Replacement Hard Drive Question

[JHB]

Hi:

I know this is not quite the topic of this newsgroup. but its the
closest newsgroup I have found for this kind of info.

I have a HP Pavilion a1330n, and have lost the hard drive. In the
specs, HP defines the hard drive the system was delivered with as :
250 GP Serial ATA (SATA 3g), and on their website they want $142.50
for a replacement. I have looked the drive up on the internet, and the
closest match I find is :
WD Caviar Blue 250 GB Internal hard drive - 300 MBps - 7200 rpm, for
which the vendor is asking $45.52.

My question is whether the Western Digital is identical in operational
character and installation to the HP drive, and if it is what the
price difference represents? If its compatible with the HP drive, the
its a "no brainer:" as to which one to get. If its not, then further
research is clearly needed. I have the restore disc for the machine,
but I understand that if the drive needs different drivers from the HP
drive, there could be some difficulty.

Thanks in advance for a reply.

John Baker

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I know this is not quite the topic of this newsgroup. but its the
closest newsgroup I have found for this kind of info.

I have a HP Pavilion a1330n, and have lost the hard drive. In the
specs, HP defines the hard drive the system was delivered with as :
250 GP Serial ATA (SATA 3g), and on their website they want $142.50
for a replacement. I have looked the drive up on the internet, and the
closest match I find is :
WD Caviar Blue 250 GB Internal hard drive - 300 MBps - 7200 rpm, for
which the vendor is asking $45.52.

My question is whether the Western Digital is identical in operational
character and installation to the HP drive, and if it is what the
price difference represents? If its compatible with the HP drive, the
its a "no brainer:" as to which one to get. If its not, then further
research is clearly needed. I have the restore disc for the machine,
but I understand that if the drive needs different drivers from the HP
drive, there could be some difficulty.

Four points:

1. Make sure that any drive you buy is also a SATA drive. You might be
able to use an IDE drive, but you couldn't as simply just replace one
with the other (and IDE will be a poorer performer).


2. $142.50 for a 250GB drive is *way* overpriced. Definitely don't buy
from HP.

3. There are lots of choices of 250GB SATA drives for around the same
price as what you found. Look on Amazon.com, for example. There are
several different brands, and the question of which brand or model is
best will get different answers from different people. Personally, I'd
choose almost any of them if the specs were good.

4. You don't *have to* replace it with a 250-300GB drive. If you want
more disk space you can buy a bigger one. Since 1TB drives (four times
as big as what you are replacing) sell for about $65-70, I think it's
worth spending a few more dollars to get a much bigger drive.

 

[JHB]

Four points:

1. Make sure that any drive you buy is also a SATA drive. You might be
able to use an IDE drive, but  you couldn't as simply just replace one
with the other (and IDE will be a poorer performer).

2. $142.50 for a 250GB drive is *way* overpriced. Definitely don't buy
from HP.

3. There are lots of choices of 250GB SATA drives for around the same
price as what you found. Look on Amazon.com, for example. There are
several different brands, and the question of which brand or model is
best will get different answers from different people. Personally, I'd
choose almost any of them if the specs were good.

4. You don't *have to* replace it with a 250-300GB drive. If you want
more disk space you can buy a bigger one. Since 1TB drives (four times
as big as what you are replacing) sell for about $65-70, I think it's
worth spending a few more dollars to get a much bigger drive.

Thank you very much indeed. That is exactly the advice that I was
looking for.

Regards

John Baker

 

[JHB]

Four points:

1. Make sure that any drive you buy is also a SATA drive. You might be
able to use an IDE drive, but  you couldn't as simply just replace one
with the other (and IDE will be a poorer performer).

2. $142.50 for a 250GB drive is *way* overpriced. Definitely don't buy
from HP.

3. There are lots of choices of 250GB SATA drives for around the same
price as what you found. Look on Amazon.com, for example. There are
several different brands, and the question of which brand or model is
best will get different answers from different people. Personally, I'd
choose almost any of them if the specs were good.

4. You don't *have to* replace it with a 250-300GB drive. If you want
more disk space you can buy a bigger one. Since 1TB drives (four times
as big as what you are replacing) sell for about $65-70, I think it's
worth spending a few more dollars to get a much bigger drive.

If I could ask just two more questions:

When I say the hard drive was lost, I mean just that. It was removed
from the computer case and misplaced! I have been looking on line, and
most of the drives I see pictured appear to have no case to protect
them from the elements (heat dust etc). Do they normally get sent
without a case on the assumption that the purchaser has a case, or are
the pictures just a marketing thing? Put another way, do I have to
specify that the drive be in a protective case? Also do they usually
come with whatever clips or screws are need to hold them in place?



Sorry if one question raises another!!

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thank you very much indeed. That is exactly the advice that I was
looking for.

You're welcome. Glad to help.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

If I could ask just two more questions:

Sure. I'm always glad to help when I can.

When I say the hard drive was lost, I mean just that. It was removed
from the computer case and misplaced! I have been looking on line, and
most of the drives I see pictured appear to have no case to protect
them from the elements (heat dust etc). Do they normally get sent
without a case on the assumption that the purchaser has a case, or are
the pictures just a marketing thing? Put another way, do I have to
specify that the drive be in a protective case?

An internal drive needs no case (and does not come with one). The
moving parts of the drive are enclosed within a box (I would normally
call it a "case," but I'm afraid that if I did so, it might confuse
you). The box is part of the drive. You can't remove the drive from
the box without destroying the box.

You can mount the drive in an external USB case, or you can mount it
within the big case the computer is in. No other case is needed (or is
even possible to use). There's no such thing as a "protective" case in
the sense you mean it.

Also do they usually
come with whatever clips or screws are need to hold them in place?

They mount with four small screws. I can't remember whether drives
come with those screws or not; probably some do and some don't. You
may still have the screws from the old drive (they are all standard),
but worst case, you should be able to buy them for a few pennies from
any local place that builds computers.

Or ask a friend if he has any extra such screws. For example, I always
have a bunch of these around.

 

[JHB]

Sure. I'm always glad to help when I can.


An internal drive needs no case (and does not come with one). The
moving parts of the drive are enclosed within a box (I would normally
call it a "case," but I'm afraid that if I did so, it might confuse
you). The box is part of the drive. You can't remove the drive from
the box without destroying the box.

You can mount the drive in an external USB case, or you can mount it
within the big case the computer is in. No other case is needed (or is
even possible to use). There's no such thing as a "protective" case in
the sense you mean it.


They mount with four small screws. I can't remember whether drives
come with those screws or not; probably some do and some don't.  You
may still have the screws from the old drive (they are all standard),
but worst case, you should be able to buy them for a few pennies from
any local place that builds computers.

Or ask a friend if he has any extra such screws. For example, I always
have a bunch of these around.

Thank you very much indeed.

I know I sound a bit clueless, but I have never installed a
replacement drive before, so am feeling my way along!

Regards

John Baker

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thank you very much indeed.

I know I sound a bit clueless, but I have never installed a
replacement drive before, so am feeling my way along!

You're welcome. Glad to help.

No problem, and I certainly understand the fear that comes with never
having done something before. You might find it worthwhile to have a
friend who has done it before work with you when you do it. It isn't
at all hard, but you are likely to do a better job if you are not
overcome with fear.

 

[JHB]

You're welcome. Glad to help.

No problem, and I certainly understand the fear that comes with never
having done something before. You might find it worthwhile to have a
friend who has done it before work with you when you do it. It isn't
at all hard, but you are likely to do a better job if you are not
overcome with fear.

Thanks for your understanding. Its not fear really, just a desire not
to mess things up and not to spend more than is necessary.

Thanks again for your help!

John Baker

 

[smlunatick]

Thanks for your understanding. Its not fear really, just a desire not
to mess things up and not to spend more than is necessary.

Thanks again for your help!

John Baker

Just to add more questions to your original post:

Did the HP provide you any recovery "media disks" on separate CDs /
DVDs disks or was there a special "hidden" recovery partition on the
older hard drive?

If your HP had a hidden partition for recovery (aka reinstalling) of
the installed XP, it could be why their replacement hard drive was at
that price.