Help replacing notebook hard disk!

Hi peops,

I have a Sony PCG-FRV37 notebook that I bought in the December of 2003. Just a few days ago, its hard disk started cranking noises and died soon after. Normally I would just give the notebook to Best Buy but the extended warranty has expired and I'm left to do the task by myself. By some online help, I've managed to determine how to replace the hard disk but have not found a reasonable answer to the following important question:

Can I replace the hard disk with "any" 2.5" hard disk in the market right now, or are there any limitations I need to be aware of (due to the motherboard, etc.)?

I'm looking at a 5600 rpm 120 GB hard-drive a.t.m., but would like an answer to this question before I dump my money on that.

Here's some details about my current hard drive:

Make: Toshiba
Model: MK6021GAS
Capacity: 60 GB
RPM: 4200
Buffer: 2 MB
Interface: ATA-100
Form factor: 2.5" x 1/8H

Also, would anyone know of a way to retrieve the data out of my old hard drive? A friend of mine suggested that I try freezing it. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

you cannot use any hard drive. you must get an ata-100 drive. these days, most drives are sata, so be careful not to purchase them. also, certain notebooks back in the day had the hd size limited in the bios....so it may not be able to take the higher capacity.

 

Coincidently, my VAIO is from a similar period. I assume its ATA-100 as well (though I SHOULD double check)

Is ATA-6 the same thing?

 

To the thedreamer22; YES you can install 120GB 5400RPM.
My friend has just changed PCG-FRV37's HDD with 120GB 5400 Hitachi and works flawlessly.

 

Thanks for all your help folks! Just out of curiosity, how can I find out if the BIOS in my computer limits the size of the hard disk, and if so, what the limitations are? Also, could someone help me figure out this ATA-x (6, 100, etc.) deal?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATA-100

according to wiki ata-100 is ata-6

 

That's what I was reading too. I'm a pretty big n00b when it actually comes to interfaces and such since I've never actually replaced my own hardware outside of installing a video card or two. I was just looking up what was available on Newegg and wiki'ing it >.>

I just bought some extra RAM for my VAIO and I was thinking of grabbing a faster HDD too. I really need to get some extra performance out of it and try to get it to last me for another year or so...especially if I end up buying an Eee PC.

 

Would the Hitachi Travelstar 120GB 5K160 ATA-7 (ATA-133) hard disk be compatible with this VAIO model?

Thanks!

 

Why not get thise one:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=264209

It's cheap and the fastest.

 

You can get any 2.5" ata hd, as the bandwidth will just drop to the ata mode supported my your mobo.
Secondly, the size limit is dependant on the lba mode of your bios. You may have limit of around 130gb, however it does not matter if your hd size is over this, 130gb will just be the readable amount. The rest of the hd can be used by partitioning it.

Yes the HM160HC, is the fastest ata hard drive at the moment, as fast as most sata hds aswell, with speeds over 50mbs.