| Upgrading your laptop hard drive can be one of the most
frustrating and complicated upgrades you can perform for your laptop computer.
Information on this subject is hard to come by as manufacturers and resellers do not
readily provide this information. This guide is to help you make the proper decision
when buying a new hard drive for your laptop, if additional information is needed such as
downloads, drivers, flash bios upgrades or installation instructions our experts are here
to help, just email us at support@goldsource.com
1. Physical size. The
physical sizes of laptop hard drives (hds) vary amongst manufacturers, capacity and date
of when the actual hds were produced. While all notebook hds have the same length
and width the height of the hds vary considerably. Heights range from 6.5mm to
19mm. Most notebook computers produced within the past 5 years will accept a
physical height of 12.5mm (half inch) or less. In an effort to make notebook
computers thinner and lighter, manufacturers have produced hd heights of 9.5mm and
less. These thinner hds are used in today's newest notebook computers, produced
within the past 2 years.
2. Screw hole location. Yes,
screw hole locations. Most buyers never consider this an issue. Hd
manufacturers have changed the location of the screw holes on the hds. This change
was implemented about 4 years ago and only affects notebook computers produced prior to
the change. If your notebook computer is 4 years or older check the location of the
screw holes to be sure you purchasing the correct drive. Newer hds have 4 screw
holes located toward each end of the hd, while older hds have 4 screw holes located toward
the middle of the hd.
3. Bios Limitation. The most
important and complicated issue when upgrading your notebook computer. Within the
past 2 years hd capacities have increased from 6gb to 32gb and notebook computer
manufacturers have not kept up with the larger capacity hds. The manufacturers have
outfitted their respective models with a bios limitation of only 8.5gb. Meaning,
systems with a bios limitation will only detect 8.5gb's of hd space even
when a 30Gb hd was installed. There are 2 basic ways around this problem. 1.)
We recommend upgrading your flash bios. You can do this buy logging onto the
manufacturer's web site and downloading a flash bios upgrade. It's easy to install
and will update your notebook computer's bios with the manufacturer's latest bios
software the upgrade may, in some cases cure other system problems,
such as, Windows drivers and PCMCIA compatibility, etc. 2.) If a flash bios upgrade is not available, you can use drive overlay
software to over-ride the bios limitation. This software can be downloaded from our
web site's download section. If the flash bios or drive overly does not work
then your system is basically helpless and the largest capacity upgrade will be either 2gb
or 6gb depending on the manufacture and model of the notebook.
click here for further info on bios limitations.
4. Installation. Installation on
some notebooks can be easy and painless, while some installations require NASA
technicians. Some notebooks require complete disassembly of the notebook and it's
components, some even require removing the LCD screen. How do you know what your
particular system requires? Just drop us a email @ support@goldsource.com
and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding the upgrade of your
notebook computer.
|
