7 replies to this topic

[WreckWench]

OK all your computer gurus...I need your help. It has become apparent that I need a complete redundant backup of my computer. It has been suggested that I buy a new computer (either the same or slightly better but one that would/could use the same accessories and same hard drive configuration) so that I could swap out the hard drive if needed and/or swap to a second machine already set up ready to go with the programs on it that I need.

Along those lines we talked about getting another hard drive so that we could remove the factory hard drive, and only install the programs I use and NOT have the stuff that comes preloaded on the machine.

So...

1. Can you readily remove/replace hard drives from laptops?

2. My current machine is Acer Aspire 1810T -8638 with 4gb ram and U7300 1.3ghz processor, 64 bit, and 285 gb hd

3. I bought the computer HERE for about $600 and now they seem to be around $300.

4. Can anyone help me figure out if there is a similar model that would use the same sized hard drive and perhaps accessories but offered my RAM and processing speed?

Thank you! kamala

[peterbj7]

I'm not the person to advise you, but one or two pointers.

Most of the machines at the URL you gave are tiny, with 10.1" screens. Is that what you're after, for portability, or do you want a more conventional 15" or so (which is what the ones at the bottom of the page are)? I can't tell what size your present one is, as it's no longer listed (size is the length of a diagonal on the visible screen). A good compromise is 13", and the best of those also have extremely good battery life. I would find 10" way too small.

A hard drive is usually very easy to remove, given the right size screwdriver.

Most modern hard drives have a "SATA" connection, different from the "PATA" one that was common beforehand. They are not compatible with each other, but assuming your present machine has SATA those hard drives are readily available and cheap. It is probable that any laptop will be able to take any of the several HD sizes available - most common are 120gb, 160gb, 250gb, 320gb, and 500gb. These drives are cheap and I always have one or two spare ones, as they can fail without notice. I've never heard of an odd size like 285gb. I don't reckon normally to get more than about 18 months life out of a laptop HD.

Laptop and desktop hard drives are different physical sizes and are not interchangeable.

Performance and spec of machines is rising all the time, and prices for the same performance are dropping. At the same time, operating systems and programs are getting every more demanding of machine resources. If you're not doing heavy processing (and I don't think you are) you don't need a fast processor, though it wouldn't hurt. Most new machines come with too little RAM (you'll see that all the 10.1" ones listed at that URL have just 1gb). Having too little RAM both slows down operation of the machine and wears out the head mechanism of the hard drive much more quickly, as the machine uses space on the hard drive to substitute for RAM, and this is constantly being written to and read from, with lots of head movement. The 4gb you currently have is fine for light use, but if you want to use demanding programs like Photoshop or have lots of programs open at the same time it's insufficient. It'll work, but slowly and it'll hammer the HD. I have 4gb on this old machine, my Mac has 8gb, and the ASUS I'll use for picture processing and as my everyday machine has 16gb. Increasing RAM is usually the best and cheapest improvement that can be made to a computer. On virtually any machine you can increase the RAM after purchase, though if possible it's often cheaper to have it done before purchase.

Battery life is also generally improving, and my new Mac boasts battery life of up to 10 hours. The one I'm typing this on lasts less than 1.5.

That's about all for the general stuff. When it comes to specifics I'm as much in need of guidance as you are.

[WreckWench]

Due to extensive travel I use a 11.5 in and its perfect for me....small, light and compact. I really do not want anything bigger.

It seems that changing hard drives in laptops THESE days is pretty tricky. Aside from voiding the warranty the screws can be hard to reach or so I've been told. Anyone else care to comment?

We did find how to create a back up system disk from the laptop which I could not use before and how to better scrub programs from the hard drive that I do not need and have removed. (New computers are full of so much crap that I want to remove all but the few things I need so as to keep it as clean as possible.)

I think I found a good deal on the same form factor as I have BUT more ram and more operating speed. This will allow me to have 2 functioning fully ready to go computers program wise. Now I just have to figure out how to periodically back up data so that in the event of catastrophic failure, it will be relatively easy to be back up and running!

[Racer184]

Wreck Wench is into hot swapping? I don't do that kind of thing, but I would watch the video.






Depending on how much you want to back up, you can use a "thumb drive". External hard drives of 500 GB or more make it simple to back up everything. The thing I appreciate most about my external hard drive is that it does a great job of synchronizing stuff I am working on between the main desktop and my laptop.

[peterbj7]

I know that RAM on some current machines can be very hard to access. My latest ASUS has four slots, but to get to two of them the machine has to be largely dismantled. I've not so far come across one where it's anything other than easy to remove/replace a hard drive.

A good way of speeding up performance is to use one of the new "combo" hard drives. They combine a SSD (flash memory) with a conventional dynamic one, and accessing the flash memory is way quicker than reading the disk. Configured properly (and that's the key) they can offer a considerable boost in speed.

A warning note on external drives, of all sorts. A few days ago a friend asked me if I could help him with his 6-month old 1.5tb WD external hard drive. Well, to cut a long story short it has given up on him - it won't start. He depended on that drive and everything he had was on it, with no backup. As he said, that WAS the backup! Any data I have at any point in time exists in at least three different places - typically my computer and two external hard drives. I have had too many drives fail, internal and external, to trust any one of them.

And a note on flash drives - thumb drives, memory sticks, memory cards, etc. It is ESSENTIAL after writing to one of these on a Windows machine to find "safely remove hardware" in the system tray and follow the instructions. Sometimes also after reading from them (because reading often involves writing). Probably nine times out of ten there will be no untoward consequences if you just pull the drive out as soon as the "write" light has gone out. The tenth time you'll end up with a rather small and inadequate paperweight. The card will be rendered unreadable and is irretrievable. Nothing can be done to make it work again, at least nothing that we as users can do. I had this happen recently to an SDHC card that had cost $180 and I was using in an adapter to transfer files. Someone else just pulled it out of her computer and that was that. The manufacturer in Taiwan (Adata) has said that on this one occasion they'll replace it if I send it to them.

I don't know how Mac machines work and whether they have the same potential problem, but I will know very shortly.

[Cajun Diver]

I looked at the specs for that model acer and it shows 2 screws on the bottom that open the hard drive bay (see attached left side.

So swapping out hard drives will work.

Other options mentioned - like using a thumb drive or external usb drive are good ideas. Using synchronizing software makes it easier too. I use software called "GoodSync" (http://www.goodsync.com/) and it has mac and portable versions.

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Edited by Cajun Diver, 13 February 2011 - 10:38 AM.

[WreckWench]

You guys rock! And I'm finally starting to feel like a plan is coming together. AND I will be using duplicate portable hard drives to do multiple backups and if we can swap the hard drives out it will make it even easier.

I was told if I removed the original hard drive and replaced it with a new one that I then loaded ONLY the programs I needed that I would greatly diminish the typical conflicts and junks that occur with people's computers.

Thank you Butch...that is really great news!

Now to figure out what hard drive to buy to swap out, etc.

[peterbj7]

You guys rock! And I'm finally starting to feel like a plan is coming together. AND I will be using duplicate portable hard drives to do multiple backups and if we can swap the hard drives out it will make it even easier.

I was told if I removed the original hard drive and replaced it with a new one that I then loaded ONLY the programs I needed that I would greatly diminish the typical conflicts and junks that occur with people's computers.

Thank you Butch...that is really great news!

Now to figure out what hard drive to buy to swap out, etc.

If buying a new HD is just so you can get a fresh start with software then you don't need to. Either simply uninstall the programs you don't want, including toolbars etc for IE, or if your HD is full of malware then reformat it and start again. You won't (readily) be able to do this yourself though, unless you have a system reinstall disk from the laptop manufacturer. As well as Windows you need to install device drivers, and whilst that's not particularly difficult if you know what you're doing, it's certainly time consuming. And of course you have to have the original CDs for Windows and all the other proprietary software you want to install - you can't keep it from before the reformat.

If you do buy a new HD I'd get a 500gb one. They're pretty cheap and you'll have lots of space available. A 7200 rpm one is better than a 5400 rpm one.

No matter how much care you take over this, your HD will probably be bunged up again within 6 months or so. Once you've loaded Windows and all the software you want and it's working properly, I'd take a disk image and keep it somewhere safe. That way you can readily reformat and start again whenever you feel the need.