Replacing a laptop hard drive

Klorgnum

So the 75 GB hard drive in my laptop is getting a bit limiting for me. I can't afford a new computer for some time, but a new hard drive would be right in my price range. Can I just pop in any SATA laptop drive, or are there special considerations I need to make? It's a Dell Inspiron 6400.

Also, does Windows XP have any utilities for cloning the hard drive so I don't have to reinstall everything on the new one?

Thanks

Tamin

Klorgnum wrote: »

So the 75 GB hard drive in my laptop is getting a bit limiting for me. I can't afford a new computer for some time, but a new hard drive would be right in my price range. Can I just pop in any SATA laptop drive, or are there special considerations I need to make? It's a Dell Inspiron 6400.

Also, does Windows XP have any utilities for cloning the hard drive so I don't have to reinstall everything on the new one?

Thanks

I used HDClone the last time this happened. Worked fine, though there was some glitch regarding a registry entry.

For the rest, nothing special that I can think of.

Klorgnum

Awesome, thanks!

Mugsley

I bought a retail version of Acronis True Image. It was relatively cheap ($30 or less at the time, iirc) and worked like a charm. If HDClone works, use it.

Overall, as long as it's the correct form factor, you'll be fine.

While you're in there, you may want to look into also increasing the RAM a little. It's relatively cheap these days.

Fofamit

Yeah you should just be able to just pop in a new one. You can find 500GB ones for a good price nowa days. I agree with Mugsley, I would also recommend upgrading the ram, makes a world of difference.

Personally rather than cloning, I'd say start fresh. Just do a fresh install and save your old drive and convert it into a USB drive with an enclosure.

Dark Shroud

Make sure you get a Western Digital Scropio Black drive. They're very fast & stable, the only drives faster are SSDs. If you want to get SSD wait a few months for Intel's refresh to be released.