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
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.
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.