New Hard Drive

MathsParMathsPar New
edited January 2007 in Hardware
Hi,

I'm looking for a new hard drive but I'm a relative novice when it comes to things to do with hardware. My old Samsung 160GB one broke down after 4years of use the other week but I'm tempted to use Samsung again as I've found this deal,

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=312836&cks=ASS&assoc=5A39DAA7-10EA-4BCF-889D-E46501023430

It's 400GB and only £75, no idea how good a deal that is but it's the best I've found so far. What do you think?

Couple of questions also, what else should I look for in a hard drive apart from the number of GBs? Does the number of GBs have much impact on speed cause I'm thinking I might change my DDR RAM to speed up the PC while I'm at it.

Any help greatly appreciated.
«1

Comments

  • djshowdowndjshowdown London
    edited January 2007
    personally if it was me i would favour this one
    http://www.pctechonline.co.uk/home/product_detail.asp?id=676&catid=15&show=2

    2 reasons

    firstly seagate have never really failed me and they come with a 5 year warranty which i BELIEVE is more than most other companies offer

    secondly it has a 16mb buffer as opposed to 8mb on the samsung which will give better performance

    upgrading your ram is often a very good idea but first you need to be sure that your computer slowdowns arent software related

    often ppl are quick to upgrade not realising that if they maintained their PC then it would be running quite sufficient

    how much ram do you currently have?

    these days 1GB seems to be the standard, 512MB the minimum, but it also depends very much what you use your pc for

    if you give us some more details we can instruct you further
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited January 2007
    djshowdown wrote:
    personally if it was me i would favour this one
    http://www.pctechonline.co.uk/home/product_detail.asp?id=676&catid=15&show=2...2 reasons...firstly seagate have never really failed me and they come with a 5 year warranty which i BELIEVE is more than most other companies offer...secondly it has a 16mb buffer as opposed to 8mb on the samsung which will give better performance...upgrading your ram is often a very good idea but first you need to be sure that your computer slowdowns arent software related...often ppl are quick to upgrade not realising that if they maintained their PC then it would be running quite sufficient...how much ram do you currently have?...these days 1GB seems to be the standard, 512MB the minimum, but it also depends very much what you use your pc for
    if you give us some more details we can instruct you further
    Hi djshowdown
    Sounds like Seagate's a good choice these days.

    Those are good points you make re: upgrading memory. Just to give you a little history. We just went through diagnosing issues he was experiencing on his system. The culprit was his failed HDD. There's no software, etc. at this point. You can find the thread here. :)
  • djshowdowndjshowdown London
    edited January 2007
    ok cool

    just i wouldnt want the guy to go out and spend a load of money on RAM only to find out it was overkill!
  • MathsParMathsPar New
    edited January 2007
    Thanks djshowdown, Seagate was one of the brands that Pterocarpous recommended to me before but the Samsung one was the best 400GB value I had found up til that recommendation. Best Samsung warranty I can see is only 3years so I'm more than willing to pay an extra fiver or whatever to get the Seagate with 5 years and better buffer.

    Going to order the Seagate now as I've waited long enough without my own working computer and I'm getting withdrawal symptoms lol. A technician at my mums work has recommended selling the whole thing in parts cause of it being 4 years old but I think once I change the hard drive that'll be it sorted for another while.

    By the way, do you guys have any links or tips for installing the hard drive and stuff cause this will be the first time I've changed one. And any links to free software would be extremely helpful too as I've lost a lot of cds so things like different versions of Microsoft Word, Excel etc.

    Thanks guys
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited January 2007
    djshowdown wrote:
    ok cool

    just i wouldnt want the guy to go out and spend a load of money on RAM only to find out it was overkill!
    Exactly! :cool:
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited January 2007
    MathsPar wrote:
    Thanks djshowdown, Seagate was one of the brands that Pterocarpous recommended to me before but the Samsung one was the best 400GB value I had found up til that recommendation. Best Samsung warranty I can see is only 3years so I'm more than willing to pay an extra fiver or whatever to get the Seagate with 5 years and better buffer.

    Going to order the Seagate now as I've waited long enough without my own working computer and I'm getting withdrawal symptoms lol. A technician at my mums work has recommended selling the whole thing in parts cause of it being 4 years old but I think once I change the hard drive that'll be it sorted for another while.

    By the way, do you guys have any links or tips for installing the hard drive and stuff cause this will be the first time I've changed one. And any links to free software would be extremely helpful too as I've lost a lot of cds so things like different versions of Microsoft Word, Excel etc.

    Thanks guys

    Just come on back here when you have it. Go to the HARDWARE>STORAGE forum. We'll help you out. In the interim, perform some searches in your favorite search engine on "install hard drive" "build your own", etc. You'll find some helpful sites that way.

    Question: Did you purchase an EIDE drive? IOW, you didn't purchase a SATA drive by mistake right? Just checking! :smiles:
  • MathsParMathsPar New
    edited January 2007
    Emmm I purchased the one dj linked to, was that the right kind? Still soon enough to email them and change.
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited January 2007
    MathsPar wrote:
    Emmm I purchased the one dj linked to, was that the right kind? Still soon enough to email them and change.
    Whew! Had me goin' there for a sec.... Nope, you're fine. You purchased an "Ultra ATA" or EIDE drive. (As opposed to serial ATA or SATA) :thumbsup:
  • MathsParMathsPar New
    edited January 2007
    Cool, thanks again guys, be back asking more questions in a few days ;)
  • djshowdowndjshowdown London
    edited January 2007
    glad we could be of service ;)
  • MathsParMathsPar New
    edited January 2007
    It's arrived :) Just giving you guys a heads up cause the questions will start flowing again very soon lol. By the way, don't have an anti static wristband, does this matter a lot for changing hard drives? Could do it in a room with no carpet if that helps.
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited January 2007
    MathsPar wrote:
    It's arrived :) Just giving you guys a heads up cause the questions will start flowing again very soon lol. By the way, don't have an anti static wristband, does this matter a lot for changing hard drives? Could do it in a room with no carpet if that helps.
    Certainly no carpet will help. However, the ESD wrist strap will be a valuable tool to add to your toolbox. In the interim, don't touch any of the circuitry or electronic components of any of the electronic devices you handle. Handle them by their edges only. W/ respect to HDDs, handle them by their case only. Don't touch the circuitry that is exposed on the bottom of most HDDs. When preparing to touch equipment plugged into your computer, place the flat (palm) of your hand on the (metal) case to place yourself at the same potential as the case and components inside before touching anything. (You don't have to keep your hand on the case. Just move around as little as possible after doing so (so you don't build up a charge again))

    TIP//::
    Keep the electrostatic dissipitative bags that your new electronic components are packaged in. These ESD bags useful for storing and transporting electronic equipment safely.
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited January 2007
    Eh I have a wrist band, I think I wore it once the first time I opened a computer, never since even with carpet floors. Ya can basically touch w/e ya want besides a fan while the computer is on, well ya can touch that too, just not the best for a fan.

    I ran my A64 with no case next to me for a year plus. Bumped into the vid card all the time. Ganked and pulled on power cables...no problem. Your skin has too much resistance for electricity to take your body as a path compared to circuitry.
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited January 2007
    mmonnin wrote:
    ...Your skin has too much resistance for electricity to take your body as a path compared to circuitry...
    I believe you are confused about what we are talking about, mmonnin. We are discussing the threat that ESD poses to the electronic components that comprise one's computer. (We aren't discussing a threat of possible electrocution of mathspar.) The purpose of the ESD wrist strap is to discharge any static electricity (charge) that the person wearing it has built up on his/her body and then short that charge build up to ground. This is a very important step to take before touching any electronic components.

    EDIT://
    W/ respect to one's body having too much resistance etc., that is exactly the problem. The charge that is built up on one's body is readily discharged through an electronic device which offers a lesser path of resistance (to ground if the electronic device is connected to the (grounded) mobo, case, etc.). If the device is not connected to the computer, then it is a matter of the principal of "water seeks its level". If you touch something, an exchange takes place. The result is you and the object settle at having the same charge or "potential". It is this "exchange" that causes the damage. In either case, literally thousands of volts can be discharged to the electronic device from the handler in the form of one electrostatic discharge ("exchange"). Sensitive electronic devices simply can't take the hit and are damaged or degraded by the event.
  • MathsParMathsPar New
    edited January 2007
    Right, shell is off, took me a few minutes to realise it slides and not pulls off. Think I've found the Hard Drive although a few things look similar, it seems to be screwed in. Should the Hard Drive be in the middle or at the top?
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited January 2007
    MathsPar wrote:
    Right, shell is off, took me a few minutes to realise it slides and not pulls off. Think I've found the Hard Drive although a few things look similar, it seems to be screwed in. Should the Hard Drive be in the middle or at the top?
    Hey MathsPar,
    Ok, sometimes that (opening the case) can be a real bear depending upon the case design. Some proprietary cases are next to impossible to get into w/out a knock down drag out. Consider yourself lucky to have gotten off easy! :wink:

    (1) Is the old HDD still in there? If it is, great! Just hold the new HDD in your right hand and pull the connections off the old HDD and place them directly on the new HDD.
    (2) Now let that dangle and get the old HDD disconnected.

    Let me know when you've gotten this far...
  • MathsParMathsPar New
    edited January 2007
    "(1) Is the old HDD still in there? If it is, great! Just hold the new HDD in your right hand and pull the connections off the old HDD and place them directly on the new HDD.
    (2) Now let that dangle and get the old HDD disconnected."

    Done, New hard drive still in anti static wrapping but connected. Old hard drive out of the casing bit. Should I screw in new hard drive into casing bit and then put casing bit back in? I have to change some drive jumper thing don't I?
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited January 2007
    MathsPar wrote:
    ...Done, New hard drive still in anti static wrapping but connected. Old hard drive out of the casing bit. Should I screw in new hard drive into casing bit and then put casing bit back in? I have to change some drive jumper thing don't I?...

    Ahhh! Sorry, MathsPar... I missed your post.

    Ok, go ahead and take the ESD wrapping off. (Save it though. It's handy to have as I mentioned earlier)

    Now, in terms of mounting the drive in the housing, go ahead and do that. Use the current (old HDD) as an example of how to do it.

    W/ respect to the jumper, yes, you're correct. You'll need to set the jumper. It may or may not need to be placed in the same physical position as your current HDD as the jumpers may be laid out differently.

    If you are using only one HDD on that IDE channel, then you will need to set the jumper to either MASTER or SINGLE (no jumper). It depends upon the manufacturer. Look on the PCB (printed circuit board) on the bottom of the drive for etching that parallels the jumpers - or look for a diagram on the top of the drive that shows you where the MASTER setting is.

    Move the jumper to MASTER. (Note: w/ some jumpers - Seagate is bad about this - you'll need a pair of needle nose pliers to get hold of the jumper to move it. Others have a little groove you can grab w/ your finger nail to pull the jumper out)

    Let me know when you've gotten this far.

    BTW, what model drive was it you got?
  • MathsParMathsPar New
    edited January 2007
    "BTW, what model drive was it you got?"

    Seagate

    http://www.pctechonline.co.uk/home/product_detail.asp?id=676&catid=15&show=2

    Off to find some pliers..
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited January 2007
    MathsPar wrote:
    "BTW, what model drive was it you got?"
    Seagate
    http://www.pctechonline.co.uk/home/product_detail.asp?id=676&catid=15&show=2
    Off to find some pliers..
    Yeah! :rant: That's the only thing I don't like about those drives - their dagged-burned jumpers! (I usually throw them away and replace them w/ one that has a groove (or ridge) on it.)
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited January 2007
    I don't know what's goin' on w/ Seagate's web site but it's (N America) dead slow and I can't get to any support documentation on your drive..... :grumble:
  • MathsParMathsPar New
    edited January 2007
    :) Set to master and attached again to the PC. Put the shell back on now and power up?
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited January 2007
    MathsPar wrote:
    :) Set to master and attached again to the PC. Put the shell back on now and power up?
    Good idea to leave the case cover off until the dust has settled (until everything's cooking ok.) You may have the unpleasant experience of finding out why in a few minutes.... :smiles:

    Ok, now fire her up. As soon as you power it on, hit the button on your CD-ROM drive to eject the tray and slip the OS CD in....

    Let's see if she'll boot into your OS setup....
  • MathsParMathsPar New
    edited January 2007
    Lol I got bored waiting for the reply there so I put the case cover on anyway. Ah well, it's still a novelty for me puting it on and taking it off so I don't mind. Right, at the moment I don't have a Windows XP disk.

    I still have recovery disks from Advent from when I was trying to fix my old Hard Drive, one was for scanning and erasing, the other was for "recovering" windows XP I think. Would that second disk work?

    Is borrowing an XP disk off of a friend illegal? Mine possibly might be at University but its 50/50 chance. Is Linux any good, that's the free Operating system yeah? Could I install that (if those recovery disks dont work) and then once I find an XP disk install XP?

    A flood of questions there but I did warn you haha.
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited January 2007
    MathsPar wrote:
    ...Lol I got bored waiting for the reply there so I put the case cover on anyway. Ah well, it's still a novelty for me puting it on and taking it off so I don't mind....
    No problem. Another reason to leave the case cover off as well is for observation (visual, hearing, and smell) When you've been futzing w/ your computer's innards, you want to make sure that nothing untoward comes to the attention of any of your senses afterwards.
    MathsPar wrote:
    ...Right, at the moment I don't have a Windows XP disk.
    I still have recovery disks from Advent from when I was trying to fix my old Hard Drive, one was for scanning and erasing, the other was for "recovering" windows XP I think. Would that second disk work?...
    Oh, yes. I forgot about that. "Yes", that'll do fine (the 2nd recovery disc.) Follow the instructions I gave you previously only feed your CDROM drive the 2nd recovery disc instead.
    MathsPar wrote:
    ...Is borrowing an XP disk off of a friend illegal? Mine possibly might be at University but its 50/50 chance. Is Linux any good, that's the free Operating system yeah? Could I install that (if those recovery disks dont work) and then once I find an XP disk install XP?
    A flood of questions there but I did warn you haha...
    B4 we dive into all that, let's see how it goes w/ the recovery CD. :)
  • MathsParMathsPar New
    edited January 2007
    :celebrate YOU LEGEND :celebrate

    That's my PC up and running, the Advent recovery CD loaded up XP fine and now everything seems to be working :)

    You've probably saved me hundreds on a repair bill or a new PC/laptop and I've ended up with over double the memory. You have no idea how grateful I am.

    Haven't got the Internet up and running on it yet though. Put in the same USB stick that used to work but I reckon I need to configure it in some way or another to get the broadband from downstairs. Any tips?

    Lol I'm still a bit paranoid the thing's going to break down again but there's no indication it should, just my paranoia :eek3:

    Right, off to configure things to my liking. Do you have any tips or anything I should do now to help/configure the PC or sort the internet? Still can't believe you managed to help so much thousands of miles away. Cheers.
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited January 2007
    MathsPar wrote:
    :celebrate YOU LEGEND :celebrate ...
    LOL!! mathspar + fruitwing-the-gal-tech = worky worky pc :woowoo: :woowoo:
    MathsPar wrote:
    ...That's my PC up and running, the Advent recovery CD loaded up XP fine and now everything seems to be working :) ...You've probably saved me hundreds on a repair bill or a new PC/laptop and I've ended up with over double the memory. You have no idea how grateful I am...
    I think I do and you are most welcome. Frankly, this is what I live for in this business. It's those moments when the user gets that big fat grin on his/her face when s/he has done something s/he never thought s/he could do before. It's really a rush.
    MathsPar wrote:
    ...Haven't got the Internet up and running on it yet though. Put in the same USB stick that used to work but I reckon I need to configure it in some way or another to get the broadband from downstairs. Any tips?...
    You just need the drivers. Go to the manufacture's web site and look up your model USB NIC (network interface adapter). Download and install its Windows XP drivers.
    MathsPar wrote:
    ...Lol I'm still a bit paranoid the thing's going to break down again but there's no indication it should, just my paranoia :eek3: ...
    That's just shell shock. It'll wear off. :bigggrin:
    MathsPar wrote:
    ...Do you have any tips or anything I should do now to help/configure the PC or sort the internet?...
    Get AV and firewall software installed a.s.a.p.
    MathsPar wrote:
    ...Still can't believe you managed to help so much thousands of miles away. Cheers...
    Pat yourself on the back, MathsPar. You kept your wits about you and trudged through this entire ordeal even though you'd never done anything like this before. Not everyone can pull that off. You done good!! :thumbsup:

    Ahh yes, the miles thing... I've been around this business a (very) long time and it still amazes me. I started before this whole Internet thing really got off the ground. It's mind boggling how much it's progressed in such a relatively short amount of time. :eek2: Makes you wonder where it'll be 20 more years from now...

    Happy Trails MathsPar!! Enjoy!!
  • MathsParMathsPar New
    edited January 2007
    Just wanting to say thanks again, from the keyboard of Lazarus (formerly known as my PC) .

    Away to search the rest of this site for good software to download.
  • MathsParMathsPar New
    edited January 2007
    Can't seem to get any sound at all. Use the Sound Blaster 16. Any help?
  • MathsParMathsPar New
    edited January 2007
    And my DVD player doesn't seem to be working (installed) either... any way how to get all this hardware installed quickly? Thanks
Sign In or Register to comment.