Know Your Warranty

Before you do anything, check your notebook’s warranty. You may void the warranty if you replace an original part, such as the hard drive, yourself. When in doubt, call the notebook maker’s support line. You may learn that you will void your warranty unless you buy the replacement hard drive from your vendor. The tech support rep may even offer to guide you through the process over the phone. Be aware, though, that the notebook maker may not offer the best price for a replacement hard drive.

Know What You’ve Got

Next, collect all the specs on your current notebook hard drive,thinkpad t60 battery, so that you can pick an appropriate replacement.

For example,IBM 40y6797, it’s important to know the capacity so that you can gauge your future needs. You’ll also want to know who manufactured the drive so that you can contact the manufacturer to find any of the facts that aren’t listed on the drive itself.

Other very important facts to know:

• Form factor. You’ll find 2.5-inch hard drives in almost all full-size IBM 40y6799; subnotebooks may have 1.8-inch drives.
• Height. The most common are 12.5 mm and 9.5 mm.
• Interface. Newer notebook drives are often serial ATA.

  The rotational speed (such as 4200 rpm) is less important, although you may be able to improve your performance by choosing a replacement that spins its disks at a faster rate,IBM fru 92p1139, such as 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm.

  If you can’t find the info you need on the drive itself, IBM fru 92p1141,note its model number and ask your notebook vendor or check the drive manufacturer’s Web site.

  Consider Upgrading the Speed

  Increasing hard drive IBM fru 92p1137 capacity is the primary reason most people upgrade. But you might also want a faster hard drive.

  The majority of notebook hard drives in use today have rotational speeds of 4200 or 5400 rpm. Newer models, often found in gaming notebooks,IBM 02k6651 , rotate at 7200 rpm. Upgrading from a 4200-rpm hard drive to a 5400- or 7200-rpm drive should give you a nice overall system performance increase. Indeed, a sluggish hard drive is often the primary culprit in poor notebook performance, says Simon Blackstein, senior network engineer for MicroMenders, an IT service organization in San Francisco.

  However, a faster hard drive may also drain your notebook’s battery more quickly and generate a bit more heat. So are the tradeoffs worth it? If you plan to frequently edit video, play high-end games, or run large database searches, definitely. Otherwise, you may want to stick with a 5400 rpm drive.IBM 02k6928,ASM 92P1138,ASM 92P1140.