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07/18/2008 12:53:38 PM · #1 |
So I've built many desktop computers from scratch before, but I've never really monkeyed with a laptop. I have an Inspiron 9300 that has an 80GB HD. This is pretty cramped and I wondered how easy/hard it is to replace a hard drive on a laptop.
Opinions?
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07/18/2008 01:09:12 PM · #2 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
So I've built many desktop computers from scratch before, but I've never really monkeyed with a laptop. I have an Inspiron 9300 that has an 80GB HD. This is pretty cramped and I wondered how easy/hard it is to replace a hard drive on a laptop.
Opinions? |
Unfortunately, the answer to this depends entirely on the laptop.
Some are a bear to get at, others have a nice little cover on the bottom you remove. If I remember correctly, my Inspiron 8100 (Old, I know) had a screw on the side which held a drawer in place. Unscrew that, pull out the drawer and the drive is right there.
The big key is that the new HD must be the same interface as the old one. As well as the same physical size. I'd google it and see what pops up...
Edit to add: Looks pretty easy -- Instructions here
Message edited by author 2008-07-18 13:11:01. |
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07/18/2008 01:58:51 PM · #3 |
Thanks. That's helpful. I assume when I replace a HD the computer ceases to become "Dell" in the sense of any tweaks or mirror partitions or such. I also wonder if my chipset can utilize a SATA 3.0 drive.
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07/18/2008 02:54:34 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Thanks. That's helpful. I assume when I replace a HD the computer ceases to become "Dell" in the sense of any tweaks or mirror partitions or such. I also wonder if my chipset can utilize a SATA 3.0 drive. |
You're right, replace the hard drive and then all dell software is gone which may or may not be a good thing. If your lappy isn't a SATA 3.0 right now, then I would doubt it'll be able to handle it with an upgraded drive. I would, however, try to find one that is a 7200rpm drive.
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07/18/2008 03:02:14 PM · #5 |
I replaced the drive in a Dell 600m (Purchased Dec 2004) a few years back and found it quite easy. There are 2 things to replacing a hard drive:
1) Replacing the physical drive. This is generally pretty easy, but it depends on the exact laptop. I looked up the 9300 in Dell's site and there are 2 screws to remove and then the drive "drawer" slides out. IIRC, there are then screws holding the drive attached to the drawer which have to removed and the drive should be free. You would then reverse the process to put the new one in. You can see some of this illustrated in the Service Manual. Based on searching for upgrades for this model at Dell, the interface is ATA-100/ATA-6 and any ATA-100/ATA-6 2.5" ("laptop size") drive should work. (Newegg currently has a 250GB for $110. Makes me think of upgrading my current 120.)
2) The second thing is copying everything over. When I did this, I used Acronis True Image (the free trial version worked, though I now use it for my backups as well), though Norton Ghost should be able to work as well. This allows you to clone/image the current drive onto the new one, including the boot sector and any special partitions. It also allows you to adjust the sizes of various partitions, etc. (When I did this, I had 2 Windows partitions, the Dell recovery partition, and a Linux partition.) The easiest way to do this is to also buy an inexpensive 2.5" drive USB case (should be ~$20), mount the new drive in that, connect it to the laptop, and then do the cloning. (Could take a while.) Then, remove the new drive from the case, install into the laptop, and all should work as it did before. The advantage of doing this is avoiding having to recover (or reinstall the OS), reinstall all your software, redo all your setting customizations, and then copy your data.
Good luck,
Paul |
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07/18/2008 03:05:00 PM · #6 |
I meant to mention that, for me at least, the cloning/ghosting makes it much easier. I ended up having to do a OS reinstall after completely hosing the boot sectors on my current laptop while installing Linux. (Actually, it was when I did the partitioning.) Even my backup wouldn't restore it. (I was able to get my data from the backup however, so nothing was lost besides my time.)
Paul |
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07/18/2008 03:12:16 PM · #7 |
Do yourself a favor and...
wait for it...
wait...
just a bit longer...
get a Mac.
Sorry, had to.
Message edited by author 2008-07-18 15:12:36. |
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07/18/2008 03:26:17 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Do yourself a favor and...
wait for it...
wait...
just a bit longer...
get a Mac.
Sorry, had to. |
They need hard drive upgrades too. I've done it many times. On the Mac book it's about a ten minute operation, it you're slow.
If anyone is interested, to clone the drive on a Mac, look into Carbon Copy Cloner. Awesome utility and it's free.
//www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
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