Upgrading notebook hard drive

I am thinking of upgrading the HDD on my Thinkpad T60.
It is a Core 2 Duo, T7200 2000 MHz. Further specs can be found at http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Intel_Core_2_Duo_(Merom)

Just generic compatibility questions. I just have to worry about:
- SATA/PATA
- 2.5''
- Drive height?
- Am I missing any other basic details?

After looking at the past upgrading threads, it seems feasible to do a simple upgrade like that.

I am just wondering if it's possible to use a generic portable 2.5'' hard drive as my notebook hard drive, similar to the 2.5'' models found here: Amazon.com: portable hard drive

Thanks!

 

Are you sure about this upgrade? I've considered one time to do this but one friend of mine told me there are many aspects about compatibility like: voltage, size. I'm not a guru in computers but it make sens

 

size is a standar for laptop HDD so any laptop hdd that use the same connector (sata/pata) should work unless your specific laptop manufacturer used non standar drives then you would have to worrie about alot

if not voltage and power consumsion will only have impact on the batterie life

 

The Amazon link is for portable drives in external cases. Buy a drive without a case to mount inside your laptop. The reason I say this is because some makers have started modifying the drives that come in usb cases (probably in a cost cutting measure), making it impossible to remove them and use them inside a laptop.

The voltage on any 2.5" drive will be the same. Current requirements vary some, but that just lenghtens or shortens battery life per charge a bit. Most laptops only take drives 9.5mm tall, but the vast majority of drives are only that tall anyway. The few exceptions that reach 12.5mm tall these days should state the dimensions in the ad copy.

I don't know your laptop, so can't recommend a specific drive. I'm sure someone else can.

 

The main thing to be aware of is SATA/PATA. Tell us what notebook you have, and we can help with that. A few high-capacity drives are thicker, and will not work on all notebooks as 1shado1 pointed out. Look at Newegg for the drives. If you buy a drive in a case, you might not know exactly what you are getting as far as model of hard drive.

 

He stated in the first line of his post, his laptop is a T60...

 

Sorry, I'm obviously blind. It will take a 9.5mm SATA drive.

 

Thanks for the helpful comments. I will make my model more visible in my original post.

Some questions/comments regarding the previous comments:
- While I realize the 2.5'' portable hard drives are in enclosures, can't I just open the enclosure and use the internal hard drive there? I mention this method because I've seen the portable hard drives going for cheaper than the bare internal 2.5'' hard drives, and I always enjoy cutting costs.
- I am not worried about battery life. My laptop spends the majority of its time plugged in.

 

Did you read my post? I said some companies have been using modified drives to put in the cases, making them unsuitable for internal laptop use. Western Digital comes to mind as one example. Don't know about others. Best to spend the extra 10 bucks and get one you know will fit.

 

The answer is "maybe." Those drives don't tell you what is inside...SATA/PATA, 5400 RPM/7200 RPM, what brand, etc. They will usually be the least expensive drive available, and may not have standard connections or mounting holes. You also lose any warranty when you pull a drive out of an enclosure, but if you get a bare drive from Newegg, you can always return a defective unit and get full warranty coverage.

 

Sounds like the best approach to my problem. Thanks for the help!