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As long as your notebook was manufactured after 1997
and has a processor 266mhz or faster, any of our Laptop Hard Drives will
work in your laptop, guaranteed.
Processor
Speed (Mhz or Ghz)
Max
Size of Hard Drive (GB)
Pentium 75 Mhz to
133 Mhz
6 GB
Pentium 150 Mhz to
266 Mhz
12 GB
Pentium 266 Mhz and
up
80 GB
Windows
Version
Max Size of
Hard Drive (GB)
Windows 95
2 GB*
Windows 98, 98SE,
ME, 2000, XP
80 GB
*
Windows 95 limits partition sizes to 2GB. If you are purchasing a 6GB hard
drive for a Pentium 150Mhz computer running Windows 95, you will
need to split the drive up into 3 partitions of 2GB each. Once you install
Windows and any other software, each partition will function as a separate
drive under “My Computer”, thus, it will look as though you have 3
hard drives installed in the computer (each at 2gb).
Notebook Hard Drive Installation Instructions:
Step 1
Before installing
the hard drive, follow these guidelines:
Turn off the
computer power.
Unplug the power
cord and modem cable.
Remove the battery.
To
remove the old hard drive:
Shut down the
notebook, then disconnect the AC adapter and modem and network cables.
Turn the notebook
over, then remove the main and optional secondary batteries (if
installed). For more information, see your user's guide. Remove the hard
drive screw, then pull the hard drive kit straight out from the notebook.
Step 2
Remove the screws that attach the hard drive to
the hard drive tray. Set aside the screws, as you will be using them
later.
Step 3
Remove the old hard drive from the hard drive
tray/caddy/case.
Remove the ribbon cable from the old hard drive and attach it
to the new hard drive.
Step 4
Place the new hard drive into your old tray/caddy/case.
Replace the screws (there may be between 2 and 6 screws).
Slide the new hard drive kit into
the notebook until it is firmly seated
Replace the screw to secure the
hard drive kit to the notebook.
Reinstall the main and optional
secondary batteries (if installed) and turn the notebook over.
Reconnect the AC adapter and
any previously attached cables.
1. Important : Disconnect power from your notebook computer system &
Remove the internal battery before beginning installation !!
2. Reuse your old hard drive caddy and adapter.
Most laptop / Notebook computers use caddy to hold hard drives. What is a caddy
? It is the framework that holds the hard drive inside
the notebook. Bare hard drives are not normally secured to the notebook or to laptop
to hold it in place. A metal or plastic device of some kind (caddy) is secured
to the hard drive or in some cases totally encases the hard drive. The caddy is
therefore the anchor that holds the hard drive in the notebook computer. When
you purchase a new bare hard drive from us to replace your old one, you need
reuse the caddy from the old hard drive.
The bare notebook hard drive connector
is 44-pin connector. Some notebook computers use some adapter to convert this
44-pin connector to a different type connector, in that case, you need reuse the
adapter from old hard drive also.
3. Third party software may need for some old notebook computers
Some old notebooks computers are limited to accessing hard drives with a
capacity of 8.4GB or less (7.9GB on some systems). 3rd party software is
available that breaks the "capacity barrier". Some suggestions are EZ
Drive by Micro House and Disk Manager™ DiskGo by Ontrack. But if your current
notebook hard drive is already bigger than 8.4GB, then you have no problem to
replace it with anyone of our hard drives, and no extra software is required.
For IBM notebook hard drives, you can download Ontrack's Disk Manager for
IBM at no charge from the following web site
4. Partition & Format New Hard Drive
New hard drive need to be partitioned and formatted before loading any software.
See your laptop manual for more information.
Caution: Your Hard Disk Drive is a
delicate
device and even a small
drop onto any of its
surface can cause damage. Electrostatic discharge can also damage
the drive. You should ground yourself prior to handling the drive.
The drive should be mounted
carefully on the surface of 0.1mm or less flatness to avoid excessive
distortion.
In order to prevent short-circuit under any circumstances, a space of
0.5mm or more should be kept under the PCB.
Space should be kept around the drive to avoid any contact with other
parts, which may occur due to shock or vibration.
The temperature of the top cover and the base must always be kept under 60ƒC
to maintain the required reliability.
Be sure not to cover the breathing hole to keep the pressure inside the
drive at a certain level.
Do not apply any force to the top cover, except the screw areas on top
cover. Maximum force to the specified area is 2N.
The drive contains several parts which may be easily damaged by ESD
(Electrostatic Discharge). Avoid touching the interface connector pins and
the surface of PCB. Be sure to use ESD proof wrist strap when handling
drive.
The four mounting screws should be tightened equally with 0.3N-m (3kgf-cm)
torque. The depth should be 3.0mm minimum and 3.5mm maximum.
Important Note: Disconnect
power from your computer system before beginning installation !!
The thickness of the hard drive is a factor in selecting both the caddy
and the hard drive. 90% of the notebooks computer built today will take the
9.5mm thickness.
In most notebooks or laptops the hard drive mounting pattern is a simple. It
consists of eight
screw holes, four on the bottom and two on each side. Hard drives made prior to 1998 may have had three
screw holes on the sides.
All of the hard drive manufacturers agreed on a new mounting hole pattern for
1998 and newer hard drives. This new pattern places the screw holes to within
1/2 inch of each end of the drive, length wise.
Notebook and laptop computers made prior to 1998 may require a new caddy when
upgrading to hard drives manufactured in 1998 or later. All of the new caddies
are built to accommodate the new mounting hole pattern. Generally speaking, the
smallest hard drive (capacity in megabytes) with the new mounting hole pattern is
a 2.1 Gb.
