Advice for a Novice Replacing Laptop Hard Drive? 100
frugalRepairs asks: "The hard disk in my Sharp PC-MV12W laptop recently died. It gave me warning and I had everything backed up. It was out of warranty and the repair folks want an arm and a leg to fix it. I would like to replace the hard drive myself but I've never done anything like this before. It seems to me that I would just extract the old hard drive, note the physical measurements, purchase new hard drive, and install it. However, I'm expecting Mr. Murphy to visit me as soon as I open the case and would like some advice from Slashdot experts. Do I need special tools? Does the BIOS have special needs? Are all 2.5" laptop drives created equal?"
Uh? (Score:5, Interesting)
2. Verify that it's a 2.5" IDE drive
3. Go to shop, buy new 2.5" drive
4. Go back home, remove dead disk from computer
5. Plug new drive when the old one was
6. Close computer cover
7. Install OS
Honestly, there's nothing special to it. But there are two issues that you'll probably find:
a) Laptops are very crowded inside their covers. Write down where everything belongs as you take it apart. Take photos if possible, to make sure that you put it together in the same way later.
b) Laptop manufacturers don't like users messing with the hardware. Your laptop most likely has a cover underneath that you can remove by unscrewing a standard screw, and the hard disk is most likely inside it (that's the case with my Compaq Presario). However, it might happen that you have to use some special hexagonal key to reach the hard disk, as is the case on my wife's Sony laptop.
Re:Uh? (Score:4, Informative)
Worse. Some manufacturers (Toshiba, for example...) like to use a variety of different screws. Somebody a day or two ago mentioned using an ice cube tray to store various sized screws from his iBook. Thought I'd pass that advice along.
Ah, while I'm on the topic, I hope your laptop has an optical drive. (Yeah yeah, I didn't RTFA) I'm really happy with my Tablet PC, but I'm spooked at the concept of reinstalling the OS on it.
Re:Uh? (Score:2)
OTOH, Are there any "PXE boot" options in the BIOS, you may be able to bootstrap a *nix install on there.
Re:Uh? (Score:1)
Beats me why they don't just call them screw boxes.
Keeping the screw straight (Score:4, Informative)
Take two sheets of paper, label one FRONT and the other BACK.
With the notebook upside down, as you take a screw out, place on the BACK piece of paper in the same relative position it came from on the bottom of the notebook. If you have to flip it and pull screws from the top side, use the other sheet of paper.
Once you're ready to re-assemble, reverse.....
Simple, worls like a charm.....
Re:Keeping the screw straight (Score:2)
Re:Uh? (Score:3, Informative)
How true. I'm currently replacing my Compaq's motherboard, because the AC adapter's power plug (being at a right angle) loosened the power connector from the board. And laptop motherboards are disgustingly expensive. I spent $300 on one, and it was on sale (
Re:Uh? (Score:3, Interesting)
Did you try just buying a new power connector and soldering it where the old one was?
Sure, SMT is fiddly, but if it saves you $290 (give about $10 for the connector, to be generous), it's worth the hassle.
Re:Uh? (Score:2)
Re:Uh? (Score:1)
I had a similar problem with a Compaq machine and replaced the power connector with one that was threaded and could be bolted to the case. The problem wasn't the original power connector being bad as it was the solder connections were the only thing securing it to the machine. Given that the users of the machine weren't particularly gentle when plugging the power connector, it didn't take long for the connections to become loose.
Re:Uh? (Score:2)
Good point. I made the assumption that the connector was probably at or near structural failure as well as just coming loose.
Re:Uh? (Score:3, Informative)
This problem is rather common with Compaq laptops; and having read what people say about it, which is that sometimes soldering works, and sometimes it doesn't, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a new mobo and a replacement AC adapter from a third-party (yes, 100% compatable) that has a straight plug instead of an angled one.
And then, once I know it wo
Re:Uh? (Score:2)
Yikes, which model of laptop do you have that fries PCMCIA cards? Do us a public service
Re:Uh? (Score:2)
This is the most they say about the problem: fixes cardbus issue [hp.com]. I put two and two together when the first card died, and I called D-Link about it, and they didn't have a clue until I told them the make of the laptop, and the tech talked to his boss, and I was granted an RMA.
After flashing the BIOS and getting a new card
Re:Uh? (Score:4, Informative)
Or in the case of my Dell laptop (and others I've seen), there is probably a tray that can slide out. On my Inspiron 5150, there are two screws under the Cardbus slot, and removing those allows one to remove the hard drive (the faceplate covering the cardbus is also attached to the hard drive mounting frame).
My friend's Dell Inspiron (forget what model) has two screws on a faceplate dedicated to the HD.
On Dell laptops, it is trivial to do anything. Go onto their website and you can get manuals to tell you how to strip them down to the chassis and build them back up again. Easy, if you're careful.
Just make sure to remember which screws go where. I massacred a UPS by getting two almost (but not quite) identical screws backwards. Not that it worked in the first place anyway.
--Dan
Sears sells Torx and Square drivers (Score:3, Informative)
Most laptops range from T-5 to T-8. If you don't already have a set - go to sears and pick up a set. They are handy to have around because the screws are often used on electronics because they have very good resistance to stripping out and can be tourqed down very accurately.
Some will with a square drive, but thats rare.
Re:Sears sells Torx and Square drivers (Score:1)
Re:Sears sells Torx and Square drivers (Score:1)
Re:Sears sells Torx and Square drivers (Score:1)
Re:Sears sells Torx and Square drivers (Score:2, Informative)
Robertson screws [mysteriesofcanada.com]
3a - buy the right spec drive (Score:3, Informative)
Depending on how much you care, have a look at the noise specs too.
Very simple (Score:5, Informative)
There are no bios issues to worry about. Plug in the drive and go.
Whether or not you need special toold depends on the manufacturer. I've only ever needed a philips screwdriver for my compaq aero, fujitsu lifebook, and dell inspiron.
Not ENTIRELY True with the BIOS Issues... (Score:2)
So in summary, this sort of BIOS issue won't keep a new HDD from working, but if you can't see all of it, you may need a BIOS update.
Good lu
Re:Not ENTIRELY True with the BIOS Issues... (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, as long as he uses a reasonably recent OS (windows or linux) he shouldn't have any problems. Most modern OSs speak directly to the HD controller, bypassing the BIOS, and are therefore only limited to what the OS can support.
Re:Not ENTIRELY True with the BIOS Issues... (Score:1)
Re:Not ENTIRELY True with the BIOS Issues... (Score:2)
For the uninitiated... (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Not ENTIRELY True with the BIOS Issues... (Score:2)
That's not all either! Some BIOSes will recognise larger drives as being larger, but may not directly be able to access all of them. The operating system will not normally access the drive via the BIOS, so it's not too much of a problem, but the boot loader may well still need BIOS support.
This is a problem that has been continually cropping up, with boundaries at 8GB, 32GB and 128GB, among others, for various reasons (I'll leave out the technical details).
To minimise problems, make sure that your boo
Re:Very simple (Score:4, Interesting)
Small electronics (Score:5, Informative)
As for the actual hard drive, the bios in all recent (since they went to ide) laptops is completely compatible. Unless you've got a strange laptop that did what compaq desktops used to, with bios-on-disk, but sharp's aren't like that afaik.
Last thing... all 2.5" drives are not the same. My portege has a 9mm thick drive, and the new portege's and thinkpad x's take like 7mm or something. the standard i believe is 12mm, so you'll likely need one of the (slightly) more expensive models. Get a new one, as anything used could be just as broken as what you're taking out, and believe me its not worth it to pull that thing apart twice!
If you kept track of everything (screws, cables, etc) and nothing's left over
Good luck, and make sure you aren't over-tired or hungry when you attempt it, it can be frustrating.
WHO's the Fool Now? (Score:5, Informative)
Use a muffin pan or cupcake pan to keep track of the parts. It is often hard to tell which screw is which so put them in different compartmants
Take notes.
Use a large work area set the parts down in a way that makes sense
Make sure you have time to do the job from start to finish. If you have to stop part way thought to go to work, you may forget something. Alternatively, someone may clean up your work area.
It may seem a little foolish at first but if you can't put it back together, WHO's the FOOL NOW?
Screws (Score:2)
While it may be a little bit more work then neccisarry, it is worthwhile, because it prevents you from getting in over your head. I'm sure everyone has had a time when they started taking out screws thinking they could remembe
Wow (Score:2, Interesting)
BUT, the
The hard part (Score:5, Informative)
First, try to search the web for a service manual which details how to get to the drive on your specific model. If you find clear instructions, that will be of great help.
For the drive thickness issue, as others have said, the recent thinner drives will work to replace older thicker drives, so you shouldn't have a problem.
If the notebook is old, the BIOS may not support the full capacity of your new drive. Not a big deal: you would just loose a few Gigabytes, but the drive will work perfectly with the lower capacity.
Re:The hard part (Score:1)
send them to me - my box is still running on 9Gb total due to lack of funds
Caution! (Score:1)
Re:Caution! (Score:1)
difficult? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:difficult? (Score:2)
Re:difficult? (Score:3, Interesting)
I have, however, seen VERY old Pentium-based IBM laptops where the drive was absolutely buried in the system. This is a stupid design and would be cause for me not to purchase a similar system.
When I read this Ask Slas
Re:difficult? (Score:2)
http://bhtooefr.freeshell.org/asdf.PNG [freeshell.org] is a quick job in MS Paint of a "standard" for a laptop with up to a 15" display. The motherboard takes the entire area not taken by drives or speakers. The hard drive/PCMCIA thing would work like my Dell Inspiron 1100 (don't buy one). The CD drive may require removal of the keyboard/mouse assembly, but that's simply popping the tabs and lifting it off.
I forgot to provide for upg
Re:difficult? (Score:2)
Plus, with computers - and laptops in specific - there are a variety of needs. Some people want a built-in CF reader. Some people want a super-slim laptop with no CDROM. Stuff like that.
I think it's the nature of the beast. Best you can do is look over the laptop before you buy it and take in to consideration
Re:difficult? (Score:2)
I can see why a super-slim laptop and expandability don't go hand in hand.
BTW, on fancy lines - it can be a feature of the case itself. Look at ATX cases. They're all generally compatible, even though some look completely different. There'd be room on the outside to do anything. They could go out of spec (if connectors were tall), and make a 3" thick laptop with a HUGE heatpipe setup.
Is this Slashdot? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Is this Slashdot? (Score:1)
You have backups? Whats the issue? (Score:1)
If linux, boot knoppix, mkfs.{fschoice}
copy backups to new fs.
If windows, boot dos disk,
fdisk, partition, etc
Copy backups into place.
If it's IDE, SCSI or standard, whats the issue?
Re:You have backups? Whats the issue? (Score:1, Insightful)
So he's new to this. You were once too. Give him a break.
Can't resist... (Score:5, Insightful)
History and other details.... (Score:3, Informative)
But if you want advice that goes beyond cute offtopic stuff like the above, you probably should check out the manufacturer's customer support site [toshiba.com].
Differences... (Score:5, Informative)
Here are some of the differences you might want to keep in mind:
Physical size, as other have noted, is the most critical difference. Your laptop probably requires a 12mm drive or smaller, but make sure before you buy one. Old 2.5" IDE drives could be as big as 18mm! New ones are usually 9.5mm or 9mm.
Speed varies between drives: 4200, 5400, and now 7200 RPM drives are available for laptops. 5400 and 7200 RPM drives usually have better transfer rates and seek times, but may consume more power...but might not in comparisons between all drives. Check the drive specs. Like desktop drives, cache size also varies. Most models have 2MB caches, but some have 8MB, and this can affect both read/write speed and power consumption. The larger cache probably won't affect the cost of the drive very much, but may speed up certain IO operations. I recommend the 8MB cache.
Power Consumption & Heat: Just as with desktop drives, 2.5" laptop drives can generate considerable heat. It's harder, however, to get rid of heat from cramped laptop interiors than from desktops, and laptops may, errmmmm, generate certain heat related issues that would be a problem with a desktop under only the most contrived and embarrassing circumstances...if you know what I mean.
Noise: Hard drives can be the chief source of noise in laptops. Old drives with mechanical bearings will often be distractingly loud. This can be a problem during meetings or when working in a otherwise quiet office. Fortunately many newer drives have fluid bearings and are very, very, quiet. Definitely look for a drive with fluid bearings.
Capacity: 2.5" hard drives come in a variety of capacities. I'm sure you're shocked to hear that! The largest laptop drives I'm aware of are 80GB. You can still find 10 and 20GB drives for sale new, but prices are rarely significantly lower than for 40GB drives. A pretty reasonable price on a 5400 RPM 40GB drive is probably in the vicinity of $80. A drive with twice that capacity will probably be a bit less than twice the cost, but you'll pay a noticeable premium for a 7200 RPM drive.
As for manufacturers, I'm fond of Hitachi (formerly IBM). I've purchased at least a half dozen IBM & Hitachi 40GB drives with fluid bearings, in both 4200 and 5400 RPM versions, and haven't been disappointed yet. They are marvelously quiet, reliable, fast, and efficient. On the other hand, I've been so happy with them that I haven't bothered to check out competition from other manufacturers so my opinion may be out of date. And like I said at the beginning of the post, you're likely not to go too far wrong with any drive as long as it physically fits, since most manufacturers offer devices with broadly similar capabilities.
Good luck. I don't think you'll have much trouble.
Re:Differences... (Score:1)
Re:Differences... (Score:1)
Actually, I have no idea what you mean. Seriously. I don't get it. Umm... What do you mean?
Moving data (Score:2)
This is basically just a cradle for holding a laptop drive, with a cable and a PCMCIA card [2] to turn the drive into an external drive. The idea is:
It's pretty
Re:Moving data (Score:2)
Simlarly, not affiliated with the company, but a happy customer.
I used this recently to upgrade drives for a couple laptops and found it to really make the process easier. Since it clones your drive you get everything, data, applications, registry, etc. Ba-da-bing, running with the new drive like nothing happened, and you have all your data on the old drive, too, just in case. When you feel you don't need that any more you can wipe it and use it as an external drive for backups
Re:Moving data (Score:2)
Re:Moving data (Score:2)
And no, Google hasn't helped with any answers
Use Google! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Use Google! (Score:2)
Do, do not. There is no try. (Score:5, Informative)
Since it seems to be a sub-note, I wouldn't be surprised to find its the second one, but you might be lucky.
Generally, take off any panel on it which is only held on by 1-4 screws and look for something that looks like a laptop hard drive. Look also for little plastic tabs to pull on to remove it if there are covers on the side. Also, philips screws are a good sign for finding the hard drive. Torx bits are engineer's way of saying "here be dragons".
Good luck.
Re:Do, do not. There is no try. (Score:1)
Re:Do, do not. There is no try. (Score:1, Interesting)
True enough. But the 15 inch was a piece 'o cake. Here's how I did it
Re:Do, do not. There is no try. (Score:1)
Re:Do, do not. There is no try. (Score:2)
My Dell Inspiron 1100 has this procedure:
1. Buy new drive
2. Back up old drive
3. Shut down
4. Remove two identical screws that appear to just hold in PCMCIA slot
5. Pull it out
6. Remove screws from drive
7. Pop out drive
8. Pop in new drive
9. Screw in new drive
10. Screw bay back in
11. Boot up
12. Restore to new drive
13. Reboot
I didn't ACTUALLY do this, but this is what it would take.
Now, as for my Toshiba Satellite Pro 405CS:
1. Buy new drive small enough that BIOS can recognize it
2. Back up old drive t
OS (Score:3, Interesting)
You may find that you are unable to Restore your OS back onto the new drive.
Only solutions to this are to put a new OS on it (Retail Windows, *nix, other
"Ghost" image the original drive to the new disk. (Score:2)
I've had a 100% success rate with Windows 2000
Re:"Ghost" image the original drive to the new dis (Score:1)
Or by a USB external enclosure - they're very good and give you a nice 10gigs you can carry in a pocket.
Re:OS (Score:1)
Additional question (Score:3, Interesting)
Here's a pic of the internals: http://www.josesandoval.com/images/D600Fix2.jpg [josesandoval.com]. The harddisk is in the lower left, the drive bay is in the middle right (the big grey cover).
Questions I have: what sort of strip (material?) should I use to conduct heat to the empty drive bay? Can it be really thin, like 1mm? And would any small cooler be enough? Or could I connect the heat conducting strip to the drive bay cover? (it's made of some sort of aluminium, AFAIK). The drive runs up to 55C. I'd prefer not to use a fan.
Re:Additional question (Score:2)
his Toshiba notebook, and found a simpler
solution: he bought a device that sits under
the laptop that has a fan or two in it. It
runs off USB and was, I think, like $10. As
well, it is only about a half inch thick.
Sorry I don't have any more info, but google
is our friend
Peace & Blessings,
bmac
If you fear Murphy ... (Score:3, Informative)
... just pay the repair folks. They (should) know what they do.
The other way: get a repair manual, lots of small tools, and a replacement drive that fits mechanically and electrically into the laptop. Fiddle with some of the tools and your laptop. Result: You have a heap of screws, wires, plastic parts, and strange matter you have never seen before, your laptop is now really broken, the new harddrive has not survived, and you have spent more money than the repair folks demanded. Add a large ammount of super glue to the heap,sell it as piece of modern art on ebay, buy a new laptop and make sure it is repaired by experts next time.
Tux2000
Power ... (Score:2)
Verify that the new drive consumes less power and emits less energy, because the other way round your battery life decreases
Caution (Score:3, Informative)
1. Get a grounding strap. I've done some whizz-bang electronics before, so I have quite a flash one (I got it from either http://rswww.com/ or http://www.farnell.com/ - I forget) but you can get cheap disposable ones. Some may say it's overkill, but better safe than sorry IMO. You're working in close proximity to your processor, RAM - all of which are easily fried. Plus, laptops are often not grounded. And no socks on the carpet.
2. DON'T USE FORCE. Or it will break. With anything. Not even screws. Take your time & be careful. Bits of case can be hard to remove, having lots of catches and things. Ease out the catches with flat-head screwdrivers or the like. Common sense prevails here.
3. Use the correct screwdriver. Preferably with a magnetic tip (not essential, but screws love to fall into hard-to-reach places). It's worth getting a set of jewellers screwdrivers. Don't use an electric one - it's too easy to strip the screw. I say that from bitter experience (yes, it was silly). Believe you me, it's a harrowing experience drilling out a screw from a laptop.
4. Have a container for all the screws. There may be differing types of screws, so have a couple ready. Try and remove the fewest possible when dis-assembling. It's best not to have bits of laptop falling all over the place when you don't want them to.
5. Take care with your connectors. I had a couple of craft (exacto) knives handy to help ease the IDE interface from the hard disk. You have to do it off gently - don't just pull (and don't cut anything).
6. Love your 'flexi's. There will be (probably brown coloured) 'flexi's. They join bits of circuit board together. These aren't designed to be bent much, so don't bend them much.
Other bits: I replaced mine with a Fujitsu MHT2040AT. While quiet and quite quick, my first one only lasted about 6-7 months. I don't know if I was just unlucky or what. I'm about to start testing the replacement =]
Good Luck!
how did this get here? (Score:1)
New or old laptop? (Score:2)
No bios update either.. Sort of sux.
Id check with the manufacturer what it supports before i go out and buy a new drive..
Re:New or old laptop? (Score:1)
Re:No offense meant, but. . . (Score:1)
765 . (Score:2)
Still quite useable as an average productivity machine......
A few hints (not sure how many apply to a Sharp) (Score:2)
a) Some laptops have the drive/memory right under the keyboard. Often there are a few little snaps/screws which keep the keyboard in place, and you can pull it up and whammo... 1-2 screws and your drive is liberated
b) Others (such as my current work machine, Acer 212T) have a safety screw, a little push-button, and voila, ejectable hard-drive bay. Dr
Interface voltages (Score:1)
Get off the Stage! (Score:1)
Be careful with the screws, have the right tools (Score:1)
The one thing that tripped me up was the screws. There are six screws holding the drive inside the carrier, all are held in with something like loctite (not exactly, but close), and all are philips.
Four of these tiny screws came out easily, but on all but one of the machines, exactly two of the screws would not come out, usually the head would get stripped and I ended up using needle-nose or side-cutters to get
Do yourself a favor... (Score:2, Informative)
But, look at Fry's or CompUSA or MicroCenter and actually TOUCH, pick up, turn around and turn over those laptops and ask the sales rep where the disk access slot is. If they don't know, shame on them. You can save yourself a lot of headaches by looking at some of the Dell Latitude CP models from between 1997-1999. They are an example of owner-oriented laptops
Yeah, and Here's another Question... (Score:2)
Re:Yeah, and Here's another Question... (Score:2)
Re:Yeah, and Here's another Question... (Score:2)
IBM has repair manuals on the web... (Score:2)
62p9631.pdf [ibm.com]
Other laptop makers make them available too.
PowerBook harddrive replacement (Score:1)