you insert the new drive, you line up the attachment points of the drive to the internal mating surfaces of the computer. Don’t force anything, it should slide in and fit with a very soft pressure and everything lines up.
There are lots of drives available, especially for SATA, and you have many choices.
Good Luck.
If you have a newer laptop, then odds are it will use a SATA drive like the one you are looking at. If it is older than 4 yrs or so, it may have an IDE drive. (IDE and SATA refer to the interface/pin-out connection on the back of the drive). While you can easily convert IDE to SATA drives in a desktop environment, using an adapter, the limited space in a laptop means you must make sure you buy the right kind of drive. Easy way to tell - if there are more than 12 pins across the back of your current drive, it is IDE...
In re “bare drive”, that means you must have an operating system installation CD; when you power on after installing the new disk, the bootstrap loader will not find an operating system on the hard drive and will look in other places for an OS installation disk. You can control where it looks by changing your boot configuration, but odds are it will recognize the CD as an installation device and load from there.
Lastly, if it will be a Windows machine, then my suggestions are Windows 7 or Windows XP professional; try to avoid Windows ME, Windows 2000, and Vista, all of which had reliability/performance issues.
Good luck!
The specs are irrelevant when it comes to HDs, that just denotes performance. A 7200rpm will be faster than a 5400rpm. What you need to be concerned about is form factor and plug-in interface.
Form Factor:
Laptop—2.5” hard drive
Desktop (almost always)—3.5” hard drive
Interface:
Parallel ATA (PATA)—a bunch of pins on the HD that plug into a slot made for receiving those pins
Serial ATA (SATA)—usually just a small, flat, red cable that easily plugs in, no pins to bend like PATA
Google image searches for the pics of the interfaces if you’re unclear as to what you’re looking for.
Should take all of 5 minutes. Just don’t bend anything by shoving it in cock-eyed.
Easy, don’t worry and it’s a great learning experience.
Of course you want to use the same dimensions - almost certainly your notebook has a 2.5 inch drive - replace it with another 2.5 inch drive.
What you want to check is the connector style. Does it have a bunch of pins in two rows sticking out of the end of the hard drive? That’s EIDA (also called ATA) which is an older configuration.
You’ll need to replace an ATA (no letter S at the front) with another ATA.
If the drive does not have a number of pins, but rather a longer narrow flat male connector at the end with a number of conductive contacts that’s SATA.
That’s newer. Replace ATA with ATA, replace SATA with SATA. Pretty much that easy.
Other posters may have more cautionary tales, but I found the process remarkably easy. Plug and play really.
Sorry typo, make that EIDE.
I think you posted to the wrong guy. I’ve been building my own computers for years.
And, you’re right, it’s VERY easy. BTW, it’s EIDE, not EIDA.
Oops. At least I posted on the correct thread for once. :)
If you want to clone your old system to the new drive then you’ll need a USB hard drive adapteer of some sort. After that, use the CD that comes with it or go to the website for the maker of your new HD and download the free cloning software. After that, boot to the cloning software on a CD or USB flash drive and clone away. Not only will your new drive be a clone of the old one, you’ll have a backup to boot.
My old HD was SATA 2.5 500GB 8MB 5400 rpm (laptop is Asus K60I-RBBBR05, Windows 7)
“In re “bare drive”, that means you must have an operating system installation CD; when you power on after installing the new disk, the bootstrap loader will not find an operating system on the hard drive and will look in other places for an OS installation disk. You can control where it looks by changing your boot configuration, but odds are it will recognize the CD as an installation device and load from there.”
The laptop did not come with an installation CD. I do have 3 Recovery DVDs I burned ans which I successfully used once before/
can one get a new hard drive with the OS already installed??
I`ve come close to building a computer,but installing
the motherboard always scared me
Replaced the HD on a Mac Mini...it uses a laptop HD
Took about 30 minutes...I went slow and careful
Newegg is the place to shop imho...great people
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