Review of the Samsung HM160HC, World's Fastest ATA/IDE Mobile hard drive

Hello All,

I have Acer Travelmate 8000 Serios (Model: 8002LCi) laptop having the following specs:
Type: Acer TravelMate 8002LCI
CPU: Intel® Pentium® M 1500 (Centrino™
BIOS: Phoenix First BIOS Notebook Pro Version 2.0, V.3A14, Build 04/20/04
Chipset: Intel® 855GME Chipsatz; 400MHz Front-Side-Bus
Cache: 1 MB
Memory: 512MB (DDR333 PC2700)
HDD: 60 GB EIDE hard drive (Toshiba MK6021GAS)

I have the following queries:
1) Which internal hdd will be better for my laptop, HM160HC or WD2500BEVE?
2) Will my laptop support both these hdd without any problems?
3) I have been seeing something called, 48 Bit LBA, what exactly it is?
and does my laptop supports this 48 Bit LBA?

I would appreciate if you please provide the above help?

Thanks and regards

 

1. They should be all as fast as long as they are 160GB/platter drives. Western Digital drives have a suffix WD2500BEVE-xxxxxx that states the drive generation. Using this database you should be able to find out.

2. You will need a IDE(PATA) interface and 48bit LBA support if the drive is larger than 137GB.

3. See Here and Here. 48bit LBA support comes with ATA/100 and your laptop does support ATA/100. You might need a Bios update though.

 

Don't know about US but in my country is cheaper to buy 500GB 16MB 7200rpm SATA drive than 160GB 8MB 5400rpm IDE/ATA. I bought used one 100GB Seagate for 33$ and it was VERY cheap and lucky deal. I think its better to buy new cheap laptop for 300$ and have no troubles with it.

 

Hello Mojonba,
Thanks for your reply.

1) As per the reviews in this thread the Samsung HM160HC is the one having 160GB/platter disk which makes it faster than the others, whereas the Western Digital one's do not have such facility. You mean to say that WD2500BEVE is also having its one of its generation disks that are 250GB/platter disks, or is there 160GB max capacity disk from WD which are only 160GB/platter disk like the Samsung HM160HC?

2) Does my laptop has IDE(PATA) interface and 48bit LBA support?

3) As you are saying my laptop has ATA/100 feature which supports 48Bit LBA and in return will support hdd larger than 137GB. In view of this, do you think the BIOS update is really necessary?

Please help on the above.
Thanks and regards.

 

The WD3200BEVE uses 2 160gb platters but it's very expensive. I would recommend the HM160HC unless you need more space. I have one in my Travelmate 2412 and it's nice and quiet.

You can check 48bit LBA support in Crystaldiskinfo or hdtune but it's not reliable. They showed no support for my Travelmate with the old harddisk but show support with the HM160HC. Anyway even with no support you should still be able to use the full capacity by creating several partitions <137gb.

 

1. Western Digital also makes 160GB platter drives but you have to select them based on they model no. + suffix. Tricky thing is that you can have different generation drive using the same model no. therefore you cannot assume that all WD2500BEVE are 160gb platter drive. Older generation WD250 might be 125GB/platter. The only size where it would be safe to assume that is a 160Gb/platter is a 320GB drive (320/2 = 160). Take a look at the link I gave you above and look at the suffixes.

2. You laptop's chipset southbridge ICH4M does support it.

3. Yes. Sometimes manufacturers rush products to market and it is until later updates that important features are added and/or improved.

 

Hello Eurasianlynx/Mojonba,
Thanks for your replies.

I have updated the BIOS of my laptop by downloading the latest BIOS update (Ver: BA20) from the Acer site.

I have now decided to go ahead with the Samsung HM160HC hdd, so do you know how do I go about
- fixing this new hdd in the laptop
- formatting the hdd
- installing Windows XP
- and/or any other tasks
that needs to done for successful installation and use of this new hdd?

Also, I have a Windows XP SP2 setup CD, which contains all the XP installation software, but this CD is not a bootable one. What I mean by this is that when I try to boot from this CD, the machine doesn't boots from this CD and not tries to initiate installation of Windows XP from it.
Hence could you please let me know how to make this CD a bootable one?

Thanks for all your help in advance.

 

Go into BIOS (f10 or f11 or f12 or del due to startup before WINDOWS logo). Go to boot settings. Check DVD Drive first to boot. HDD 2nd.

 

Hello James D,
Thanks for your reply.

I know how to change the BIOS setting to boot from CD.
But what I am asking is that I have Windows XP CD that contains the software but does not boot from it even after changing the BIOS setting.
What I think is that there are some files, which I don't know, that needs to added in the setup files to make the CD bootable.
Do you know what are these files and how to add them to make the CD bootable?

Thanks.

 

Oh. OK. That changes everything. I thought that all is needed for bootable CD is only setup.exe file however I know that it have highed files.
Did you do that disc yourself from disc image? If so, I suggest you to take a usbdrive, format it using HPUSBDisk and just copy all files from disk image or CD if you did not create it yourself to USB and don't forget to uncheck boxes "not show hied or system files" in folder settings. EDIT: check to use USB boot in BIOS and set it 1-st. I hope your BIOS supports USB boot and it is much faster.
If your laptop is too old for usb boot then I will check later what files are written on my Windows XP CDs.

 

Try this links:

How to Create a Bootable Windows XP Setup CD/DVD from a Pre-loaded/Preinstalled Windows System (howtohaven.com)

WinXP Bootable CD

I suggest using a more recent OS. Windows 7 plays nice with older hardware with little to no performance decrease.

 

Yes but there is Significant performance decrease in video/graphic like gaming or HD playing. About 20-50% decrease I would say on old machines.

 

I agree with you on the gaming part as older games run better on the os they were released for due to graphics card driver optimizations. I disagree with you on the HD video part. HD video decoding in an older computer is cpu limited with the os playing a insignificant role. I suggest using a cpu efficient h264 decoder such as Corecodec in order to get the most out of an old cpu.

 

I use KMPlayer which uses somewhere coreavc and somewhere haai. Also I heard that coreavc is for powerful i7 processors however it's maybe because modern GPU are better than any CPU except i7 however old GPU are not so powerful so perhaps you are right. Still I on old lappy 1080p lugs lil bit while it used to play fine after I upgraded processor to 2.0GHz Intel M

 

Hello Mojonba/James D,
Thanks for your reply. I will check these links and try to make the XP-SP2 setup cd bootable. Is it also possible to make the XP-SP3 setup cd bootable as mentioned in these links, or is there something more needs to be done?

Could you also please let me know as to how do I go about performing the following tasks with the new Samsung HM160HC hdd:
- fixing this new hdd in the laptop?
- formatting the hdd?
- installing Windows XP?
- and/or any other tasks that needs to done for successful installation and use of this new hdd?

Thanks.

 

The process to update a cd to the latest service pack is called slipstreaming.
This link explains how.

1. This link to the Acers 8000 service manual should walk you around installing the new hdd.

2. Once you boot with the windows installation disc you will be presented a menu to partition and format your new hdd. I suggest creating a single NTFS partition and doing a quick format.

3. I suggest googling for a WinXp install guide that will explain all menus and options.

4. Remember that you can create a thread in the appropriate forum for specific WinXp installation quations and that you can find answers to 90% of the questions on the first 10 google results.

 

I downloaded the XP-SP3 ISO file, xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_usa_x86fre_spcd.iso, since I wasn't able to download the only EXE file, WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-X86-ENU.exe, from the Microsoft site. When I opened this ISO file with WinRAR, I saw that there is also a file by the name of WINDOWSXP-KB936929-SP3-X86-ENU.EXE in the ISO file having the same size that of the standalone exe file in the MS site.

What I want to ask is that, can I extract this exe file from ISO file directly using WinRAR and use this exe file for slipstreaming into my XP-SP2 setup files?

Is there anything that needs to be done to the new hdd before fixing it in the laptop?
What I mean is that, will the laptop auto-detect the new hdd thereby showing the full 160GB space, and subsequently through the bootable installation cd allowing me to format the hdd?

Also since you are suggesting to create a single NTFS partition and do a quick format,
- can't I create multiple partitions, like C:-40GB; D:-60GB; E:-60GB, during this initial partition/format process?
- if I go ahead with your suggestion, can I create multiple partitions later after installation of full XP?
- are there any benefits of creating a single partition initially to install XP?

Thanks.

 

Remeber iso are cd image files and thankfully you can extract them. You could have downloaded the executable directly. Yes, you may use the executable to slipstream sp3 into your sp2 files.

Yes the laptop is supposed to detect the full size. To confirm just enter the bios prompt and check the detected size to be the correct one.

1. Yes you can create multiple partitions as you need/want. I just suggested the quick/easy way to a windows installation. I myself divide disk into three partitions (Windows, Temporary Files, Data).

2. You can but it is much, much easier to do it during the windows installation and while the disk is empty. Once you fill up the drive you will have to use aftermarket utilities to resize and create additional partitions and it is a slower process.

3. It is up to personal preference. Years ago disks became fragmented often and you minimize fragmentation by putting the temporary file/scratch disk in another partition but that has been less than an issue with modern oses.

 

What??? Why??? Why do you need a slipstreaming if you already have an iso file??? Just burn it to disc using Daemon Tools or other software (Alcohol120%, Windows 7) and use it without any other thing.

I do 2 partitions during installing Windows.

 

He did not download the complete windows disk. I dont think microsoft publishes on its website either.

 

Oh! Well it publishes Windows 7 and Vista http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-7-download-links-just-like-vista-before.html but not XP.

 

I knew there was a standalone XP-SP3 exe to be downloaded, but wasn't able to download the same from my home internet due to some connectivity issues which am facing right now. I downloaded the ISO file from my office internet connection, since the office internet does not allow to download exe files. Hence the ISO file download.

Now since this ISO file, in this case, allows to extract the exe and slipstream it into the XP-SP2 setup files, I didn't want to burn this whole ISO on a disk and then perform a two-step process of first installing XP-SP2 and then SP3. Hope am right on this

Just want your view on this, I was planning to give C: drive 40GB of space which I think is too much for the primary partition. Is there any standard that says that particular GB or percentage of space to be provided to primary and the extended (logical) partitions of the hdd? Any views on this.

Thanks.

 

Now I know that 40 gb foor XP is a lot. You can do 20-25GB size.If you do temp partition do it 4GB: 1-2 for pagefile less or more and other for temp folder. other partition for data.

 

I'm also planning to upgrade the Memory of my laptop (Acer Travelmate 8000 Series (Model: 8002LCi)). The current memory which my laptop is having is 512MB (DDR333 PC2700).

I intend to upgrade the memory to 2GB. When I see the Service Manual and other information on the web, it says that I can upgrade the memory to 2GB since the Memory Slot is "2 Banks of 1".

But when I look at the User Manual it says the below:
"Memory is expandable to 2 GB (only one slot for user accessible), employing 256/512/1024-MB industry standard soDIMMs (Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Modules). The computer supports DDR (Double Data Rate) SDRAM. There are two memory slots on your computer, one of which is occupied by standard memory. You can upgrade memory by installing a memory module into the one available slot."

The queries which I'm now having is
- what does this "standard memory" the user manual is saying?
- is it that 256MB is on-board memory, which cannot be accessed/removed, and 256MB is user-accessible? if this is so, then I'll have to upgrade only one bank to 1GB thereby making the total memory to 1.25GB?
- is it that there is one user-accessible bank which can be upgraded with a single 2GB memory module?
- which brand of memory module would be good for my laptop? I mean something cheap and best

Thanks in advance.

 

it means that you can put additional memory in slot 2 without avoiding warranty. If you change standard memory stick you will lost warranty. I believe so. Also I think 1 slot is empty and 1 has 512MB stick. You may buy 1GB 333Mhz soDimm and it will be fine. I suggest you to google all about your laptop memory upgrade. I suppose that it can use ddr400 RAM which is faster. in this case you should buy 2 sodimms of 400 RAM otherwise it will be downclocked to 333 if old one ram will not be removed. You should find any information about successful memory upgrade. try google "Acer Travelmate 8000 ddr400 400 MHz" or similar

 

Soon I post a bech comparison of my NW8000 with SSD form Photofast.
NC8000 Hitachi 60Gb 7K60 Win7 Ultimate sp1
NW8000 Hitachi 100Gb 7K100 Win XP Pro sp3
NW8000 SSD Photofast G-Monster 25IDE-V3 32Gb Win7 Ultimate sp1
NC8000 Samsung HM160HC Win7 Ultimate sp1
NW8440 Momentus 7200.3 250Gb SATA for reference. Win7 Ultimate 64bit

 

Newby here to the forum found via searching net for replacement HDD for my boat anchor aka (Toshiba P25 S-5093). Read Phil's reviews from 2008

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...rlds-fastest-ata-ide-mobile-hard-drive-2.html

I'm wondering if I should get the Samsung 5400 rpm or the Hitachi 7200 but don't know if my anchor will support it. It came w/a 80gb 5400, ATA 100 EIDE and XP. I'm only going to used it for alarm system downloading programs software as my new HP w/W7 is my mainstay for now.

Thanks for any advice.

I just opened the HDD cover to find out it is a Hitachi IC25N080ATMR04-0 which is a 4200 not 5400 as listed in the spec's. Even more disappointed now with the machine. Oh well! Still hoping for some expert advice on the replacement question.

Thanks again.

 

it will support even 1000 rpm if it still be 9mm HDD.

 

I recently found this thread while considering HDD upgrade options for my old IBM Thinkpad T42 with a Hitachi 60GB 7200 rpm ATA that was almost full. I purchased the HM160HC and am very happy.

It's very quiet and feels much faster than the drive that it replaced. I am now thinking about buying another one for my Dock II for a backup.

The attached thumbnails are screenshots of the before and after:

 

The Seagate Momentus SATA run on NW8440 Win Seven 64
The SSD Photofast PATA on NW8000 Win Seven 32

Seven disk index: 5.9 for both

Next week try SSD on desktop to verify intarface limit of nw8000.

The start up of Seven on NW8440 and NW8000 SSD it's the same.

 

Hi,
I am also new to this forum. I've read this posting several times before finally deciding to buy the Samsung HM160HC PATA drive for my old Dell inspiron 9300.
Now I received the drive, installed it, and the BIOS won't recognize it.
I have read that the Inspiron 9300 do not support 48bit LBA (on this and other forums) but most people have gotten around it by simply partitioning the drive into two smaller partitions. I have also heard that there some utilities available to "fool" the BIOS into thinking it is a smaller drive, but this solution was not highly recommended.
I have tested the drive using a 2.5" drive enclosure (usb) and it seems to work fine. Not sure why my Inspiron 9300 BIOS doesn't recognize the drive and other people with 9300's are able to.
I have already updated the BIOS to the latest rev 05.
Any help would be greatly apprieciated.

On a side note, Dell says you can install the WD3200BEVE with no problems.