Dell Inspiron laptop HD replacement
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 1,993
Likes: 512
From: UK
Dell Inspiron laptop HD replacement
G'day to the Gurus
I need to replace/install a new or S/H HD in a Dell Inspiron laptop. Obviously, one could obtain from Dell; alternatively, if buying S/H, are there any restrictions as regards type, size (physical), connections etc? I'm quite happy doing the techie bits on desktops but laptops have, so far, been a "buy and use" area - no delving around inside - hence the query. Any advice gratefully received.
TIA
I need to replace/install a new or S/H HD in a Dell Inspiron laptop. Obviously, one could obtain from Dell; alternatively, if buying S/H, are there any restrictions as regards type, size (physical), connections etc? I'm quite happy doing the techie bits on desktops but laptops have, so far, been a "buy and use" area - no delving around inside - hence the query. Any advice gratefully received.
TIA
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 125
Likes: 0
From: UK
You should be able to use any 2.5 inch laptop hard drive. When you remove the existing Dell drive, it may have a proprietary connector on it which has a different pin layout to the one you would normally get with a drive. The new drive wont fit in the laptop without this connector, but you can usually remove the connector from the dell drive and stick it onto the new drive without any problems. Just be sure to align the Dell connector properly when you place it onto the new drive. The Dell hard drives always seem to be in strange locations to me. Rather than behind the battery or behind a hatch, some require you to unscrew the audio panel on the side and slide that out to access the drive caddy.
Joined: Jul 2001
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From: Gold Coast
Done it a few times with the two Inspiron's I've had.
Piss-easy - Just pull the drive carrier out and four screws hold the drive in place.
As mentioned above there's a small adaptor to let the HD plug into the receptacle but it's just a very simple device.
It only takes a few minutes.
Piss-easy - Just pull the drive carrier out and four screws hold the drive in place.
As mentioned above there's a small adaptor to let the HD plug into the receptacle but it's just a very simple device.
It only takes a few minutes.
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 40
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From: Merseyside
Recently replaced a HD on a dell inspiron, dont forget you will need a copy of the operating system and drivers, ( which you dont get as standard from dell anymore.)
As mine was a warranty replacement they sent the required disks along with the new hdd...
As mine was a warranty replacement they sent the required disks along with the new hdd...
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 1,993
Likes: 512
From: UK
Thank you for the replies.
Physically fitting the drive was quite straightforward but once in place, the BIOS didn't recognise it and, so, I couldn't FDISK it!!
Originally thought that the drive might be faulty - bought as new item on E-Bay. Luckily, I have another laptop and tried it in that - no problems .... FDISK'ed, formatted and installed OS. Not at all sure what to make of the Dell failure - the BIOS didn't 'see' the CD drive either. Any thoughts, please??
TIA
Physically fitting the drive was quite straightforward but once in place, the BIOS didn't recognise it and, so, I couldn't FDISK it!!
Originally thought that the drive might be faulty - bought as new item on E-Bay. Luckily, I have another laptop and tried it in that - no problems .... FDISK'ed, formatted and installed OS. Not at all sure what to make of the Dell failure - the BIOS didn't 'see' the CD drive either. Any thoughts, please??
TIA
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 722
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From: Earth (just)
Check the bios settings and that they are not user selected for the old hard drive - auto detect should IMHO find the new drive and voila - alternatively input the actual drive details - cyls heads etc which may be written on the drive. For my money though go for auto detect.
Cheers
Cheers
Joined: Mar 2002
Aviation Qualifications: CPL
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From: near an aeroplane
I've had the same thing happen to me on an old Toshiba laptop. Bought a new HD, fitted it but the computer couldn't make heads nor tails from it. The BIOS on laptops doesn't always have the full options to recognise a HD, in those cases the HD type is hardcoded somewhere in the machine.
I've managed to solve the issue on my laptop by switching HD brands. The drive that came out was an IBM, it wouldn't recognise a 6 Gb Toshiba, but when I switched it for a 10 Gb IBM it booted up without any problems. I did need to install a drive overlay to 'fool' the BIOS, but many HD manufacturers have this software available from their websites.
Something similar may be the case here, so if you've got the option to try a different drive (I took my laptop with me to the store and fitted it there) try getting the same brand as the one that came out. If that doesn't work, and the BIOS doesn't have any drive parameters to set, then you can probably only exchange it for the same type again.
I've managed to solve the issue on my laptop by switching HD brands. The drive that came out was an IBM, it wouldn't recognise a 6 Gb Toshiba, but when I switched it for a 10 Gb IBM it booted up without any problems. I did need to install a drive overlay to 'fool' the BIOS, but many HD manufacturers have this software available from their websites.
Something similar may be the case here, so if you've got the option to try a different drive (I took my laptop with me to the store and fitted it there) try getting the same brand as the one that came out. If that doesn't work, and the BIOS doesn't have any drive parameters to set, then you can probably only exchange it for the same type again.
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 1,993
Likes: 512
From: UK
Many thanks for all the help.
Just to up-date, all is now working OK - I bought another HD - Dell original, brand new, 'pulled' from another Inspiron. The caddy wasn't correct, so exchanged it for my own, popped into place and Lo and Behold! all working as advertised!!
Presumably the BIOS is set up to only work with Dell's own. For the moment I shall just accept that it works and leave the investigation into 'WHY' until later.
Just to up-date, all is now working OK - I bought another HD - Dell original, brand new, 'pulled' from another Inspiron. The caddy wasn't correct, so exchanged it for my own, popped into place and Lo and Behold! all working as advertised!!
Presumably the BIOS is set up to only work with Dell's own. For the moment I shall just accept that it works and leave the investigation into 'WHY' until later.
