HELP - Laptop replacement hard drive questions.

[J22]

My laptop's (Dell Inspiron 8000) hard drive just died. Are all laptop hard drives interchangeable these days? Can you update to a faster rpm drive? Mine was 4200 rpm, but it looks like most of them are 5400 rpm or faster now. Anything else I should know?

 

[Gepost]

If you are going to keep your 8000 for a while (it is a great model), get the Hitachi 60gb, 7200 drive. You will notice a big difference.

 

[Carbonadium4]

got it and good stuff :thumbsup:

 

[filmore crashcart]

If your want something a little cheaper, and don't really need that much space, I just replaced my dying Dell 8200 Inspiron hard drive with this Seagate Momentus. It's a very quiet and quick drive. Otherwise the one Gepost recommended is a good choice.

Edit: check out the warranty

 

[Mday]

yes they are. They typically require some sort of PROPRIETORY cradle, which is probably attached to your dead drive. Also, measure the thickness of the old drive to the nearest MM, since there are 9.5mm and 12.5mm laptop HDDs out there.

the 7200rpm replacement drive, if you choose it, will reduce your battery life, and increase heat.

 

[bacillus]

the 8000 can handle either a 9.5 or 12mm high hdd in its internal bay.
be aware that when you remove your old hdd you'll have to remove the blade-like adapter on the hdd pins & transfer it onto your new hdd.