skiier2008
asked on
What type of hard disk drive should I buy and how do I install it?
Hi guys,
Recently my hard drive died and I need to get a new one. The problem is I am a pretty big noobie when it comes to hardware. I do not know which type of hard drives will be compatible with my system (maybe they all are, I don't know), which brand is a solid choice for me or how to install them. Mainly can I just buy any old hard drive and it will work, or does it need to be compatible with the mother board etc etc.
My computer is a Dell Dimension 4550 running on Windows XP home edition. The old hard drive was the Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 160gb model. I am after a rather cheap model with around 250gb or so of space (The computer is obviously very old and I will be buying a new one sometime this year so the hard drive doesn't have to be good). For example would this model http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/72816/Seagate/ST3250410AS.asp be a good choice for me?
Also I know you guys can't really give me exact installation instructions without knowing what type of hard drive it is, but just an outline for a noob like me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys.
Recently my hard drive died and I need to get a new one. The problem is I am a pretty big noobie when it comes to hardware. I do not know which type of hard drives will be compatible with my system (maybe they all are, I don't know), which brand is a solid choice for me or how to install them. Mainly can I just buy any old hard drive and it will work, or does it need to be compatible with the mother board etc etc.
My computer is a Dell Dimension 4550 running on Windows XP home edition. The old hard drive was the Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 160gb model. I am after a rather cheap model with around 250gb or so of space (The computer is obviously very old and I will be buying a new one sometime this year so the hard drive doesn't have to be good). For example would this model http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/72816/Seagate/ST3250410AS.asp be a good choice for me?
Also I know you guys can't really give me exact installation instructions without knowing what type of hard drive it is, but just an outline for a noob like me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys.
The drive you referenced will NOT work => a Dell 4550 uses IDE drives; the one you listed is a SATA drive.
You can use ANY IDE drive -- since your old drive is 160GB the system clearly supports 48-bit logical block addressing, which is the only potential issue with older systems (if it did not, you'd be restricted to a maximum of a 120GB drive ... with larger drives you'd only "see" 128GB).
Since your old drive died, you can't just image/restore the OS, so you'll have to load it from scratch. Do you have the original disks for the operating system (should have come with the system)??
You can use ANY IDE drive -- since your old drive is 160GB the system clearly supports 48-bit logical block addressing, which is the only potential issue with older systems (if it did not, you'd be restricted to a maximum of a 120GB drive ... with larger drives you'd only "see" 128GB).
Since your old drive died, you can't just image/restore the OS, so you'll have to load it from scratch. Do you have the original disks for the operating system (should have come with the system)??
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Try Tiger Direct. They have an 80 GB Seagate or Western Digital IDE for about $40.
80GB should be more than enough. why do you need 250GB? Do you do a lot of video capture or is there some other reason for the excessive amount of disk space?
80GB should be more than enough. why do you need 250GB? Do you do a lot of video capture or is there some other reason for the excessive amount of disk space?
ASKER
Thanks for the solutions everyone. Yes it is an IDE drive, with the wide but very thin data cables. So basically I can buy any IDE hard drive and it will work?
I've got the old hard drive out, but it wasn't screwed in. It kind of slotted in, courtesy of this green thing (see below). Can I just unscrew it and it will fit into the new hard drive? Or will it only work for that kind of hard drive?
I have the disks that came with the computer, and I've reformatted many a time so hopefully all is fine in that regard. Just set the bios to boot from the disk then just follow the installer?
IMG-0851.JPG
I've got the old hard drive out, but it wasn't screwed in. It kind of slotted in, courtesy of this green thing (see below). Can I just unscrew it and it will fit into the new hard drive? Or will it only work for that kind of hard drive?
I have the disks that came with the computer, and I've reformatted many a time so hopefully all is fine in that regard. Just set the bios to boot from the disk then just follow the installer?
IMG-0851.JPG
Yes you should be all set, any drive should fit in to that mounting bracket. If you've done the OS reinstall before then it sounds like you should be all ready to go get your new drive. Just make sure its IDE. :)
Cory
Cory
ASKER
Ok thanks dark :)
I should be getting the hard drive tomorrow or the next day (shop is ordering it in). I'll leave it open for now in case something unexpected happens in the installation.
I should be getting the hard drive tomorrow or the next day (shop is ordering it in). I'll leave it open for now in case something unexpected happens in the installation.
Yes, the "green things" just mount on the side of the drive (the mounting holes are standard) ... and then it will "pop" back in. The only thing you need to check with an IDE drive is that the jumpers are set correctly for the system. If the old drive was the only device on the IDE cable, then it was set to either Master or Cable Select. The new drive should be set the same way. Most likely it will arrive properly set (usually for Cable Select) -- won't hurt to simply try it.
Clearly Tiger Direct is not a good source for you, but I'm sure you found an acceptable drive locally. As for 250GB being an "... excessive amount of disk space ..." ==> it's all in the eye of the beholder. I haven't bought a drive smaller than 750GB for a long time ... and lately don't buy anything except 1.5TB drives :-) [No such thing as too much storage !!]
Clearly Tiger Direct is not a good source for you, but I'm sure you found an acceptable drive locally. As for 250GB being an "... excessive amount of disk space ..." ==> it's all in the eye of the beholder. I haven't bought a drive smaller than 750GB for a long time ... and lately don't buy anything except 1.5TB drives :-) [No such thing as too much storage !!]
ASKER
Ergh the shop I was going to buy it from wont have one in until next week so I'm probably going to buy it online. I was thinking this HDD would be good http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/80415/HDD_IDE/Western_Digital/WD2500AAJB.asp, but it is an EIDE drive. Will that still be compatible with my motherboard?
Thanks for the adivce Gary I appreciate it. Hopefully the drive is setup properly. When I get my new computer later this year I will definitely be getting a big hard drive. This is just a crappy little one for the interim period.
Thanks for the adivce Gary I appreciate it. Hopefully the drive is setup properly. When I get my new computer later this year I will definitely be getting a big hard drive. This is just a crappy little one for the interim period.
EIDE=IDE It will do ok. You may need you update BIOS since the HDD has larger capacity but I really doubt it.
Good luck,
Pancho
Good luck,
Pancho
The drive looks good, if you had a 160 GB drive before and it worked than you shouldn't have to update your BIOS or anything to make it work. In the worst case you may have to download a BIOS update from Dell, but I highly doubt it.
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ASKER
Alright thanks, I ordered the HDD earlier. Should be here between 1 and 3 days.
ASKER
Ok the hard drive arrived a few hours ago. It seemed to install without a hitch and windows is installing now. The one thing I did notice was that it seemed to list the Hard drive as the secondary drive (the CD-ROM drive was listed as the primary) but I think it was like that before anyway.
ASKER
Well everything is installed and working perfectly. Thank you so much everyone, I really appreciate all the help.
ASKER
Thanks for the help guys. You have saved me potentially thousands of dollars :) Now I don't have to pay some guy $100 every single time I need a new hard drive! I know how to do it myself, thanks so much again guys!
You can check if your old drive was attached to an IDE cable like the in the picture. If so search for an IDE/PATA drive.
Hope that helps,
Pancho
z-000553idecable80-1-.jpg