harddrive replacement on X60 plus

hey... me again... Ive done alot of builing pc from ground up and is very farmiliar with replacing harddrive.

However, X60 plus is my first notebook ever, and i opened the harddrive bay thinking it would be just as easy as replacing harddrive on PC.

However, seeing all these screws and pieces of metal ive never even seen in my life, i was too afraid to touch anything thinking i might accidently break anything...

So, can anyone tell me how to safely replace notebook harddrive?

 

No panic. Only 4 screws. The first 2 are to remove the HDD cover. This is on the left side font when the computer is upside down, in front of the Windows COA sticker. There's a photo of the bottom of the X60plus with the covers off in my review (see link in signature).

Before you go any further, disconnect the mains PSU, remove the battery and make sure that you are free of static electricity (eg touch a metal radiator). It is also prudent to put some cloth on the table before putting your computer upside down. Once you have removed the two screws for the cover, slide the cover towards yourself and then lift the left side.

Having got the cover off, the remaining two screws hold the clamp for the ribbon cable. I hope they are self-evident on the attached photo.

Once you have removed those two screws, carefully prise upwards the left end of the HDD (by the edge of the computer). The HDD is held in place by rubber pads (the shock-absorbing system).

Once the left end of the HDD is out of the bay, it is time to prise the ribbon cable connector off the other end of the HDD. Use a smallish flat-bladed screwdriver alternately at each side (I have marked some crude arrows on the photo) to prise the connector off the HDD. You can then lift the HDD out, leaving the cable and connector in place.

To fix the connector to the new HDD it is easiest to bend the ribbon cable slightly so that the socket on the connector is facing upwards. You can then push the connector into the socket. Once fully in, lay the HDD down and push into the bay, right hand (connector end) first. Then replace the two screws holding the cable clamp and finally replace the cover. It's taken much longer to type than than to do the swap.

You won't be able to boot off the new HDD unless you have cloned the old one. If you want the recovery partition then you need to install that first. Then boot using your recovery CD. I would recommend partitioning the HDD so you can keep your own files out of C: (which will be wiped and replaced if you use the recovery CD in the future).

I hope it all goes well. What new HDD did you get?

John

PS: I hope the attached photos are present - the attachment system isn't very good with a slow connection.

 

ahhh thanks a bunch for your detailed response i really appreciated it! I havent got a new HDD yet, I was just checking out how to remove the harddrive prior to buying my new hdd.

And im going to buy 160GB 5400rpm samsung hdd, but john, do you know when I can get my hands on ANY 160GB 7200rpm harddrive?

 

The Seagate 7200.2 is available in US and expected soon in UK.

John

 

Doesn't a 7200rpm drive have higher power consumption? How much higher? Or how does the notebooks battery life change?

 

You can compare maximum and idle power consumption for a selection of 2.5" HDDs at Tom's Hardware 2.5" HDD charts.

7200rpm HDDs draw the most power. I would broadly estimate an extra 0.5W on average power consumption. On the X60 plus, the difference between 25W and 25.5W power drain will make a difference of around 3 minutes on battery life, but on my Q35 the difference between 10W and 10.5W would be about 15 minutes on battery life. The extra power will become extra heat, but I find that HDDs run relatively cool in Samsung notebooks so this is unlikely to be an issue.

The Samsung 5400rpm HDDs tend to be in the middle of the range for power consumption, with SATA pulling more power than PATA. It will be interesting to see how the impending Samsung 7200rpm HDDs ( see Samsung news) continue Samsung's tradition of cool and quiet HDDs.

John