Computer hard drive needs replacing. Suggestions?

[Reservoir Dog]

The hard drive on my older laptop (Dell Inspiron 8200) is acting up. It is making some weird clicking noises that last a few seconds, and the computer freezes up during this, but returns to normal after the clicking stops. This happens a couple of times per minute. I have no idea what is going on.

Anyway, this is my older laptop, and I only use it for internet access and some general computing. No gaming. So, I thought about getting a new hard drive and installing the Ubuntu OS everyone is raving about, and maybe partitioning the drive with XP.

The old drive is a Toshiba 2.5", 40GB, Ultra ATA, 5400rpm. Any suggestions for a decent hard drive in those specs? Should I stick with Toshiba? Any opinions on Western Digital or Seagate drives? Any help is appreciated.

[Guest mikedwood]

I'd make sure to get a 5400 speed hard drive. Brand doesn't seem to matter much, I don't think. They can all go bad. I get most of my computer stuff from geeks.com.

Also I use Ubuntu and it's OK.

My 2 cents.

[Guest ScottD]

I have a 120GB up for grabs in the pay it forward section. Let me know if you want it.

DOH just realized that its a laptop. My drive wont work for you.

[enfield]

Get the biggest drive you can afford. I've had Seagate, Western Digital and Maxtor drives and I prefer the Maxtor. I've had early failures with Seagate & WD. YMMV.

[DRM]

Get the biggest drive you can afford. I've had Seagate, Western Digital and Maxtor drives and I prefer the Maxtor. I've had early failures with Seagate & WD. YMMV.

Why? It's just a knock-around web lappy, and it seems like the 40gb has served him well - so why spend all kinds of cash to replace it with some huge hard drive?

On the contrary, I'd look for a screaming deal online for a NOS drive of similar size (40-80) and slap that in there and call it done.

[enfield]

Why? It's just a knock-around web lappy, and it seems like the 40gb has served him well - so why spend all kinds of cash to replace it with some huge hard drive?

On the contrary, I'd look for a screaming deal online for a NOS drive of similar size (40-80) and slap that in there and call it done.

He wants to install both XP and Ubuntu on the same drive. I'm sure he'd like to have some room left for applications, files and swap space.

[greenego]

I would get the biggest drive you can find. The cost will not be that much different. Just make sure what ever you get will fit in the laptop. There is not much room to play with.

[Guest c.a.s.]

www.tigerdirect.com is a very good place to get electronics and computer parts. www.newegg.com has some awesome deals on electronics and computer parts, but doesn't have quite the selection.

[DaveTN]

I bought my new drive (and a bunch of other stuff) for my Toshiba laptop from Newegg.

I have been very pleased with them. They ship fast and have the best prices I have found.

It looks like you can get a 120GB ATA drive for around 70 bucks or less.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150380+1035907889&Configurator=&Subcategory=380&description=&Ntk=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

[Reservoir Dog]

Thanks to everybody for the suggestions. I have not made up my mind about the dual OS yet, but I will probably bump up the storage capacity, as things are pretty inexpensive these days.

I have another question: I did a Google search of my old hard drive's model number, and it was listed as being a Ultra ATA (ATA-100) drive. I see drives listed as ATA and SATA. Are these compatable? I don't want to order a new drive, and it have a different set of pin connectors.

[DaveTN]

Are these compatable? I don't want to order a new drive, and it have a different set of pin connectors.

ATA-6 will work, but SATA will not.

[Guest superslacker]

Sell the thing and buy a Macbook. It'll be the best move you ever made.

[Reservoir Dog]

ATA-6 will work, but SATA will not.

Thanks.

Sell the thing and buy a Macbook. It'll be the best move you ever made.

I have been thinking about doing that when my current laptop gives up the ghost. Right now, I would rather spend less than $100 to get my older laptop running than spending $1K+ on a MacBook.

[Reservoir Dog]

Update: I wound up ordering a Seagate 120GB hard drive from Newegg. Super quick shipping (it arrived the next day), as apparently they have a warehouse in Memphis. The Seagate drive had very good user ratings, and it has a 5 year warranty, so hopefully it will be a good choice. While I was at it, I doubled my RAM from 512MB to 1GB.

I cloned my old hard drive onto the new one. Installation was a breeze, and everything is working perfectly. My 6 year old laptop has been brought back to life. Now, I am going to install Ubuntu on it, and give that a try.

Thanks to everyone for their advice and information! :up: