subject: How A Beginner Can Replace A Defective Hard Drive In A Laptop [print this page] It is simple to upgrade or substitute a faulty hard drive in the majority of laptops provided a handful of simple preparations are made at the outset, and the correct type and size of laptop hard disk is used. If your laptop didn't come along with a software drivers disk then you will need to save or obtain them before exchanging your existing hard drive.
Before the purchase of a new hard disk drive, identify and take out the existing hard disk from the laptop. This by itself might be hard; many brands of laptop offer an inspection panel to access the hard drive, although a few producers position it inside the internal system in the laptop. The best way to switch the hard disk in this case is to completely take away the back cover from your laptop; this may be a tricky task for a beginner. Once having taken out the harddrive you ought to pay attention to its type and size. The majority of laptops currently have 2.5" hard drives; but, a number of have 3.5" and 1.75" models. Some older laptops have IDE type harddisks; modern laptops contain SATA hard disks. The make of a hard drive matters not but the size and type is essential.
Provided the old hard disk drive remains operational, then you ought to start by saving any vital information to either a DVD or perhaps CD disk. Backing up the program drivers for Windows might be critical especially if you have mislaid or didn't receive a drivers disk along with your laptop. Software drivers are not always easy to seek out yet are usually in a folder on a laptop. This really is based on the maker and edition of Windows, but can ordinarily be found after a little bit of hunting about the hard drive. If found burn all of the drivers with a DVD or CD disk. Commonly, it will be essential to totally replace Windows, from an original software disk, to the newest harddisk. You'll need the CD key number commonly located on the base of the laptop; when it is absent or tattered then you may need to obtain a brand new duplicate of Windows to accomplish set up. For the professional laptop user, it might be practical to fully copy the entire hard disk onto the new hard disk; however, this calls for special computer software and usually with usage of an extra computer to link the old and brand-new hard disk drives together with each other.
After you have fitted your new hard disk drive and switched on your laptop you should notice a message suggesting that Windows is absent, unless you were able to fully mirror the earlier hard drive where it must power up and run exactly as prior to the upgrade. Presuming Windows has not been set up then you certainly will need to put in the Windows DVD into your laptop's optical drive and switch on from this drive; you may have to push a function button to do this. You should now reinstall Windows, software drivers and your old data files etc. You will probably have to activate Windows and install your best virus checker. At this point your laptop ought to be completely ready for use.
