laptop hard drive upgrade

I have been told by HP tech support that my P-4 ze5460us laptop can only accommodation a 30 or 40 GB hard drive that they sell. I am looking for general information on specifications/system requirements for replacing my hard drive with a larger/faster one. I wonder if software or Bios settings will be also required and where (since HP tech support is no help) I can find such general information. I did find one site called 'DriveSolutions.com' which lists drives based on laptop model number but I'd like to verify this information and see another source.

 

Laptop drives are standard and are commonly available. See http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=notebook+drive&x=0&y=0
Check your manual; usually take an ATA but newer ones may use a SATA.

 

I needed to replace the HDD on a Compaq laptop and I was wondering the same things you are.

This is the webpage for your machine:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=351300&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&dlc=en&lang=en&cc=us
The BIOS upgrades do not mention any change to the HDD size recognition.

I put a larger sized hard drive in the Compaq, crossed my fingers and pushed the power button. It was recognised OK.

I see current 2.5" drives are 5400rpm, so if your current drive is 5400rpm, you may not gain any speed advantages. If that was the case, me, I might consider reformatting and getting an external USB hard drive so that I had the benefit of both HDDs for space (and back-up). You should be able to find information about your current HDD by putting the model number into a websearch. The model number will be listed in Device Manager.

Reinstalling Windows:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...c=en&product=351300&lang=en&docname=c00006110

Matt

 

Newegg will allow return if drive isn't recognised - within 30 days. Don't forget to get an RMA number to mark the package.

Don't get any one other than 5400; 7200 runs hotter - important in a laptop. Buffer size is more important for speed; get 16 MB if you can find it. Most are 8, which is just fine.

The external drives and enclosures are listed in the first URL above.

 

Hi sparrow, sorry, I should have looked at your link (I had my own supplier's webpage open and he is not stocking 7200's yet).

One further point I would make about size is that there could be a BIOS size limitation of around 128Gb. Bare that in mind if you might want to get something larger.

Matt