[ale] feasibility of motherboard & HD replacement in portable, rather than computer replacement ?

[Courtney Thomas]

Sean,

You are correct that 512mb RAM modules PC133 are available for about $30/ea. 
in a size that will physically fit. Now if I can only
find out if they are usable  :-)

You are again right that I run outta the socket. I use an N router and 
adapter so the web is crisp and the old drive and small ram
are the only obstacle to complete satisfaction. I'm obviously not one who 
likes runnin' out an' buyin' a new box  :-)

Thanks for the drive information,

Courtney


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sean C. McCord" <scmlist at cycoresys.com>
To: <ale at ale.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 3:15 PM
Subject: Re: [ale] feasibility of motherboard & HD replacement in 
portable,rather than computer replacement ?


> On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 03:06:58PM -0500, Courtney Thomas wrote:
>> How can I tell if a 7200rpm drive will fit  ?  Are drives for portables 
>> like
>> Dell all the same size  ?
>
> All you need to know is whether the interface is PATA (aka IDE) or SATA.
>
> All laptops of that vintage (and the vast majority of laptops of any
> vintage) use the 2.5" form factor.  Physical dimensions should not be a
> problem.  Likewise, the interface (once the type is specified) is also
> standard.
>
> The speed of the drive (whether based on RPM, latency in ms, or whatever
> else) does not have any bearing on compaitibility with the infrequent
> and usually minor exception of certain SATA1 controllers not working
> properly with certain SATA2 drives.
>
> With a laptop that old, you are almost certainly PATA/IDE rather than
> SATA, so all you really need to do is make certain the drive you get is
> a 2.5" PATA or IDE drive.
>
> When you are looking at the speed options, the general rule of thumb is
> that the higher the RPM, the more power and heat, but the higher the
> speed.  If you haven't replaced the battery on the laptop, you're
> probably only running off of A/C power anyway, so you might just want to
> get the fastest (such as 7200rpm) drive whose capacity meets your
> requirements.
>
> --
> Sean C. McCord
> scmlist at cycoresys.com
>
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