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    Hard Drive installation

    Discussion in 'Gateway and eMachines' started by Dragoonx, Feb 22, 2008.

  1. Dragoonx

    Dragoonx Notebook Consultant

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    Hey there.

    I was planning on installing a new Hard Drive on my 6831FX (See sig). Thing is... I've never done so and frankly, I'm a nub about most hard ware installations. I keep seeing the terms RAID, SATA, ATA being thrown around but not sure how to use those to make an informed decision? Basically I'm looking for a 500GB or so HD that I can buy without having to run into some weird hardware compatibility issues...
     
    Dragoonx, Feb 22, 2008
    #1
  2. scooberdoober

    scooberdoober Penguins FTW!

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    Just make sure it's a 2.5" SATA drive and you should be fine.
     
    scooberdoober, Feb 22, 2008
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  3. Dragoonx

    Dragoonx Notebook Consultant

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    Is there any software installation I should be aware of? Or am I to assume that the HD comes with appropriate drivers?
     
    Dragoonx, Feb 22, 2008
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  4. scooberdoober

    scooberdoober Penguins FTW!

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    Are you adding this as a second drive, or are you replacing the one that's in there now?
     
    scooberdoober, Feb 22, 2008
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  5. Dragoonx

    Dragoonx Notebook Consultant

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    Adding as a second, so I'd have the stock 250GB with all my programs I already have, and a newer higher capacity next to it.

    Btw; really appreciating the help.
     
    Dragoonx, Feb 22, 2008
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  6. scooberdoober

    scooberdoober Penguins FTW!

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    OK, then all you should have to do is physically install the new drive, and then you may need to format it. I'm not real familiar with Vista, which I think you are using, but if it's like XP, all you need to do is open "My Computer", the new drive should show up there, and then right click on it to bring up the menu, and then select "Format", and that should do it.

    Maybe someone that's more familiar with Vista will chime in here.

    Glad to help! :)
     
    scooberdoober, Feb 22, 2008
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  7. Dragoonx

    Dragoonx Notebook Consultant

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    Ah ok, I'm sure I can figure out the formating stuff. I've just never dealt with the physical installation in most parts so I was a bit clueless on that. Anyways thanks a lot for the information and its greatly appreciated. Off to find some deals now :p
     
    Dragoonx, Feb 22, 2008
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  8. scooberdoober

    scooberdoober Penguins FTW!

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    Be sure and post back to let us know how all turned out. :)
     
    scooberdoober, Feb 22, 2008
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  9. leehblanc

    leehblanc Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey DragoonX... most of your questions can be answered here
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 2, 2015
    leehblanc, Feb 22, 2008
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  10. hydra

    hydra Breaks Laptops

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    External Option? You can find an external USB/SATA 500Gig on sale here and there for around $100. True plug and play if you don't mind the added baggage.
     
    hydra, Feb 22, 2008
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  11. Snowsurfer

    Snowsurfer Rocky Mtn High

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    Snowsurfer, Feb 22, 2008
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  12. Dragoonx

    Dragoonx Notebook Consultant

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    One last simple question, should brand have a significant effect on my purchase?
     
    Dragoonx, Mar 17, 2008
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  13. peteryorkuca

    peteryorkuca Notebook Consultant

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    Rule of thumb if you are RAIDing is to try to keep with same size, model and make of the HDD. In this case, WD 250GB BEVS 8mb cache.

    If you are simply adding another HDD, just buy whatever you can affort at this time.
     
    peteryorkuca, Mar 17, 2008
    #13