Laptop HDD

AndyMoody

AndyMoody

AndyMoody

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28 Sep 2004
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487
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Buckinghamshire
My stepsons Compaq F500 seems to have a dead HDD. The laptop powers up then after about 10 secs attempts to reboot but it isn't seeing the HDD in the start up bios. It has a Seagate 80gb SATA drive in it. Never having any experience or owned a laptop my myself could I replace the drive with a newer SATA-II drive of a bigger size ?
Also, he can't seem to find any discs or OS that may have came with it. If the OS is reinstalled, will the licence number on the bottom of the laptop be OK even if the Vista disc has a different number of its own?

I would like to get this up and running as he has given it to my wife and I don't want to order a new HDD that won't work.

Thanks.
 
Physical size and connector placement are standardised however there are two heights of drive - 9.5mm and 12mm. Most drives are 9.5mm, only the really big stuff (ie over 300GB) are usually 12mm.
 
I'll do a bit of research just to make sure before ordering anything. Seagate site says its 9.7mm thick, just need to do some checks to confirm it is duff and then get a replacement sorted.
 
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Update, found out these Compaq F500 have a known problem with them after some Googling on HP site. HP have now repaired the laptop but the HDD was faulty. They have returned it with a different 80GB drive & Vista installed. If I want to fit a bigger drive is it just a matter of removing the 80GB one, fitting bigger drive and putting Vista disc in and installing it?

Wife is now going to use the laptop and doesn't want me to start swapping the drives around if I'm going to stop it working again. I've already said that the 80GB drive which HP have fitted can always be put back in as it is working with that.
 
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