Korean Job Discussion Forums

[DCJames]

My 4 year old HP laptop hard drive is clicking and making strange noises.

It's dead.

Should I spend the money to get it replaced or is this a good time to get a new laptop??

I've already replaced the battery and upgraded the memory on it.

[bassexpander]

What are the specs of the machine?

You can get a new laptop hard drive for what? 80,000?

Then turn around and sell the thing for probably 250,000 (depending on what's in it).

I'd say yes.

[flummuxt]

"Get it replaced"?

Can't you replace it yourself?

The first thing to do is see where your hard drive is located. You can do an internet search for info if you can't figure it out.

If it is under a single panel on the back with four screws, then you can get at it yourself with just a screwdriver.

But some machines require major surgery, like old Toshibas.

If you can take off a single panel, you just slide the old hard drive out and slide a new one in.

Then you need to install Windows and your programs. Not as big a deal as it sounds if you have the install disks.

Keep in mind you need to get the right type of hard drive. 2.5 inch, obviously. But also an ATA, I believe, rather than the new SATA. Or is it EIDE?

If this is your original hard drive, you may be lucky to have kept it four years. Some manufacturers put junky hard drives in their computers. HP is not one of the finest, in my opinion.

If you get a new hard drive from a quality manufacturer, such as Seagate, Toshiba or Hitachi, with good specs, you will probably find your laptop performing better than new, provided you get a faster RPM and more cache. And it will probably last longer than the original. And of course you will have much more storage.

Now consider what a new laptop costs in Korea. Add the cost of English Windows. Consider that you might have to go with Vista.

If you have been taking care of your laptop, you will be far better off replacing the hard drive.

Also, apart from the new duo core CPUs designed for Vista, there has been relatively little improvement in CPU speed in laptops over the past five years. They are stuck at about 1,500 ghz or so, unless you get an executive laptop for $2,000 or more.

The nice thing about laptops, in my opinion, vs. desktops, is you can always find a use for an extra laptop, even an old one. Heck, you can use it as a DVD and CD player, especially when hooked to some nice speakers.

Just do your homework on the new hard drive. Check the reviews for reliability.

And for the rest of you readers, don't wait for your hard drive to die. You are generally better off replacing a laptop hard drive after two or three years. By then you will be able to get a larger, faster drive at a reasonable price. And it may be more reliable than the original. Then stick your old drive in an external case. If you want, you can leave Windows on it, and have it as a standby in case of problems, while also using it to store data.

[rocklee]

[flummuxt]

Well, yes, there is no point in replacing a good hard drive if you are just going to put in a cheap one.

rocklee is right. Do not buy a Western Digital hard drive. I have had two go out fairly quickly.

[rocklee]

WD and Maxtor are 2 different companies, and yes I've had problems with 3.5" WDs as well.

[flummuxt]

Whoops.

I'm tired. My mistake.

Actually, I haven't had a problem with Maxtor. But companies change over time. So you need to read the reviews to size up a company, as well as to check out as best you can a specific drive.

[rocklee]

Maxtor was bought over by Seagate, but you're right reputations change over time. I don't remember what brand my current hard drive is but I think its a fujitsu that I got from Japan.

[flummuxt]

I have a Seagate in my old laptop that I put in as the replacement. Has always worked smooth as silk.

We should keep in mind that it is truly amazing how long modern hard drives last, especially given what we put them through in laptops. If not the bumping around and odd angles, the heat that builds up in some laptops can't be good for the drives. The drives themselves generate a lot of heat when in heavy use, and the CPU gets hot, too.

So, any brand can have a drive failure, and not necessarily be a reflection on the manufacturer. There may be other factors. No one bats 100 percent all the time.

And even some cheaper brands can make a hard drive that lasts forever.

So you need to be prepared for the possibility of failure.

But look at the reviews to get a broader view.

For example, some Hitachi drives (which bought IBM's drive business, if you can believe that bonehead move by IBM) are very reliable, and some are surprisingly unreliable. That seems to be because Hitachi likes to push the envelope on capacity and speed. Getting a drive that's not cutting edge specs seems to be safer. I have a 120gig Hitachi drive in my new laptop, and I feel comfortable with it.

[rocklee]

Take a guess why my first hard drive is still working.

Its a 4200rpm 30GB drive.

[DCJames]

[flummuxt]

DCJames wrote:

[rocklee]

Its so easy to be misunderstood on the net.

The reason why my first HD is still working is because its running at a safe 4200rpm which means that it doesn't generate as much heat as other failed drives, and because it was "slow" i replaced it twice so didn't use it as much.

My answer was actually the second line in my last post

[flummuxt]

Take care of your laptop, and your laptop will take care of you.

[DCJames]

Went to Yongsan and got a Seagate 80GB hard drive replacement for 50,000 won.

Reinstalled XP and computer is working fine now.