Slashdot Mirror
Advice for a Novice Replacing Laptop Hard Drive?
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?"
As with desktop hard drives, yes, there are subtle differences between laptop hard drives (LHD) but basically, yes, all laptop hard drives are the same. While desktop hard drives are 3.5", LHDs are 2.5". The only tricky part is thickness - some older drives are 12mm and newer ones are 9mm. You can't go wrong with a 9mm, so just get that kind.
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.
Knowledge is valuable. Ignorance is dangerous. Censorship is unacceptable. http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10
Have you ever opened up small electronics before? A CD player or the such? The best approach is to do an amazing job keeping track of which screws go where, because they're all likely different. Additionally, every piece you take off will likely have a very fragile ribbon cable with a very fragile connection, so just be careful. generally the ribbon cables pull out once a small catch is slid towards them.
;) then power up, and so long as everything works (including, and double check this one, the fan) you're golden.
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.
Usually, the hard part is opening the laptop to get to the drive. There are many screws, but not all need to be unscrewed. Many parts are simply clipped together. I have opened several noteboks, and usually found out only too late that it would have been much easier if I had known how to open it.
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.
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.
There are differences between drives, but as with desktop 3.5" hard drives, they're minor. You might not notice most of them. Plus, most of the drives sold these days have broadly similar specifications.
;-) Along with heat comes power consumption, which may a particularly important issue to laptop users since portables may often be running from battery -- on the other hand if you mostly use the computer plugged in on a desk, this might not matter to you. Spinning a metallic disk at X RPMs is a very serious draw on your battery. If you use the computer on your lap or running from battery try to compare manufacturer's power requirements.
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.
you COULD have some issues with your laptop not recognizing the entire drive.
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.
"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."
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.
"Derp de derp."
As other have pointed out, since you have a 40GB drive in there, pretty much any modern drive you buy will likely be ok as a replacement. The fun part then is actually replacing it. You'll either find it's easy, like most laptops from Acer, Toshiba, Dell. Or as hard as hell like anything from Apple (except the 15 inch TiBook).
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.
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).
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 (MSRP = $400).
One other tip: Putting the right screw in the right place is a good idea. I have bumps in the plastic frame of mine from screws too large.
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.
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
... 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
Denken hilft.
The "star" bits are really called Torx. And are sold by sizes from T-xx the larger the number, the smaller the bit.
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.
Use a digital Camera to take pictures as you go along. That way you will have a guide to putting it back together.
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?
I've just done this myself. Here are the things I did (& would recommend doing)
;)
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!
Assess how much this laptop is worth. You can find several surplus computer stores selling 500 MHz laptops for $375, but they'll only have 6GB disks.
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. I used to service them when I was in the IT department of a former employer, and I used them, when I transferred to Customer Support and again in Manufacturing. It was nice, because I was able to use NT 4.0 for regular work, Win98 for Half Life after work, and for SuSE (now SUSE) as a demonstrator.
In Sept 2001, I made a big mistake buying my Sony Vaio PCG-FX-215 as the disk is removed like this (turning it off, after disconnecting the AC, and after removing the battery and pressing the power button to discharge any AC on board, and AFTER grounding myself (well, usually...)):
1. Remove left-side horizontal screw which holds down the speaker/power panel atop of the laptop; slide plate to right and tilt up;
2. Disconnect the audio feed from the panel, setting panel aside, and let rooted end dangle over laptop; alternatively, leave connected and just tilt the speaker assy/lid up;
3. Remove the single vertical keyboard assembly retaining screw;
4. Use both first fingers' or pinkie fingers' nails to manipulate the keyboard data strip/cable and lift the retaining clip (it doesn't come off, but only slides up or locks down);
5. Use right middle finger to gently rock then lift up assy and disconnect data feed;
4. Remove 4 vertical screws holding the HDD cage inside the chassis;
5. Remove the HDD data bus connector... CAREFULLY! (repetition can destroy the film-thin data lines, and replacements may not be available directly to consumers!)
6. Holding assembly in-hand, remove 4 horizontal screws holding the HDD inside the disk cage, ensuring to have firm grip on cage so as to not let the disk fall out. (Alternatively, swap steps 5 & 6 to keep disk from falling, but this increases risk of ruining the flat, film data cable)
7. Swap the disks
8. Reassemble backward from steps 6 back to 1
-----------
I recommend air-blowing the CPU cooling fan regularly, especially if your box is not using power managment and your fan runs full-tilt when the laptop os energized. This fan will collect "ghost turds" (dust balls or dust layers if it is not spinning full-tilt) and eventually you'll have to open up the laptop to clean the blades with a Q-tip just to keep the weight and resistance to a minimum. BE CAREFUL: That CPU Cooling Fan Heat Sink May Be HOTTTTT!!
With this model, or any that Sony' uses this one for, removing the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM ENCLOSURE is a pain, but not as much as with the HDD. In this case, I assume you found a Toshiba using the same manufacturer as the DVD or CD-ROM, but which Toshiba conveniently (for themselves) wraps inside a weight-adding shroud. Fortunately, for me, the shroud and the DVD & CD-ROM have the same connector commonality/parts. This is despite the Toshiba enclosure having proprietary connectors and such. I just removed the burner and the CD-ROM from their enclosures and swapped them. Then, I used a Dremel to burnish down the grey Toshiba trim piece that serves as the door.
BE VERY SURE to not push or mess up an DIP switches, since there tends to not be any description labels. You could very well wipe your BIOS, alter the BIOS/DISK communication, or alter power-related (global reasons?) settings, or you could simply disable features you have and are supposed to be using.
DON'T remove any grounding wires. You could kill your laptop, or cause problems for yourself (electrocution, if plugged to an AC outlet?)
AND, Look at the Linux Hardware lists... There are se
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Well, I had a buddy resolder the part back into place. That lasted maybe a week, during which time I could hear crackling and smell burning from the site.
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 works, I'm going to upgrade the proc. to a 2400+ 35W Barton core Athlon XP and install a mini-PCI wireless card, because even after they said they fixed it, the model of my laptop has a tendency to fry PCMCIA cards.
When it's all done, I'll have ended up spending about 3/4 of what I paid for the thing in the first place. It seems like a lot, but I expect to keep this machine for a while, and I don't expect it to break further.
Don't make it any harder than you have to...
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.....
If you can't get, or don't want the new drive to be identical to the old, make sure that the new drive you get is within the heat specs of the laptop. Laptop drives are slow for two reasons - fast drives run hotter, and fast drives consume more power.
Depending on how much you care, have a look at the noise specs too.