Even a Novice Should be Able to Replace or Upgrade a Hard Drive in a Laptop or Notebook
It is simple to upgrade or replace a defective hard drive in many laptops so long as a few simple preparations are made at the outset, and the exact size and type of laptop harddrive is utilized. When a brand new hard disk drive is installed then the previous data, Windows and drivers won’t be accessible so preparations for the update needs to be made prior to starting this process.
Ahead of purchasing a brand new hard drive, identify and take out the old hard drive from your laptop. This in itself might be difficult; nearly all brands of laptop present an examination panel to gain access to the hard disk drive, however some producers place it inside the core in the laptop. The best way to replace the hard disk in this situation is to completely take away the rear cover from your laptop; this is usually a daunting task for an amateur. Once having taken out the hard disk drive make sure you make a note of its size and type. A good number of laptops include 2.5″ harddisks; nevertheless, several have 3.5″ and 1.75″ devices. Some older laptops contain IDE type hard disk drives; current day laptops have SATA harddisks. The make of a hard disk isn’t vital nevertheless the type and size is very important.
Given the old hard disk is still working, then you definitely ought to start by burning any essential files either to a DVD or even CD disk. Storing the software drivers for Windows may also be critical particularly if you have mislaid or did not receive a drivers disk along with your laptop. Drivers usually are not simple to seek out yet are typically located in a folder on the laptop. This can be dependant on the company and version of Windows, but will usually be located after a bit of hunting on the harddrive. If found burn all the drivers to a DVD or CD disk. Normally, it is going to be necessary to entirely replace Windows, through an authentic software disk, to the newest hard disk. You will want the CD key number generally situated on the base of the laptop; if it is missing or damaged then you may need to purchase a brand new copy of Windows to carry out the installation. For any more advanced laptop operator, it may be possible to totally copy the complete hard drive onto the new harddrive; however, this involves specific software and usually with usage of an additional desktop to connect the former and brand-new hard disks together.
With a bit of luck, when you activate your laptop with its new hard disk installed it should completely start Windows if you was able to copy the existing hard disk drive, or perhaps you may see a text requesting a start up disk to be implanted. In such a case add your Windows disk in to the optical drive and switch on the laptop. In the event the boot sequence is scheduled to optical drive first then it continue to reload and install Windows. If the start up sequence is defined to hard disk drive initially then you will either must modify it in CMOS or hit a function key on power up. In any case Windows should sooner or later deploy and allow you to reinstall the software drivers and recover the stored data.
Graham Kelly is an expert at repairing defective and damaged laptops and USB RAM drives. He has spent more than 30 years in the electronics field concentrating on electronic design and repair. He has written and published many articles concerning laptop and notebook problems to assist users diagnose and possibly carry out straightforward laptop repairs by themselves where appropriate. He is always happy to provide practical hints and may be got in touch with at Trilogic’s internet site for