Is all laptop HDs interchangeable?

Hello folks.
Laptop ignoramus here! The HD in my wife's Dell 8500 is dying. So I'd like to know whether all laptop HDs are interchangeable, other than the fact that some are PATA and some are SATA. (She uses it just for email and surfing, so she could get by fine with the smallest one around, but I'm not sure which ones to even look at.)

Thanks

 

Pretty much hit the nail right on the head. PATA goes with PATA, SATA goes with SATA.

Now you'd need to reinstall Windows and all of that stuff (a non-fresh install would not work well...if at all...).

 

There's also the smaller 1.8" form factor hard drives, usually used in ultraportables for space saving. I think WD is about the only one left making PATA hard drives these days. Personally, if you don't need much space, I'd pick up used on on eBay as long as it's got a DOA warranty.

 

Be wary of the ultra-high capacity drives that have been released recently. Some are taller than others and therefore will not fit tight spaces.

 

My wife just needs something small, so I think I'll get her a WD 80GB.
Thanks for the info.

 

Yes, you can replace that with no problems. Note that there's no reason to re-install Windows: You can make a disk image, stored on an external HD, and transfer that to the new drive. In contrast to what Greg wrote, there is no problem at all with doing that.

P.S.: Anything up to 320GB will fit fine in your laptop; if the laptop is PATA, you won't be able to find a bigger drive anyway. In other words, any laptop PATA drive will fit.

 

Okay, thanks for that info.
I was already thinking I would clone the disk to her external backup drive, but wasn't sure how to get it onto the new disk, since Windows won't be running once I put the new disk in. Maybe use the boot CD from Acronis True Image.

Is there a better way?

 

All you need to do is clone your existing HD to the new one.

Switch HD's and you're done!

Caution! Remember to remove power and battery before switching HD's.

 

Uhhhh... What am I missing?

The new one and the existing one can't both be working at the same time; there's only one slot in the computer.
Are you thinking I could put the new one in the external housing? If so, I can't because the housing is 3.5, not 2.5.

 

Or, if you have an adaptor (IDE/SATA to USB) you could use that instead.

Actually, if the housing is 3.5" it doesn't matter - are not the connectors the same between 2.5" and 3.5" HD's? Simply leave the external housing apart (with the new 2.5" drive connected) until the clone is finished, then put the 3.5" drive back into the external housing and switch the new and original (old) notebook drives.

Good luck.


Edit: Sorry! I thought we were talking about SATA connections and not IDE. Still, it might be possible to do with a few ($5) adaptors.

 

By the way, I also want to congratulate everybody for keeping a straight face (or at least seeming to) after reading the title of my thread. It's amazing the things a person will type at 1am!