Hard drive compatibility

teufel · 12-15-2008, 09:08 AM

The hard drive on my HP laptop quit. I found a Toshiba drive that has identical specs for sale, and need to know whether it will work on a HP laptop.

**blah789** · 12-15-2008, 02:08 PM

Most notebook drives are pretty much the same 2½ inch form factor. The only thing you need to look out for is regular ATA (also called parallel ATA, PATA, IDE, or EIDE), or serial ATA (aka SATA). Check whether your notebook has one or the other, and if what you're buying is the same then you're good to go. If you're not sure, check in the manual, or look on the manufacturer's web site for the specs or manual, or tell us which model notebook you have and we'll look it up for you.

rhwrhw · 12-24-2008, 12:34 PM

I have a similar question. My laptop hard drive is Seagate Momentus 4200-2. A google search shows the interface to be ATA-100. I have hard drive enclsoures for 3.5" drives--both SATA and IDE. The connections on neither one of these fits (the IDE is close). I want to get the right drive enclosure the first time.

**blah789** · 12-24-2008, 07:49 PM

You should have started a new thread! Anyway, for external hard drive enclosures, you have to get both the interface (ATA or SATA) and the form factor (2½ or 3½) right. You might be able to slip through with SATA though because the connectors for both form factors are the same.
Other than that, be sure to remove any mounting brackets on the drive so that it fits the connector (many notebook drives use special mounting brackets on the drives so that it fits the notebook's special connectors - look in the service and maintenance guide for details).

12-15-2008, 09:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
teufel Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1 OS: xp	Hard drive compatibility The hard drive on my HP laptop quit. I found a Toshiba drive that has identical specs for sale, and need to know whether it will work on a HP laptop.

12-15-2008, 02:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
blah789 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 2,305 OS: Windows 2000 SP4 and Windows XP SP3	Re: Hard drive compatibility Most notebook drives are pretty much the same 2½ inch form factor. The only thing you need to look out for is regular ATA (also called parallel ATA, PATA, IDE, or EIDE), or serial ATA (aka SATA). Check whether your notebook has one or the other, and if what you're buying is the same then you're good to go. If you're not sure, check in the manual, or look on the manufacturer's web site for the specs or manual, or tell us which model notebook you have and we'll look it up for you.

12-24-2008, 12:34 PM	#3 (permalink)
rhwrhw Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1 OS: xp, vista	Re: Hard drive compatibility I have a similar question. My laptop hard drive is Seagate Momentus 4200-2. A google search shows the interface to be ATA-100. I have hard drive enclsoures for 3.5" drives--both SATA and IDE. The connections on neither one of these fits (the IDE is close). I want to get the right drive enclosure the first time.

12-24-2008, 07:49 PM	#4 (permalink)
blah789 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 2,305 OS: Windows 2000 SP4 and Windows XP SP3	Re: Hard drive compatibility You should have started a new thread! Anyway, for external hard drive enclosures, you have to get both the interface (ATA or SATA) and the form factor (2½ or 3½) right. You might be able to slip through with SATA though because the connectors for both form factors are the same. Other than that, be sure to remove any mounting brackets on the drive so that it fits the connector (many notebook drives use special mounting brackets on the drives so that it fits the notebook's special connectors - look in the service and maintenance guide for details).