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!
For real speed, get a solid state drive. The difference in speed is astonishing.
Yes, be sure to refrain from drinking while installing a small H/D.....
Never say never, but this isn't done frequently. You'd probably have to arrange with a tech-head or custom computer shop to have one created.
The problem is, the drivers for the motherboard and other hardware are all integrated into the O/S when it's installed. Unless the O/S installed on the hard drive you that purchase was created in a machine that matches yours, there could be driver conflicts and things that don't work right.
It's similar to taking the hard drive from my computer and expecting it to boot correctly in yours. Almost always, lots of tweaking is required, and sometimes it simply can't be done at all.
Faster drives often generate more heat. How important this is depends on your laptop. If you regularly heard the fans in yours crank up to full speed (the loud speed), then potential additional heat from a faster drive might not be such a good idea. If you only hear the high speed when it boots up (during the POST), then your laptop may have sufficient cooling capacity for the additional loads. This varies from laptop to laptop, and from drive to drive.
Also, reading reviewss on NewEgg doesn't give me warm fuzzies about that driver for a boot device in a laptop. Others may have different opionions.
From the reviews, and the warranty, I think that the Western Digital Scorpio Black wd5000bpkt 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive might be a better choice for a boot drive.
Nah, the motherboard’s easy. Just make sure you put the brass risers down in the proper slots BEFORE you screw in the motherboard. I had a friend who, on his first attempt, screwed his motherboard directly onto the case. Yeah, he was buying a new motherboard after that...
That’ll be my next computer’s OS/app drive. I can’t wait to see it in action!
Most likely, yes, but it depends a little on your laptop. See Post 25 for discussion of potential thermal issues. I haven't searched for the spec sheets, but power consumption (watts or amps) is also an indicator of heat that will be generated. More power consumed usually means more heat from the drive.
Keltik wrote:
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?
Nope. Looking at the page about your laptop, you'll just remove the old drive/carrier assembly, remove the drive from the carrier, install the new drive in the carrier and reinstall.
Keltik wrote:
2. It's "bare drive" -- what does that mean? Will I need any extra cables or anything?
You should be fine. If in doubt, use a digital camera to take lots of pictures as you take it apart. You'll have those to refer back to if you need them. From the website you found, this doesn't look too difficult, as laptop surgery goes.
Keltik wrote:
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?
Could you post the model of the hard drive you’re looking at?
It used to be that the only real issue in fitting drives in laptops was the height. A few of the biggest capacity laptop hard drives were a nonstandard height that would only fit in a minority of laptops.
But lately they have some 2.5” laptop drives that are designed for servers, not laptops, and a few of these won’t work well in laptops either.
Strangely enough 7200 rpm drives aren’t necessarily faster than 5400 drives. That’s because the density of the drive affects speed just as much as rpm. So some newer gen 5400 drives that fit more on a single platter are just as fast as older 7200 ones.
If you want to install a new boot HDD and have it be a clone of the old drive (OS, installed programs and data) I recommend "DriveImage XML".
Clone your existing boot drive to a plug-in USB drive with DriveImage before opening the case, install the new blank HDD, then restore your system from the clone on the plug-in drive.
The drives do not have to be the same size, as long as there is enough room on the new drive for the install.
Has worked great for me on three PC builds, and since it's free for personal use I'm fine with plugging it here in this post.
If you're looking for a Windows operating system, probably Ebay is your best bet (usually XP can be found for around $30.00).
As I wrote I didn’t get a CD with the laptop. Can I use the Recovery DVDs I burned to put an OS on the new HD?
That should work.
One thing - replacing a 5400 rpm drive with a 7200 in a lappy may cost you some battery time as well as give you increased heat. I've found it to be worth it. Next purchase, though, I'd recommend you consider a solid-state drive. They're coming down in price and they're a godsend to laptops.
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