CF 51 HDD upgrade?

Hi! I've got a CF 51 that I LOVE. I've been drooling over a couple of the newer models, but I'm not ready to give up ol' Bessie just yet. I've lugged it all over the US, Iraq, everywhere in between, and now Afghanistan. It's taken some really nasty bumps along the way and has never given me a problem. I LOVE it.

Trouble is, it's got a paltry 40 gig HDD. I want to replace it with one that's bigger, badder, and just as reliable, but not the outdated $400 80 gig one that Panasonic wants to sell me. I also want to pop the old one into a "rugged" enclosure so I could have another small external. Did I mention that I've never done anything more complicated than put in more RAM?

This is an awesome website with a lot of helpful people--I've learned more over the past few days of reading than from months of asking my "techie" friends and family. ("Buy a new laptop." "Just get an external!" They just don't understand.) But now I'm at a dead end--I know I need an ATA-6 drive and enclosure along with some software like Ghost, but everything past that is a mystery. I don't even know how much a CF-51ECMDBBM will support.

I'd also prefer to buy new hardware, but I understand my options are going to be limited. Any help will be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!

 

Go here with your complete model number and it will tell you everything about your machine. You may have dig around a little, but you will succeed.

http://config.toughbook.com/

 

Yeah, that was one place where I dead-ended. I'm on a gov't computer network that blocks access to a lot of sites--config tells me what I have, but it won't let me past that or tell me what my laptop can handle. Thanks, though.

 

How about an operator's manual? It will tell you what your machine uses.
Go here and register your machine. You can download the manual.

https://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/w...pport?langId=-1&storeId=15001&catalogId=13401

 

Thanks, pappy. There's definitely some good information in there.

A lot of people here talk about the Hitachi Travelstars for replacement drives. Is that the only kind that will mold properly into the shock gel caddy? I was thinking about getting this 120 gig Western Digital Scorpio and Acronis True Image for software.

Any thoughts?

 

Do you know for sure which type of drive your machine requires? I don't know anything about your machine, so take anything I say with a grain of salt.

As you know, the Hitachis are really hard to get now. A lot of the hard core folks on this site swear by the Seagate HDD.

The HDD that you left the link for certainly is priced right, and I've had really good service from Newegg. I think if the size is the same (2.5?) and the connector is the same as stock; it should be a correct fit for your HDD caddy.

I don't know anything about Acronis, but it is highly reccomended for "ghosting" (cloning?) the new HDD before installation. I think that you also have to have an external HDD enclosure to do that. I got one from Newegg for about $15 and now use it for an external HDD with the old HD. It attaches through the usb port on my 29.

I sure wish that I could be more help. Someone knowledgeable about the 51 will wander by and give some useful advice. Stay safe.

 

DO,
If you have not already done so; read the recent CF-30 thread. It has info re
the cloning of the HD.

 

Thanks, pappy. Sounds good...I am itching to make this upgrade, but I'll see if any more advice comes my way. It's going to have to wait a few days anyway.

Btw, I'm Army, but I work very closely with a lot of Marines out here. They're some real squared-away individuals. The services are getting more and more "joint" all the time.

Thanks again.

 

DO,
You have my highest respect, admiration, and appreciation. Thanks for your service.

 

Thanks again, pappy. I got Acronis T.I. 11, the WD drive, and an enclosure Newegg was running a special on. When it gets over here, I'll give it a whirl and post my results. I hope nothing goes TOO wrong...I seem to have misplaced my original boot/recovery disk.