Is this hard drive compatible with my laptop?

Hey Everyone,

I'm new to this site, and while I've used computers forever, I'm not very up to date on the hardware side of things. I have an HP dv9644ca, which is just your standard 17" laptop, and unfortunately, my hard drive is broken. It clicks a lot when I turn the computer on, and the computer will not boot up past a screen that just has a green load bar that just repeats forever. I ran the hard drive self test and got the 10009 replace hard drive error, so I assume I need to replace the hard drive. I found the below hard drive on tigerdirect, and since I don't use my laptop for very much, I figure it'll get the job done. I want to go ahead and order it, but can some of you confirm that it will work with my laptop, and what I'll need to do after I install it? Again, I'm new to this, so if the answer is somewhat complicated, I would prefer if you could dumb it down a bit.

Thanks in advance!

Shawn

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5013593&CatId=2682

 

Just checked - assuming this is yours:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/e...9199-78299212-78299212-78299212-80632134.html

Then it uses a SATA HDD; i.e. any 2,5" 9,5mm SATA HDD would do.

I'm a bit perplexed by the dimensions on the one you found - thickness to be specific...

 

Yes, that drive will work in your laptop. Actually, any 2.5" SATA hard drive will work in your laptop.

 

Yeah any sata 2.5 inches hard drive should work

 

sbmarti2,

Yes, that link you provide will work, but you may want to consider the slightly more expensive but considerably much better drive here:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...75&cm_re=hitachi_500GB-_-22-145-275-_-Product
(unfortunately sold out currently but your best choice).

or;
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...387&cm_re=Scorpio_Blue-_-22-136-387-_-Product

First though, is your notebook not under warranty still? It seems current.

To remove the HD, there should be an access panel on the bottom that you need remove. Simply make sure the computer is not plugged in and that the battery is also removed. Then, it should be a straightforward swap by taking out a few screws, maybe a HD 'cage' that the original drive is sitting in and putting in the new drive.

Either way you get a new HD, whether its replaced under warranty or you buy it yourself, you need to install the O/S (operating system) and the specific drivers for your notebook. Then you can start installing programs and copy your data back. I hope you have a backup of your important data?

Hope this is a good first few steps to point you in the right direction.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the quick responses! I'll go

tiller- My two year warranty expired two months ago, isn't that always the way! Luckily all my important files are also saved on my work PC. I'll look into those other HD's.

 

You may have missed my post above yours?

 

Pretty much - most recovery processes are walk through and ticking a few boxes, entering your name and clicking OK/next.

 

Alright, bad news. I don't think I have my boot disk. I can't imagine I would ever throw it out, however I think it's in with my mother's computer stuff, which is out of province. Do I need to order a new one from HP (which cost $40 in shipping), or is there another option? Are boot disk's specific to the computer, or would a shop have one that would work?

 

Well, getting a recovery disc (as its called) from your OEM is the cheapest and easiest option.

If you lend a disc - same OS - and install it, you may run into activation issues.

 

..or you could download the trial version of Acronis True Image and clone the old drive to the new drive.

 

Well, is that really possible when the first is FUBAR'd?

 

absolutely Is NOT possible...

I'd consider: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=39284&vpn=WD1600BEVT&manufacture=Western Digital WD

 

Thanks again for the good responses- I only understood about half of it, but I'm sure they were good ideas, haha.

I've decided to do the following- let me know what you think.

The hard drive I will most likely buy is below. It has everything I need, and isn't too pricey. I do have a question though- in the excerpt from the product specs of my laptop, my laptop has two hard drives- the primary hard drive is broken and receives the 10009 replace hard disk error, but the secondary hard drive is fine. Can I install the operating system and drivers on to the secondary drive, or would that not work?

Secondly, my laptop had Vista on it, which I have always somewhat despised. I've decided to load XP onto my new hard drive and download all of the applicable drivers from the HP website (though a USB stick) on to it, rather than use the recovery disk to load Vista. I could go the Windows 7 route, but I prefer XP for now. Will this work? I don't have the recovery disk at the moment, and this would save me a bit of hassle if it works.

Thanks!

Shawn

"Hard Drive 200 GB (5400 RPM) Dual HDD - 120 GB + 80 GB(SATA) "


http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=39873&vpn=ST9250410AS&manufacture=Seagate

 

sbmarti2,

I would definitely not buy that HD you linked!

I returned 4 of them and settled on the Scorpio Blue WD that not only outperformed the 7200.4, it has proved much more reliable too.

The drive yuio linked to would be a good choice.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=39284&vpn=WD1600BEVT&manufacture=Western Digital WD


This:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145275

would be your best choice (when it comes back in stock).

You should be able to install XP on your secondary drive (you don't have data on it right?) as long as you move it into the first drive bay slot.

What I would do?

Use your secondary HD to be able to use your computer for now (with XP) and when the Hitachi 7K500 is in stock, order that and switch out the drives again to use the 7K500 as your primary boot drive. Nice increase in performance, not much more money than what you're considering to spend and miles better than the Seagate 7200.4 you're considering.

The only downside is that you'll be installing your O/S twice in a month or so - worth it!

 

Tiller- thanks for the heads up about that hard drive, I'll definitely pass on it and get one of the other two mentioned above.

How do I switch the hard drives? Are they in two separate slots and I just switch them?

 

Basically, yes. You might also need to switch the 'cages' they use - if they use any.

and, you're welcome.

 

I highly recommend you install either Vista or Win7 - XP is old, outdated, less stable and less efficient than Vista or Win7.

Yes it'll run lighter, but it won't utilize resources better.

 

just a note, newegg.ca takes 6-8business days to process and get the order to your door+ the shipping is fairly expensive (std UPS)

NCIX.com usually takes 2-3days +shipping is a little cheaper, and way faster, paypal payments are usually a little longer.

your also in canada so if newegg.ca is cheaper, price match NCIX, they will match neweggs price.

 

Any SATA(serial-ata/s-ata) 2.5" hard drive will work with your laptop. if you don't have the boot disk then i'm sure you can source one from the manufacturer or you could install XP and then download the drivers for your laptop from the manufacturers website. Hope that helps

 

Hi sbmarti2,

The DV9644ca doesn't come with a recovery disk: It has a recovery partition on the drive itself. If the drive becomes damaged or corrupt, then you may still be able to get a recovery disk from HP:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&docname=bph07143

But you should be warned that this type of computer (in fact, a whole bunch of models from DV90xx all the way up to 98xx) have display chipset issues that render the machines useless. Even with expensive service, the problem is recurring. Maybe spending the $$$ on a new HDD isn't worth it at this point?

See this 100+ page forum on HP's own website for more details:

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Display-and-video/hp-dv9500-screen-problem/td-p/30856

 

Hey Everyone,

I figured I'd turn to you as you've all provided such great advise. At this point, I'm ready to just break my damn laptop with a hammer and just buy a new one, I'm that frustrated. I spent about 100 bucks on a new hard drive (WD Scorpio Black), and then got an XP disk from my IT guy at work. I decided against Window's 7, for reasons I'm not going to bother getting into. Anyway, I installed XP, but half of the drivers for my laptop won't work with it, as they're all designed for Vista (including the wireless ones). So I decide to break down and pay $50 just get a new recovery disk from Futureshop (they can burn them for the specific model number), and just re-install everything and deal with Vista again (it's not that bad). Anyway, low and behold, my recovery disk doesn't work. I research it some more, and essentially it won't work because I have an after-market hard drive. Did I just waste $50 bucks on a recovery disk that won't recognize my computer? What are my options here to get my computer working other than buying Vista or 7?


Oh, and Happy Holidays...

 

Bad turn of events for you, but I find it very hard to believe that the RD doesn't work because it's an after market hard drive.

That's the very reason for using the recovery disk in the first place, isn't it?

Give us more detailed information please!

Who said that (recovery program?).

Where did you find this 'info'?

Do you have a Capacity limitation in your BIOS, possibly?

This is just too perplexing...

 

Recovery discs identify the laptop from the BIOS not the Harddrive - so its doesn't matter what HDD you have.

Try to get a refund from these people.

And XP - unless you have a very valid reason I would recommend against it, Vista and WIn7 are the better operating systems for newer computers - I assume your computer is younger than 2007?

 

Alright, well if I can do it with an after-market hard drive, then I'll bring my laptop to where I bought it and get them to explain the error message, it only happens about 5 minutes in. They'll either give me a refund or fix it, I suppose.
I`ll take it in and report back.

I've decided against XP- it didn't look like it would work as well as I thought.

Thanks again guys!

 

Good call on XP, it's fast - faster than any other O/S currently, but fast is not good enough with 2010 at the door steps.

Yeah, sounds like they gave you a RD for another model - hope its that simple and easy for you.

Cheers!