How do I change my hard drive?

Question

I have an IBM R50e laptop/notebook, I have just brought an 80g hard drive and i want to transfer everything from my 30g hard drive to the new one, how can i do this safely?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Laptop drive is 2.5".

Buy a 2.5" USB2.0 external drive case for about £10 (Don't buy an external drive, just the case). Put in the 80GB drive.

Get Norton Ghost and copy the files from the 30GB to the 80GB.

Now swap over the 30GB and the 80GB.

Restart the laptop with the 80GB installed and it should run fine. Make sure you are happy that your files work okay.

Make a backup (it's a handy thing to get used to) of your documents only and then format the 30GB in the external drive case.

You have a 80GB laptop and a handy 30GB external drive. Get one that can be powered from a USB port.

This method is good if you don't have all of the installation disks handy.

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If you have the recovery disks and installation disks handy, I'd recommend installing Windows fresh on the 80GB. A fresh install will leave you with a lovely small registry file and improve system performance.

Source(s):

I swapped out my Sisters 30GB drive for a 120GB and I popped the 30GB into an external case to give her a portable drive...

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Before you buy one, check the manufacturer's website for the dimensions of your drive. It should be 9 or 9.5mm high. Some older drives are 12mm high and don't fit into the better drive cases.

http://www.storagedepot.co.uk/Enclosures…


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I.T. and Comms Engineer. Since 1982.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thank you very much, will get on that tom......
I appreciate your help

Answer 2

I would copy what files I wanted to backup to a flash drive or burn to a CD/DVD. Once I completed this I would switch the drives out. You will need to refer to your computers manual for hard drive removal or pull up the manual from their website.

Once new hard drive is installed you will need to use the Manufactures restore CD that came with your laptop to restore the Operating System. Then copy the files back using your flash drive or the CD/DVD you burned them to.

Jeremy

Source(s):

Computer Technician

Answer 3

You'll need to look into

"EMC Retrospect" and "Norton Ghost"

These are backup programs which are able to restore your entire system.

With a 30g system, you might need an external backup device which can handle that much. Maybe a video ipod or a computer on your network?.. or and external hard drive you can borrow off a friend.

After you've done the backup, your switch hard drives and follow the instructions to restore your system.

I've never done it like that before, but that's how I'd go about it.

Jeremy's version would also work, I'm not sure you wouldn't loose installed programs though.