HELP, new hard drive coming, SXPS 1645

Hi,
After running some support center tests, calling technical support, etc. My hard drive needs replacing & I have a new hard drive coming tommorrow 12/7. I was wondering about installing it, anyone have any tips, instructions, do's and don'ts? I've never been inside a laptop or changed a hard drive. Seems easy enough but . . .

Secondly, this new hard drive will be pre-loaded with my operating system (Window 7 home premium, 64 bit) and my applications that originally came with my lappy. They are also sending discs. I have backed up my c drive on an external hard drive using the windows 7 backup & restore feature (I did a custom backup and selected everything possible). My question is, will this backup be able to restore my OS, updated drivers, tweaks such as color profile & personalization, etc.? I am afraid my new hard drive will have all the old versions of drivers, software etc. I'm hoping to be able to use my backup from my external drive to restore ALL my settings. Is anyone familiar with how this works.? does it restore the operating system? the updated drivers? Should I use the restore and not the pre-installed stuff or discs coming from dell? Any and all detailed info on this subject would be greatly appreciated (links?). I absolutely need to have the system up and running, with all updates, by Friday. I have followed these forums since buying my lappy. I use it for work and after getting all the updated drivers and software it has been working beautifully (thanks to these forums). I'm really afraid I won't be able to get it back to its current state. Thanks
Mickey J

 

Hi,
I found this: How To Upgrade Your Laptop Hard Drive - How To by ExtremeTech
I don't know if I have hidden partitions??? Would anyone recommend using this guide instead of using my backup (assuming I can)? Since the OS will already be installed, I assume I'll need to wipe the new drive to use this method or will it write over anything on the new drive? If I do need a "clean" drive to use this method, how would I clean my new drive? Any help would be appreciated. A step by step guide to installing a new hard drive and restoring my drivers and settings is what I need (fingers crossed) Thanks.
Mickey J

 

The new drive they send will have the factory installed software on it just like when your system came brand new, you'll need to copy over the files and reinstall most updates and software as you did the first time.

If possible, I'd start fresh, because your old hard drive was failing it could have corrupt data/etc. You can manually copy over personal files (documents, photos, downloads and music) to the new operating system, and also use the import/export options for specific programs to back up settings and emails. For updates and software installations, either copy over the installation files again or redownload the program.

The method I know for doing a complete backup/restore of the old system would be to create a 'system image' using the back up and restore program included in Windows, and then use Advanced Recovery Methods in the same program on the new computer to bring it to the new system. I've never used the program much myself, but it's as simple as showing it where the backup location is (on your external media/hard disk) and it will do the rest.

 

Also, you can reference the service manual for how to take everything apart: Documentation

This is the section relevent to replacing the hard drive: Documentation

 

Hi All,
Success! Everything seems to be working fine & the windows 7 backup & restore worked perfectly. ALL files, setting, drivers, etc were restored to the exact configuration I was hoping for. Great tool, so happy it worked as advertised. I ran diagnostics & received no errors this time. By the way, the drive that failed was a seagate, the replacement was a toshiba (refurbished). Anyone have any thjoughts on toshiba vs seagate. I guess I'm happy I got a toshiba since the seagate failed. Have no clue why. Everything was working fine & the only reason I found out there was a problem is because i checked the drivers thread and saw a new support center download which promted me to run a hard drive check which led to me replacing it. Thank god for these forums or I may have discovered my problem in a much more painful way!
Mickey J

 

I have the toshiba in mine (well it's in an external enclosure since I got my SSD), and I had no problem with it. Plus, it's faster in most benchmarks than the Seagate is.