Installing a 2nd hard drive G73jh (bestbuy)

Hello everyone!

Now I know that there are g73's that comes with 2 500gb hd's installed so that means it is possible to add a 2nd HDD.

I was wondering is it easy to do? I remember reading about missing mounting brackets, does the best buy version have the mounting brackets? can they be purchased? does this void the 1 year asus warranty?

thinking about this drive while its $10 off with free shipping on newegg.

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG SpinPoint MT2 HM100UI 1TB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive

 

me wonder too!:d

 

while we're wating for better response:

easy or not I don't know
you will have to buy brackets,they are not included
it will not void warranty as far as I know...

 

Very easy to upgrade/add drives to the G73. No 2nd bracket with the BB units but you can just use some cardboard to maintain pressure as cheap holder. If you want the real thing they are available here:

Worlds Greatest Site for Asus Spare Part

The shipping to the US is not cheap. I paid over 20 euros to ship 2.

Cheers,

 

I only have one. Does that mean i have bestbuy version/

 

Any other options? Aftermarket and in the USA maybe?

 

I don't think so. Perhaps I should have ordered 50 and sold them here!

When I had my first BB version I used cardboard and cut up foam to hold the 2nd drive in place (before ordering the real thing).

Cheers,

 

man there has to be another place to buy the brackets... not trying to fork out 27 euro's (50 bucks?) just for the brackets =(

 

Two HD bays...

You can put two of whatever HD you want in them...

I have heard great results with Velcro over heavy duty double sided tape.

 

Now you know why I bought one with two HDDs. 2 brackets

 

Best Buy G73 here. No it does not void the warranty. I would highly suggest if you're going to add one in to add a 7200RPM one. The BB models do not come with a second HDD bracket but you can improvise. Get creative with some tape and you'll be good, been working great for me so far. I'll post a pic of mine in a little bit..

Edit: http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/3014/img00066t.jpg

I just put some tape on the left of it and it holds the HDD into place quite nicely, I am looking into buying a bracket though simply out of OCD though. I use a Hitachi Travelstar Model H2IK5001672SP if it matters.

 

Just make your own. The little plastic fake SD card they put in the slot is the exact right height to put a second harddrive at a level plane with the port. I held it down with electric tape, and used some double sided tape to attach some foam to the panel you remove.

When I get some more time/motivation, I'll get some small pieces of metal and drill screw holes in to hold it down even better, but so far I've encountered zero issues holding it in place in that manner.

 

At current rate it's $35 or so. Perhaps get some folks together and buy several thereby effectively splitting the shipping cost.

Cheers,

 

I just so happen to possess Velcro tape. 1 roll of the cloth, 1 roll of the plastic hook side [...whatever it's called]


I already used it to be able to easily remove the bottom cover for extra cooling with my cooler.

What about vibration though, wouldn't it be a problem??

 

You can try asking a service center to order it for you. The techs here are pretty friendly, theyll order any spare part i want for me.

 

Not the same here... noone will send me a motherboard...

 

I called the estore today and the lady pretty much said that they will never carry the hard drive caddy, something about they put in an order 3 months ago and they canceled it. I dont know if what she is saying is accurate but it looks we have to try the EU site and get them for 30 bucks. From what I hear it takes over a month.

 

Someone should put a group together and order a bunch.

Cheers,

 

a group buy for spare asus parts would be nice. RMA forgot to put my blank sd card back in so I would like one of those.

 

I have an 8MB (that's right MB) SD card you can have. PM me and I stick it in an envelope and mail it to you.

Cheers,

 

The GHETTO solution seems to work.

I have tried Velcro tape and I now have an old WD Black 320GB [From my 7805u] in the 2nd bay of my G73JH-RBBX0. I cut two 1/4" strips of each side and placed them on the sides about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way from the connector. I've installed a utility and traveled with it once so far and everything is as it should be.

 

How long did yours taketo ship?

 

I got it just over 4 weeks after I ordered it.

Cheers,

 

I use two expanding foam earplugs to hold my 2nd drive in nice and snug. I squished them down until they fit in the empty space and then watched them expand to hold the drive in there quite nicely. I put the cover back on and haven't thought about it until reading this post. I don't need no stinkin' caddy.

 

That is pure genius, that's what I'm going to do when I add an SSD to mine. I get the earplugs free from work.

 

can you guys post some pictures? I have no imagination and I seem to think that all of these would have MASSIVE problems...

overheating? fire? melting? these drives do get pretty hot...

 

sorry for the late reply. i would, but that would require turning my laptop off, disconnecting it from my desktop setup, and lastly, flipping it over, which frankly i'm way too lazy to do right now. ha. i'll post some the next time i shut down.

btw i'm only using a 320GB toshiba @ 5400RPM (for MP3 storage, not a whole lot of disk activity) and my temps according to HWINFO are actually lower than the stock drive.

 

nice! well I ended up returning my bestbuy g73... but I bought the B1 version through amazon for only a $150 more!

1450$ after tax with bestbuy
1600$ (no tax!) with amazon for the B1 version which has the better screen, blueray, 8gbram, 740qm processor, and the 2 500gb HD's... also it comes with the 2 year warranty as well as the ROG mouse and backpack... figured all of this for a $150 extra would of been the same amount I pay to buy a new HD and figure out a way to mount it ><

 

that's a hell of a deal, actually. however, i couldn't pass up my $900 BB refurb.

 

I have a Momentus XT stuffed into the second slot (I know not a good storage drive, but I had an extra lying around), which can be a little problematic about vibration or heat depending on laptop model, and I have no issues with it.

 

Anyone have an extra one they dont need, jk.

 

Here's the much-requested photo of my earplug solution, if anyone's still interested:

 

that is awesome

 

Thank you!

Yes, that is also a stack of mini post-its. I'm pretty sure they serve no purpose, since the earplugs do all the work, and work VERY well.

 

The ear plug idea looks like a great idea also.

I myself used Velcro and it worked great, the drive was at the right height and it does not move.

But I have stuck to the Velcro as it makes it easy to do and the drive is very easy to remove . The main reason I used the Velcro was I did not want the drive to move around and to hit the side of the case while moving the computer from room to room. So far this has worked without issue .

 

can someone post a pic of them using velcro? I like this idea but im kind of confused as were you are placing it, because im getting my new drive in the mail tomm and looking for the best solution

 

I will try to do that later today if I can. But all I did was put one half in the case, and the other half on the drive.
You can use as much as you want ,well in less it takes up to much space.
Just be sure and buy the kind that has the adhesive back so it will self adhere to the case and the drive.
Also you can buy the Velcro in many sizes , I bought the long wide strips and cut them to the length that I needed.

You will see it is very easy to do, and if you want to make sure that the drive will not move around just use some filler to put in around the sides of the drive so it will not move. Some use a folded piece of cardboard to do this
I did not have to do this as I used the Velcro that has the high holding strength. And when it was in the drive did not move any at all.

When you take the drive out it may pull up the Velcro off one side or the other as it holds very well. But this is not a problem as you will not be taking the drive out much .

I found my Velcro at Wal-mart , but you can get it at most hardware stores, and Auto supply stores.

 

I used a piece of felt double folded to hold it in place and secure it against the sata connector. Been a charm.

 

I'm getting an Intel 120GB SSD tomorrow (via Amazon). I'm thinking I'll leave the 640GB in its caddy and put it into the 2nd bay after I do the re-install of Win7 on the SSD. Since the SSD weighs a lot less than a platter drive it should be easier to secure in the bay with padding (or foam earplugs). No way I'm paying a small fortune for a bracket from Europe. I hear it comes without the screws needed to fasten it to the case so you'd have to hunt those down too. Bummer. You'd think Asus would help us out on this. I assume they want to KEEP customers.

 

the earplugs (still) work great! good luck!

 

Check the sticky in General section for another bracket alternative.

 

The Asus Service Center in Fremont, CA has the brackets now.
Link to the product page is here.

They don't include the screws but at least they list what size screws you need to get. Most computer / laptop repair shops should have those screws.

Oops, looks like they just ran out -- says "out of stock". There's a link to enter your email address for notification when they get some more of them.

 

i sent them a big Comment Card on why there are no screws included... Its so stupid the screws are hard to find. But they sent me some screws free of charge. See what i little whining and complaining gets you

 

now i feel like a dummy for paying 32 bux shipped for the bracket.

but like someone else said my ocd is comforted.