Replacing An Internal HD In A Desktop ?

[Robert11]

Hello,

I have a three yr old hp Pavillion desktop.
HD has totally conked out.

Was going to just get a new one, but was wondering about the feasibility, and ease, of just replacing the HD.

What am I letting myself In for ?

It looks like it will cost me around $ 100 to buy a new drive, so it will be a pricey experiment if it does not work out.

Lost a lot of the paperwork, so am not fully sure as to what,is in it now. I looked inside, and apparently it is a Seagate
1 TB drive. 7200 rpm. SATA, 3 GB/sec

Has the dimensions of approx. width of 4 inches and depth of 6 inches.
Is this what is called a 3-1/2 inch drive ?

So, what do you think ? Worth a try ?

Will the electronics in this 3 yr old pc support a new hd with its built in new electronics O.K. ?

If I decide to try just replacing the drive, what should I buy ?
What should I avoid ?

What should I be aware of In regards to buying a hd for my old pc ?

And, do they come pre-formatted ? If not how is this handled ?

Are there still master-slave jumpers that need to be set on the new hd ?

After installation, do,I just run the "Restore" disk set of 3 disks to get w7 on it again ?
Do these restore disks that I created when I first got the pc have W7 already on it ?

Not all that sharp with this stuff, but am a retired Engr., so reasonably comfortable with this kind of thing.
Still, I would not really want to dump $100 if there are lots of potential pitfalls and caveats I am not considering.

Would be most grateful for your advice, opinions, and help.
Really a great Form. Have received much good help in past.

Thanks again,
Bob

 

[TypeR]

Hi Bob,

To replace the HDD will be relatively straightforward. But may I ask how your current drive expired? Do you have the click of death? Or is it simply not powering up?

Your PSU will be able to power the new hard drive with ease. Newer hard drives actually use slightly less power these days.

 

[Robert11]

Hello,

Thanks so much for reply and help.
Really appreciate it very much.

For about a week, we kept getting msgs that "hd imminent failure"
Don't remember exactly, but I think it called itself Smart Drive, and was apparently generated by the hd self monitoring circuitry.

Tried chkdsk, etc. but nothing cured it.
Now, it won't even boot up.

BTW: I don't want to also have to buy a new W7 program disc.

The three HP restore disks I created back some three years ago- do these likely have
W7 on them ?

If I go this route, what should I be aware of ?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[windude99]

Hello,

Thanks so much for reply and help.
Really appreciate it very much.

For about a week, we kept getting msgs that "hd imminent failure"
Don't remember exactly, but I think it called itself Smart Drive, and was apparently generated by the hd self monitoring circuitry.

Tried chkdsk, etc. but nothing cured it.
Now, it won't even boot up.

BTW: I don't want to also have to buy a new W7 program disc.

The three HP restore disks I created back some three years ago- do these likely have
W7 on them ?

If I go this route, what should I be aware of ?

Thanks,
Bob

The recovery discs will have the version of Windows that the pc came with. If you have the license key for Windows 7, you can download a legal Windows 7 installation iso from here: Windows 7 ISO x86 and x64 Official Direct Download Links (Ultimate, Professional and Home Premium) « My Digital Life

 

[TypeR]

Yes, that sounds terminal, I'm guessing it's a Western Digital drive then?

You won't have to buy a new copy of Windows 7 as the back up disks you have created will put the OS on the new hard drive.

Just out of curiosity, and to keep the price of the new HDD to a reasonable level, do you actually need a new 1TB hard drive or will a 500GB HDD suffice?

 

[windude99]

Yes, that sounds terminal, I'm guessing it's a Western Digital drive then?

You won't have to buy a new copy of Windows 7 as the back up disks you have created will put the OS on the new hard drive.

Just out of curiosity, and to keep the price of the new HDD to a reasonable level, do you actually need a new 1TB hard drive or will a 500GB HDD suffice?

The problem is that the recovery discs will have Windows Vista on them and not Windows 7.

 

[windude99]

My apologies, I didn't realise the original OS was Vista.

It's fine.

 

[windude99]

My apologies, I didn't realise the original OS was Vista.

Actually the OP said it was Windows 7 in another thread. Sorry about that

 

[TypeR]

Mistakes happen.