Help needed with replacing a HD on a SONY VAIO

[akaristos2]

I have an old but excellent SONY VAIO notebook PCG-Z505R - PII 366 (in spite of awful service and support from SONY). However its HD is only 6GB. I am thinking a 40 or 60 GB drive in replacement. I found some for around 99-119 bucks (Toshiba 4200rpm). 1. Any thought on the subject? 2. How to replace the existing one without having to reinstall all the applications on the new drive. Many thanks for your interest and contribution.

 

[TheCanuck]

You could use ghost to make an image of the hard drive, then put it on the new one. If you have a desktop you can get a laptop ide-40ide adapter for about $5, or ghost can backup over a network connection with a boot floppy. But be warned, ghosting a hard drive can sometimes cause boot problems. I recently did it with my laptop, but the drive wouldnt boot. Ended up just copying all the files over and reinstalling the OS/apps. Probably better to do a clean install anyway since you aren't copying over any unneeded crap and you'll get a much faster system with a new install.

This link will probably help you disassemble it: http://modular.fas.harvard.edu/z505he/apart/

Also, if you're going to spend $100 or so get the 5400rpm models:

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=22-146-022&depa=0

 

[Lord Evermore]

Actually with XP, a full reinstall is rarely needed. A repair install wipes out all old driver references but leaves all your files and apps intact, including all shortcuts and registry entries. Very useful, and nearly as good as a complete wipe and reinstall (only downside is anything you don't really need is still on there like old programs that you might not reinstall after a complete wipe).

Make sure the laptop will actually support such large drives. It's been so long since I dealt with chipsets for such old chips that I can't remember if 40GB might be the limit. (I just checked, it looks like it does support large drives, at least up to 60GB.)

You might also want to jump up to the 7200RPM models. Their power usage is surprisingly low (at least rated low) and compares well with some 5400RPM drives, and a really fast drive might go a long way to making that old CPU seem peppy again.

 

[akaristos2]

Much appreciated. Thanks. BTW, does the Z505R supports large HD, let's say 60GB 7200rpm? Thanks again.

 

[akaristos2]

Many thanks. Your contribution and suggestions are much appreciated.

 

[Lord Evermore]

It does appear to support 60GB drives at most. There are parts dealers specifically listing sizes up to 60GB as parts for this model. The speed of the drive doesn't matter, except in terms of battery life, which you'll have to check the power requirements of all the drives you consider. Hitachi's 7200RPM drives are almost as low power as Seagate's 5400RPM drives, and some 4200RPM drives.

 

[cheapherk]

Thanks- I need to add some RAM to my Vaio PCG-R505CT. I didn't know what I'd have to go through to do it.