The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Replacing harddrive

    Discussion in 'Toshiba' started by vivienne, Apr 4, 2008.

  1. vivienne

    vivienne Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi

    I have a Satellite A20 laptop with a 40 GB hdd. The hdd is failing and I would like to replace it with a larger one. I tried a Seagate 160 but that would only run in PIO mode. My existing Toshiba drive runs in DMA 5 mode.

    Does anyone know what drive is compatible with this model ?

    Thanks!
     
    vivienne, Apr 4, 2008
    #1
  2. digital8doug

    digital8doug Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    162
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Most manufacturers do NOT retest later made upgrades for compatibilty/usability so reference to the owners manual may provide information of limited use.
    I would check; your BIOS settings, make sure latest BIOS is installed (consider a modified BIOS).

    Review ST documentation. Run SeaTools & HD diagnostics for more info :) , may be provided (DL the latest utilities from ST site!) then inquire ST tech support. May be a pin setting jumper is in an incorrect position.

    Which OS in use ? Did you check current HD Properties & settings
    (via ? Device Manager as I recall)
     
    digital8doug, Apr 4, 2008
    #2
  3. vivienne

    vivienne Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Digitaldoug:

    I have the latest bios and in the laptop, I do not see a place to modify settings - even if I knew what to do!

    There are no jumpers on the hdd. Tech support thought it was an incompatibility issue. The repair shop tried a Samsung and had the same error.

    I am using XP - I did go to device manager and followed instructions to uninstall and reinstall the harddrive. Nothing helps. My original hdd shows that it runs in DMA 5 mode and both the Samsung and Seagate show PIO mode.

    I'm not sure what to do next - as both Toshiba and the computer shop are stymied.

    Thanks for your help.

    Vivienne
     
    vivienne, Apr 4, 2008
    #3