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    Replacement HDD for Inspiron 1720

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by janmik, Jul 13, 2007.

  1. janmik

    janmik Notebook Enthusiast

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    I am considering purchasing a 1720 and can't beleive Dell doesn't offer a 7200rpm drive option as they do with their 1420 and 1520 models.

    My question is, will I void the warranty if I purchase a 7200rpm HDD from a place like newegg and install it myself. Also, is it a complicated process...does Dell include all the required install disks for vista, etc.
     
  2. aaa

    aaa Notebook Consultant

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    Not sure about the warranty, but it is very easy to do. On the Dell site when you buy it should options like "Vista w/media" and "Vista w/o media", so you should know whether you're gonna get the cds.
     
  3. ecaggiani

    ecaggiani Notebook Enthusiast

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    I did exactly that...bought a 1720 with a small drive, then bought a 200GB 7200RPM drive from Newegg. The install was easy. You just have to remove the little harness thingy from the old drive and put it on the new one. Then just slide it in.

    The trick comes when you try to install Vista on the new drive. I had to go to the BIOS and disable AHCI under SATA settings for the install to work.

    Oh, and by the way, I did the same thing with RAM. I bought the laptop with only 1GB, but went on Newegg and got 4GB for around $250. MUCH cheaper than the extra $1000 Dell was asking for for 4GB! The RAM install is a bit trickier since you have to remove the keyboard to install one of the DIMMS. But the Dell manual shows you step by step, and it's really not that hard. :)