question about laptop hard drive

[dan.76]

hi ihave dell inspiron 5160 laptop in which the hard drive has crapped out and need a replacement .

this is the one that is in it

http://www.hitachigst.com/portal/sit...a8644eac4f0a0/


can i just get any 2.5in ata hard drive or do i have to replace it with the same.

if anyone could give me a link to a suitable, cheap one it would be great , only needs to be 20 or 30 gb . it is my wifes work laptop and she needs it in 2 weeks .

cheers dan

[plext]

Any brand 2.5 would be fine, so long as it's IDE.

I would personally say, anything but one of those damned Hitachis, I've had a lot of them break on me.

As for replacement, I usually use these guys.

[robjh80]

Originally Posted by plext

Any brand 2.5 would be fine, so long as it's IDE.

I would personally say, anything but one of those damned Hitachis, I've had a lot of them break on me.

As for replacement, I usually use these guys.

Ditto........."what he said"

Any 2.5" IDE drive is fine, doesn't have to be another Hitachi.

[Quasi]

Keep in mind that the spin speed of your faulty drive is 4200RPM.

Although another ATA/IDE drive can be fitted there will likely be a temptation to go to a higher RPM, and the faster the drive the more heat is generated. In a laptop environment this could be a non-issue, or a real inconvenience, depending on the design of the laptop itself, and how efficiently its cooling system operates.

For the purpose you stated my advice would be to stick with the 4200 RPM drives, as there will likely be no noticable improvement by stepping it up.

Also, it is getting harder to find the smaller capacity drives for laptop and desktop use. 40Gb is about as small as you can get at AusPCMarket, so I would be certain that the BIOS on your laptop will read a drive larger than 30 Gb, if that is all you have at the moment.

[sgt_doofey]

Originally Posted by Quasi

KAlso, it is getting harder to find the smaller capacity drives for laptop and desktop use. 40Gb is about as small as you can get

40Gb is the smallest I can get through my wholesaler. All drives are 5400 rpm as well, can't get 4200 rpm anymore.

[jonk]

I upgrade laptops for a living. It would be far better to go for a 7200 rpm drive, the cheapest would be any 80 GB drive. The newer one's use the same power as 5400 rpm drives. You will notice a really large increase in speed btw.

Just don't go back to 4200 rpm speed drive - waste of money.

[charles_wif_xf]

Originally Posted by jonk

I upgrade laptops for a living. It would be far better to go for a 7200 rpm drive, the cheapest would be any 80 GB drive. The newer one's use the same power as 5400 rpm drives. You will notice a really large increase in speed btw.

Just don't go back to 4200 rpm speed drive - waste of money.

What he said!

[KaptnKaos]

Wifey is a puter tech and we get everything from these guys.

Beyond that I'm just a short fat dinosaur who was dumb enough to buy an over-priced EA. :

[GTpilot]

Wifey is a puter tech and we get everything from these guys.

I'll second that,. You wont find cheaper than MSY.

Also go the 7200 RPM. or 5400 with perpendicular technology. You WILL notice the diff. Seagate would be my recommendation.

[davocol]

MSY are great unless something goes wrong and you want to a) return it b) talk to them about it, there service is the worst in the business but you get what you pay for.

Originally Posted by jgb

I'll second that,. You wont find cheaper than MSY.

Also go the 7200 RPM. or 5400 with perpendicular technology. You WILL notice the diff. Seagate would be my recommendation.

[dan.76]

thanks for all the info everyone , i have one on order.

will i have to do anything special to validate windows?


cheers dan

[GTpilot]

MSY are great unless something goes wrong and you want to a) return it b) talk to them about it, there service is the worst in the business but you get what you pay for.

Really?? I must say I have never had a problem with anything I've got from them so I would not know. As a network engineer I know what I want. I just go and get it there for price.

Dan if you are reloading on the same machine you sholud have no validation probs. If you do when you activate it, Just call microsoft and tell them the story, She'll be right!!