I'm going to buy a new HD for my laptop (Inspiron 8500). The 40gb in it now just isn't big enough anymore and it occasionally likes to make noises that I just don't like to hear from a hard drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822146230
Looking to buy this one. Anything in particular I should be aware of? Only issue I can think of is heat related - my current drive is a 5400rpm and this one is a 7200. Thoughts/suggestions?

8/31/2006 11:01:16 PM

you'll probably also be using more power for the 7200 and have a bit decreased battery life, nothing to lose sleep over though ... increased heat's not a big problem either, but it'll be there in a small amount too.

you should find someone with a 2.5" hdd enclosure that has hdd cloning software ... you may be able to get them to copy the old to the new w/o you having to reinstall everything.

8/31/2006 11:07:45 PM

you can use a cloning software to put it on disk or external drive then put it on your new drive

8/31/2006 11:17:07 PM

I've got an external 2.5" enclosure I plan to use. I want a fresh install of everything though, so I won't be cloning. Something I would like to do is ghost the new install and settings and save to a DVD or another external drive. Free/very cheap software suggestion? I'm guessing I need to find a copy of Norton Ghost.

I forgot to ask... I'm pretty sure this computer came with XP Pro without SP1. I have a copy of pro+SP2 on a CD. I'm going to bet my install key won't work with the sp2 disc I have. Would MS give me a new key to use with it or would I just be better off installing the original disc and downloading the service packs? Thanks

[Edited on August 31, 2006 at 11:27 PM. Reason : .]

8/31/2006 11:24:59 PM

^^ yea that'll work too

on another note, you'll definitely see increased performance with the 7200 over the 5400, so enjoy that along with the extra space you'll have!

your key will work just fine for sp2, as long as it's the same series of xp, be it home or professional. make sense?

[Edited on August 31, 2006 at 11:27 PM. Reason : xp key]

8/31/2006 11:25:16 PM

^ Wow, that was quick. Yeah, it's the same, XP Pro. Thanks man!

8/31/2006 11:28:36 PM