Replacing my HD on laptop

[Charlie98]

My backup for my desktop is a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop I bought new in 2005. The issue I'm having is the tiny (by today's standards...) 40Gb HD... it's just not cutting it. I suppose if I was more tech-able I could go in and cull out all the old trash that's in there, but I thought it would be better to just replace it with something more appropriate and start with a clean OS (My new computer build gets W7 x64, might as well make them match.)

My question is... on a laptop this old, is a new HDD going to PNP, or are there going to be issues? Currently it has a 40G Seagate (9.5mm, 5.4K)

 

[Old Hippie]

First off, check out the replacement video.

Are ya up to it?

Second thing, are you sure there's drivers for everything in 64bit?

Third thing, you'll need an IDE drive and the selection is getting a little limited.

I only see two on Newegg but either one should work for ya.

Good Luck!

 

[Coup27]

I don't know where the OP is from the prices for 2.5" IDE drives in the UK are a fair bit cheaper than those on Newegg. Normally we pay a lot more than you yanks.

I must ask though, as this old laptop is only a backup and presuming you keep your data on HDDs in your main PC which is then backed up elsewhere, 40GB should be more than enough for Windows and essential apps should your PC fail.

If you know how to reinstall an OS, I would just do it on your laptop and not upgrade the HDD. I have just sold my main PC and my new i3-2130 + Z68 rig won't be here until Wednesday so I'm using my Dell Latitude D520 laptop until then and that has an Intel 320 40GB in it and I've only used 12GB.

 

[Charlie98]

First off, check out the replacement video.

Are ya up to it?

Second thing, are you sure there's drivers for everything in 64bit?


Good Luck!

The hardware isn't the issue (unless there are direct compatability issues,) I'm a pretty handy fellow...

I don't understand your second statment... (I am NOT a very handy fellow concerning software and whatnot... )

I must ask though, as this old laptop is only a backup and presuming you keep your data on HDDs in your main PC which is then backed up elsewhere, 40GB should be more than enough for Windows and essential apps should your PC fail.

If you know how to reinstall an OS, I would just do it on your laptop and not upgrade the HDD.

I do have a 500GB external drive I use for backup storage on the desktop, so I don't really use the laptop for backup storage anymore, I use it when I travel and as a system backup for my small business. The 40G drive is almost full and I've cleaned out as much stuff as I'm comfortable doing, maybe I just need to have someone who knows what they are doing clean it out... :$

 

[Coup27]

Second thing, are you sure there's drivers for everything in 64bit?

What he means by this is as the laptop is incredibly old, there's a more chance than not that you will not get all the features of the laptop working again should you install Windows 7 64bit.

How many processes are running right now? (ctrl+alt+del, task manager, bottom left corner).

 

[Old Hippie]

What he means by this is as the laptop is incredibly old, there's a more chance than not that you will not get all the features of the laptop working again should you install Windows 7 64bit..

Thanks Coup, that's exactly what I mean.

OP, you may have a better chance finding drivers using a 32bit version.

If I were you I'd be Googleing "Dell Inspiron 6000 + w7 64bit" to see any future problems.

 

[Coup27]

Be interesting to see how many processes he has running. If its 60+ then it probably needs a format and 40GB will be enough.

 

[Old Hippie]

Be interesting to see how many processes he has running. If its 60+ then it probably needs a format and 40GB will be enough.

Definately sounds plausible.

But I'm sure a HDD upgrade will definately have a positive effect.

For all I know this thing has a 4800rpm drive.

I'm thinking a RAM upgrade would also help tremendously.

 

[Charlie98]

I have 48 processes running at basic system idle.

It has a Pent M Dothan @ 1.73 and 512Mg RAM (If I'm reading it correctly) and the HDD spins at 5400rpm.

I was going to buy the 3pack of M7 x64... I actually have 2 laptops I need to update, my 2005 Dell and my daughter's 2007 Dell 1501 AMD Turion 64x2, along with my new build.

 

[Coup27]

48 processes is very good. This is a good indicator that your install is clean and not bloated with crap and has lots of entries in the startup folder.

This means that your backup laptop is probably used for far more than a backup laptop. The only upgrades you can do to this laptop is bump up the RAM and put in a bigger drive. The RAM will help a lot in this case. Though once you have bought the drive and RAM (older tech = more expensive), may that money be more wisely spent towards a new one?

You deffinately need to confirm if you can get all of the x64 drivers for all the machines you intend to install it on. If the machines have 3GB or less of RAM, there is no point installing x64. x64 Windows 7 is designed for systems with 4GB or more RAM and it will actually run slower because they have less than 4GB. If you buy retail copies you get both x86 and x64 versions in the pack.

As your OS install appears clean, if you do decide to buy a bigger drive, you could look at cloning the drive onto the new one instead of installing everything fresh, which on that machine will probably take 2 days.

 

[Old Hippie]

I was going to buy the 3pack of M7 x64...

You'd better do some checking.

Not many SSDs come in IDE configuration and that will be a problem.

You'll need to find what type of interface (IDE, SATA, whatever) each laptop has and then go from there.

EDIT.....I thought you were talking about a 64GB SSD.......I was thinking you meant the Crucial M4 64GB. I screwed up as usual but you still need to find the interfaces.

 

[Coup27]

You'd better do some checking.

Not many SSDs come in IDE configuration and that will be a problem.

You'll need to find what type of interface (IDE, SATA, whatever) each laptop has and then go from there.

lol. I think he meant W7 and not M7

 

[Old Hippie]

lol. I think he meant W7 and not M7

LOL!

I caught it after I posted.

Another day, another screw-up.....you'll have that from me! LOL!

 

[Charlie98]

LOL!

I caught it after I posted.

Another day, another screw-up.....you'll have that from me! LOL!

So did I... but you were already replying to it... Doh! :$

I don't mind the old thing, it does what I need it to do... it's just lately it does everything very SLOOOOOOOW. I minimize a page and it takes, honest to God, a minute to drop.

This means that your backup laptop is probably used for far more than a backup laptop. The only upgrades you can do to this laptop is bump up the RAM and put in a bigger drive. The RAM will help a lot in this case. Though once you have bought the drive and RAM (older tech = more expensive), may that money be more wisely spent towards a new one?

At one time it was my primary computer, so it has a bunch of stuff on it. I'm in the process of getting rid of what programs I know I can (using Secunia, too) and dumping photos and stuff off it.

 

[Coup27]

The fact you only have 48 processes running means that deleting photos and uninstalling some programs won't actually speed it up. Swapping the HDD for a larger capacity (unless u can find a 7200rpm one) won't speed it up either. Adding some more RAM will but not by a lot.

 

[Charlie98]

The fact you only have 48 processes running means that deleting photos and uninstalling some programs won't actually speed it up. Swapping the HDD for a larger capacity (unless u can find a 7200rpm one) won't speed it up either. Adding some more RAM will but not by a lot.

Any ideas on where I need to go with this thing? I've had this thing over to our local computer guy (I don't think he knows what he's doing, quite honestly) and it always comes back the same. What you are suggesting is a software or profile (?) problem, not necessarily a HDD problem. I just assumed it was having to wade through all that crap on the HDD...

 

[Coup27]

What you are suggesting is a software or profile (?) problem, not necessarily a HDD problem.

I haven't a clue what this means. I also haven't a clue what "computer guys / shops" talk about most the time.

The reality is you have an old machine and a 5400rpm IDE hard drive. If that was a SATA connection you could bump the RAM to 2GB, put in an SSD and it would be more than good enough for light use. Because you can't really get SSDs in IDE, you're a bit stuck.

The absolute best shot you have is a 7200rpm IDE hard drive greater than 40GB and stick some more RAM in.

In my opinion though that money would be better spent towards a newer machine. It doesn't have to be brand new.

What's the specs of the other laptops/computers you're looking at upgrading? If they're equally as old and have the same bottleneck (IDE), it may be a massive fools errand.

 

[Charlie98]

What's the specs of the other laptops/computers you're looking at upgrading? If they're equally as old and have the same bottleneck (IDE), it may be a massive fools errand.

I'm replacing my old desktop with a new build... that's taken care of.

My daughter's laptop is in better shape, but doesn't have the lagging problems my 6000 has... her's has an AMD Turion 64x2 and a 120G SATA HDD. Her's is the least of my worries...

I guess my though is... if you are saying the full memory is not the problem, then why is it running so damned slow? It used to be a lightning bolt...

 

[razel]

I have a friend with the same laptop. You cannot install W7 x64 on it, the Dothan processors do not run 64 bits. Your HDD is also IDE. At this point only the Transcend E-IDE SSD are worth a damn if you can find one made in 2010 for roughly $100. And even those will sometimes studder when writing, but is acceptable since it's still faster than an HDD.

I wouldn't spend too much money, but if you really love it, pile up on RAM... 2GB, run Win 7 32 bits and buy the WD 160GB/320GB IDE 2.5" drive. It's the best IDE 2.5" HDD you can buy next to the Samsung Spinpoint M5 which is too old. Also consider slapping in a class 10 SD card which sits flush enough to use for Readyboost.

Otherwise, I would save up for a new laptop.