Regarding Laptop HDD replacement

...I realize there's a billion topics on this. But I could only search for so long for exactly what I need to know... so I will ask here:

I have the HP DV6000 series equipped with a 120GB 5400 rpm drive. I recently got the Hitachi 200GB 7200 rpm drive to replace it... now... I'd like to clone my current drive onto the new drive (I'm running windows XP).

Now here's where I need some help - My external enclosure only supports up to 5400 rpm drives... my new drive is 7200rpm... so... is there a way to clone the drive another way? I have 2 other 3.5" external drives as well in case that makes a difference.

If I can't clone it... I'm assuming I'll have to reinstall windows from my recovery disc, and reinstall every program that I had, correct? This I don't want to do... so if anyone has a suggestion please let me know! Thank you.

 

Have you tried using the 7200RPM drive in your external enclosure? I find that complete crap that it only "supports up to 5400RPM drives". There should be absolutely no difference between 4200RPM, 5400RPM, and 7200RPM to an enclosure. I think as long as the power requirement for the 7200RPM unit isn't much higher than whatever they consider to be standard for a 5400RPM drive everything should work fine.

What's the make and model of this device?

And yes, if you can't clone the drive, you need to reinstall windows and reinstall all your programs.

 

Thanks for the reply... maybe I'll try it and see if it works. The make and model of the enclosure is a Rosewill RX81U-ES-25A

 

the 7k200 probably uses less power than your 5400rpm drive. the 7k200 will work in your external enclosure. older 7200rpm drives used over 1amp of power, which is why they would not work in those enclosures. USB provides only 1Amp. The hitahci 7k100 series uses 1.1Amps. The new 7K200 series uses 0.8Amps.

K-TRON

 

I agree the 7200 should work for the reasons stated. I think the MFG's are over cautious to avoid the inevitable complaints and compatibility issues. Also when things aren't supported does not mean won't work just means MFG has not tested.

 

Why can't you clone the drive? I've used Paragon Disk Manager and Acronis TrueImage to clone XP systems before and had no issues. Even Ghost to some degree works.

 

Just to update on my HDD replacement:

I replaced the stock drive in my HP DV6130 (120GB seagate momentus 5400RPM) with the newer 200GB Hitachi Travelstar 7200RPM drive. The 7200 RPM drive worked flawlessly in the external enclosure, and gave me no issues at all. I used Acronis TrueImage to clone my current HDD onto the newer one in the enclosure. Simply swapped out the drives (put the new one in my laptop, and the old one in the enclosure) and boom! Everything works great. There is definitely a noticeable difference in my computers performance with the 7200RPM and the 16MB cache... along with the massive 200 G's... However, there is a LOT more noise from the drive. I never realized how quiet my stock Seagate drive really was... The Hitachi is LOUD! But I've had extremely loud computers in the past, so I'm sure this is considered "quiet" compared to those, so I'm sure I'll eventually get used to it.

Anyway, thanks for all your help... I rep'd all you guys.

 

I have a Hitachi 160GB 5400 and can barely hear, but it is slower and I may not hear so well. I believe people consider Seagate's quieter. Is the Acoustic Management feature enabled? I don't like because it does take a little hit on performance but does quiet things down.