hard drive died... options?

[gravy]

So my hard drive on my 5 yr old laptop (hp pavilion n5495) died, everything else on the laptop still works and I have everything backed up. Ideally I would buy a new laptop however money is super tight right now. so...

Bought a new hard drive (60g seagate) and the laptop doesn't recognize it. I can't see anything that I would have done wrong. Is there anything I should know when I go back to return the drive. ie. Do I need to get something closer to the size of the old one (30g)? Is the computer just obsolete and I'm screwed?

Also discovered that even though the computer came with XP installed the recovery disks seem to have Win 95 wondering if anyone out there has a copy of XP they care to get rid of for cheap + some beer?

[sfotex]

What do you mean it doesn't recognize it? Does anything show up in the bios?

[RShea]

If the computer is 5 years old, then there could be a upper limit that the system recognizes only drives up to say 40 gig (due to a bios limitations). Plus if the system is using Windows 95 and you want to jump up to Windows XP you had better see how much memory and some other things for system specs that old unit has. I'd probably recommend that you not load XP on it unless the system has at least 128 meg (and probably more like 256 meg of system memory.) You could try Ebay for a Windows 98 or Windows 2000 Pro which are a little easier on system memory than Win XP Pro.

Could be time to evaluate the price of all the upgrades- Win XP Home upgrade would probably run ~$90-$100
Hard Drive (40 gig new- not going the Ebay route with some used 20 or 30 gig laptop HD) would probably be $40 -$50
and if you need memory then add ~$30-60 depending on the type and how much you have.

You still end up with a old laptop with an outdated processor, etc. and maybe an old battery that does not run very long.

Compare those to the entry level laptop deals out there with XP or Vista and starting at $400-$500 after the rebates, etc...

I'd just go and get smaller laptop hard drive and then see if the computer recognizes that one, or check the manufacturer's web site to see what they have to say about the bios on the unit.

[gravy]

As far as the not recognizing the HD thing - there is some sort of troubleshooting program that couldn't find it that's also where the win95 thing came up. Wish I could be more descriptive but I'm only sort of useful around computers.

In any case I did go back to the shop today and got a different hard drive (80g samsung) and it recognized that one and I got a copy of XP (from a friend) which it was running previously. So I'm back in business temporarily - looks like the lcd is going. So still sort of in a bit of a pickle.

Thanks for the suggestions RShea, I have been trying to consider all those angles. Out of curiousity anybody have any feedback on Acer products?
I found an Acer aspire for around $800 spec'd;

Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
- AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile Technology MK-36
- 2GB (1/1) DDR2 SDRAM
- 120GB hard drive
- Integrated Super-Multi drive
- 5-in-1 card reader
- 14.1" WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT display
- Acer® CrystalBrite Technology
- Integrated ATI Radeon™ Xpress 1100 graphics
- 802.11b/g WLAN, 10/100 LAN, V.92 modem

Any good? or stay away?

[skiHOG]

just get a new one or build one. i would avoid vista if possible.

[gaijin]

i would avoid vista if possible.

Why? Specifically.

I know there are a lot of people who just plain don't like it, who had troubles with their upgrades, etc. But why specifically would you avoid it? Especially if it's on a new machine that was built for it?

[tromano]

Even if it was 5 years old, it should still recognize 60GB hard disk assuming it is compatible with your laptop in other respects. You might want to update your laptops bios and if that doesn't work try the boot loader / overlay software that probably came with the new hard disk. If it still doesn't work that means there is probably something else wrong with the laptop.

As for vista, some people just don't like it. I think its more an emotional rather than a reasoned response. One thing to watch for is that it may not be fully compatible with older applications that you might own and want to use. Most apps I have tried can be run in compatibility mode with out serious issues. It would pay off to check with the support for any critical apps you use and make sure that vista does work. FWIW, YMMV.

[smmokan]

Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
- AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile Technology MK-36
- 2GB (1/1) DDR2 SDRAM
- 120GB hard drive
- Integrated Super-Multi drive
- 5-in-1 card reader
- 14.1" WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT display
- Acer® CrystalBrite Technology
- Integrated ATI Radeon™ Xpress 1100 graphics
- 802.11b/g WLAN, 10/100 LAN, V.92 modem

Any good? or stay away?

Check out the Dell website... you can get all that, upgrade to a Dual Core 1.86 GHz processor, and have Windows XP for only $700. Of course, if you don't like Dell like some people around here, then nevermind. But if you do, its their Small Business 640M model.

[gravy]

Seems like we may not have the same deal on the 640m small business up here in canuckistan? I had a look and it was coming out around $1000... perhaps I suck at the internet (?).

[smmokan]

There's a $345 instant discount on them, which may not be showing up for you... go to edealinfo.com/dell and check it out- you can go directly through that website to get the Dell discount. I just bought one last week.

[gravy]

nice! didn't know about that site... looks like the US deal is still on but the Canadian one is over

[smmokan]

They update it every Thursday morning, so just keep checking it out.

[RShea]

Acer is OK in my book, I had one a few years back. Their repair was pretty quick, send it via FedEx to Memphis (at least in the US) and they had a repair facility near the FedEx hub that picked them up and did the work and then sent it back to you.

Only comments I would have on the system you discussed is make sure you take a look at the Crystal (Ultra) bright screens- they show alot of glare or reflection. It has decent memory (but that is one of the cheapest and easiest upgrades to do, and a pretty good size hard drive. The Turion does not appear to be dual core (X2 model) so it sounds like first generation CPU.

As far as the not recognizing the HD thing - there is some sort of troubleshooting program that couldn't find it that's also where the win95 thing came up. Wish I could be more descriptive but I'm only sort of useful around computers.

In any case I did go back to the shop today and got a different hard drive (80g samsung) and it recognized that one and I got a copy of XP (from a friend) which it was running previously. So I'm back in business temporarily - looks like the lcd is going. So still sort of in a bit of a pickle.

Thanks for the suggestions RShea, I have been trying to consider all those angles. Out of curiousity anybody have any feedback on Acer products?
I found an Acer aspire for around $800 spec'd;

Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
- AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile Technology MK-36
- 2GB (1/1) DDR2 SDRAM
- 120GB hard drive
- Integrated Super-Multi drive
- 5-in-1 card reader
- 14.1" WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT display
- Acer® CrystalBrite Technology
- Integrated ATI Radeon™ Xpress 1100 graphics
- 802.11b/g WLAN, 10/100 LAN, V.92 modem

Any good? or stay away?