hard drive laptop needs a new hard drive

[FastEddie57]

My laptop needs a new hard drive. How do I know what type i need? The laptop is an HP model number is G60-519WM. Thanks

Eddie

[greenknight]

How do you know you need a new drive? Are you sure it's not a connector problem? What are the symptoms?

Having said that - it uses a standard 2.5" laptop HD, and as a parts site I visited states: "If you can correctly identify your connection interface and the size profile of your hard drive, ANY hard drive meeting these specifications should be an acceptable compatible replacement for your current hard drive."

In other words, determine if it's SATA or IDE (IDE has the wide, ribbon cable - which you knew already - but I'm sure it's SATA.. Look anyway.) Then there's the question of size - the HP site says it comes with a 250 GB HDD standard. The maximum size is determined by the maximum the BIOS can read. I don't what that is, if you have a manual it should say.

You could also put a SSD in it. More expensive, but they're faster, use less power, don't break if you drop them, and they're silent. If one fails, though, the data is gone - no hope of recovering it, so backups are essential.

[FastEddie57]

How do you know you need a new drive? Are you sure it's not a connector problem? What are the symptoms?

Having said that - it uses a standard 2.5" laptop HD, and as a parts site I visited states: "If you can correctly identify your connection interface and the size profile of your hard drive, ANY hard drive meeting these specifications should be an acceptable compatible replacement for your current hard drive."

In other words, determine if it's SATA or IDE (IDE has the wide, ribbon cable - which you knew already - but I'm sure it's SATA.. Look anyway.) Then there's the question of size - the HP site says it comes with a 250 GB HDD standard. The maximum size is determined by the maximum the BIOS can read. I don't what that is, if you have a manual it should say.

You could also put a SSD in it. More expensive, but they're faster, use less power, don't break if you drop them, and they're silent. If one fails, though, the data is gone - no hope of recovering it, so backups are essential.

I ran the seatools test (DOS version) and it fails all tests.

I contacted HP and they wanted to sell me the following for $90 plus shipping: 250GB SATA hard disk drive - 7,200 RPM, 2.5-inch form factor, 9.5MM thick.

I think that's a bit high in my opinion. Will any SATA 2.5 work? What about SATA II or SATA III? are those compatible with my system? How can I determine if they are?

I also thought it was supposed to have a 250GB HD but when i opened it up it had a 100GB HDD. I bought it from my coworker and she bought it at Walmart last year and swears she's never replaced it. Pretty good machine overall. Has Windows 7 and 3GB Ram. Thanks

[greenknight]

Any SATA drive is compatible. If you have a SATA 1 interface, it will run at SATA 1 speed (1.5 Gb/s) even if you put a SATA 2 (3.0 Gb/s) or SATA 3 (6.0 Gb/s) drive in there. So don't spend extra for SATA 3.

If you shop around, you can beat that price, even for a 7200 RPM drive (that's a fast drive). Not many SATA 1 drives available these days, you'll find more selection of SATA 2. Like this one, for $65.00 : http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136279

You might be able to do even better if you shop around a while, but that's pretty good.

[FastEddie57]

Thank GK! Are refurbished drives worth buying?

[greenknight]

I wouldn't. Might be just fine, or it might not. The amount you save isn't worth the gamble - refurbs aren't that much cheaper than new ones, especially if you get them on sale. Sales happen frequently.

[FastEddie57]

I wouldn't. Might be just fine, or it might not. The amount you save isn't worth the gamble - refurbs aren't that much cheaper than new ones, especially if you get them on sale. Sales happen frequently.

Thanks again!

[FastEddie57]

I just bought a new hard drive on ebay. 7200 rpm. I got it for $40 with free shipping. Thanks.

[greenknight]

You're welcome. Lots of good deals out there if you just shop around. :thumbup: