I Need A New Hard Drive

[Kirin]

I'm looking to purchase a new hard drive for my laptop-- the one I have right now is making a clacking noise when it spins, and the last time I had that, it was indicative of imminent failure.

The hard drive that I've in there right now is a 80GB Fujitsu MHT2080AT model. Should I just buy a replacement of the same model, or are there other, better (more reliable) alternatives that I can get?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[simple man]

Re: I Need A New Hard Drive

the terabyte harddrive..... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136061

[DarkwingChuck]

Re: I Need A New Hard Drive

My laptop's hard drive died on me a while back too. I actually got it to run again for about a weekend last month but then it re-died. Not that that's helpful to you, but I'm hoping somebody gives you some good recommendations that I can also use.

[Kefka Jr.]

Re: I Need A New Hard Drive

I use a 250GB LaCie external hard drive for stuff.

It's works as simply as it looks. It's a big silver brick.

http://www.amazon.com/LaCie-External.../dp/B000117D9O

[Red Dragon]

Re: I Need A New Hard Drive

I would get the same model than get an external (newegg has them for cheap) for back-up.

[neobi]

Re: I Need A New Hard Drive

I use a 250GB LaCie external hard drive for stuff.

It's works as simply as it looks. It's a big silver brick.

http://www.amazon.com/LaCie-External.../dp/B000117D9O

That's what I have two, I wouldn't call it a Big silver brick though, it's actually decently sized and easy to bring along in your laptop bag.

[Kirin]

Re: I Need A New Hard Drive

I use a 250GB LaCie external hard drive for stuff.

Can you run the OS from an external drive, or is that just for data backup? If I could, I'd just buy a large external one and forget about replacing the internal one.

That 1TB hard drive is nice, but I'm afraid it's a bit too expensive for me. I don't think I can afford any more than $100-$150.

[Red Dragon]

Re: I Need A New Hard Drive

You can run OS' on your computer with an external. Just make sure it's always plugged in and turned on.

[thetruecoolness]

Re: I Need A New Hard Drive

You can run OS' on your computer with an external. Just make sure it's always plugged in and turned on.

But realize it's going to run slower. USB 2.0 doesn't have the bandwidth to keep up with faster hard drives, though luckily for you most laptop hard drives are not that fast. Still usually better to run your OS off an internal harddrive, maybe get a small 7200 RPM internal one just for the OS and use the external for all your other data. Also I second NewEgg as the place you look, they have good prices, great service and probably one of the easiest to search websites. Though CircuitCity does have pretty decent deals on externals every now and then.

[Magus]

Re: I Need A New Hard Drive

I use a 250GB LaCie external hard drive for stuff.

It's works as simply as it looks. It's a big silver brick.

http://www.amazon.com/LaCie-External.../dp/B000117D9O

Wait a sec.

I thought it was held together to the computer by a dinky little cord.

[Ryner]

Re: I Need A New Hard Drive

I can sell you my old hard drive if you want.

It's in, uh... fair condition.

[thetruecoolness]

Re: I Need A New Hard Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136059

This looks pretty nice.

Not as much storage but also smaller.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148258

A little more storage and a more reliable name, but it takes up 2 USB slots so be warned.

[Kefka Jr.]

Re: I Need A New Hard Drive

Uh, actually, I guess the LaCie is just for data backup, afterall. I'm not sure, I never tried running the OS off of it.

And the cord works fine as long as you have a work station that's suited for it. If you move your laptop around a lot, it might not be such a great option.

[Kirin]

Re: I Need A New Hard Drive

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

I've decided on this one as an internal replacement.

Given that I was expecting to spend a quite a bit more than this, this leaves me with enough money in my budget to still afford an external drive too, so I'm still looking for one of those.

I read some reviews on the Western Digital ones, but a lot of people mentioned to make sure that your USB port is actually capable of supplying the power the drive needs, otherwise the drive won't work (and that many laptops need a special cord or something to be able to do that). Where can I check how much power my USB port outputs? I checked under "System" in the control panel, but couldn't find anything telling me about it...I may have overlooked it.