My Fiverr Profile: https://www.fiverr.com/ahsanrahim786 Click to download more Books: http://appsdisaster.blogspot.com/ Here is the full lecture slides on types and kinds of hard disks.

1. FAQs:
How many types of hard drives are there?
How can I tell if I have a SATA or an IDE hard drive?
Why is my new hard drive’s formatted capacity less than 500GB/320 GB?
How can I remove my laptop hard drive to replace it?
I have installed my new hard drive but my laptop cannot recognize it. How can
I fix this?
My computer has come up with a message saying that there us ‘No Bootable
Device Available’ - What Does This Mean and How can I fix this?
My laptop keeps restarting and goes off on the windows logo screen. Do I
need a new hard drive?
Are some laptop hard drives compatible with other brands of laptops?
I ordered a Samsung hard drive but I was sent another manufacturer?
I can’t find my laptop model number on your listings?
My hard drive seems to be clicking, do I need a replacement?
My current hard drive is working fine but I would like to upgrade it so that I
have more space. How can I do so?
How many types of hard drives are there?
There are two types of hard drives; the first type is IDE (also known as PATA or ATA
or E-IDE) and the second type is SATA (also known as Serial-ATA)
How can I tell if I have a SATA or an IDE hard drive?
An IDE hard drives has a connector with two rows of small gold coloured pins.
A SATA hard drive has two black coloured cartridge slot type connector. To illustrate
this better, here’s a picture of the two types of connectors:
If you are unsure about what type of interface your laptop uses, here are some tips
to help you choose the correct one:
-If you know the make and model number of your laptop then type that into Google
along with one of these keywords ‘2.5" hard drive’ , ‘ 2.5" HDD’ , ‘IDE’ or ‘SATA’. For
example if you have a Sony VAIO PCG-Z1RMP laptop, you can type in ‘Sony VAIO
PCG-ZIRMP hard drive’ or ‘Sony VAIO PCG-Z1RMP 2.5" hard drive’ or ‘Sony VAIO
PCG-Z1RMP 2.5” IDE HDD’ into a search engine and you will find out whether it
uses an IDE or a SATA laptop hard drive. You can usually find the model number
and make from the bottom of your laptop.
-You can also locate your hard drive slot on your laptop and examine the connectors.
Compare these to the pictures shown above you’ll be able to match it up.
-Check your current laptop hard drive brand and model number and type it into a

2. search engine to see what type of interface you need. You will first need to locate
your hard drive and then remove it to check for the number after ‘S/N’ (serial
number), "Model'" or "Model Number". The model number usually varies between
different hard drive manufacturers but usually begins with HT/IC/DK (Hitachi & IBM),
WD (Western Digital), ST (Seagate), MH (Fujitsu), MK (Toshiba) or MP (Samsung).
All laptop hard drive brands and model numbers that we have known and have dealt
with are interchangeable and compatible as long as it uses the correct type of
interface.
-If you know the brand and model of your laptop then you can check the hard drive
specification on the manufactures website or you can also refer to any system
specification documentation that you may have received with your laptop.
Why is my new hard drive’s formatted capacity less than 500GB/320 GB?
The capacities listed are the absolute number of bytes available on a drive. For
instance, a 4GB drive would have 4,000,000,000 bytes of space available on the
disk. The problem is that PCs use factors of 2 for everything. As it turns out, the
computer does not use groups of 1000 to store data, it uses groups of 1024 (2^10).
Take 4,000,000,000 and divide it by 1024 bytes and you actually get a number of
3.906GB instead of 4.000GB. To better express this, computer professionals have
started using different units such as GiB (gee-bee-byte), MiB (mee-bee-byte), and
KiB (kee-bee-byte) to express when they mean groups of 1024 versus groups of
1000.
If you have a 160GB hard disk, it'd actually be 156GB before it's formatted. Then
once it's formatted, you've lost some more due to much more complex issues to
discuss like partition tables, cluster size, reserved space, and the like.
With a 500GB drive, formatted NTFS with 32K clusters and no waste reservation, I
have a usable space of 465GB.
How can I remove my laptop hard drive to replace it?
Please unplug the power cable, and remove the battery first before removing the
Hard Drive. Remove anything else plugged into the computer: mouse, USB drives,
etc. It would also be wise to ground yourself by touching a un-painted metal object
before touching the insides of a computer.
After removing the battery, you should see if you computer model has a way to
ground the Motherboard. On a Dell 610 -- you simply hold the power button down for
5 seconds after disconnecting the battery to ground the Motherboard.
On some laptops, switching drives is as easy as undoing a latch, sliding the drive
caddy out, removing a couple of screws, swapping drives, and then repeating the
previous steps in reverse. But on other machines, the hard drive is buried under the
keyboard or motherboard, without an access panel. Dealing with this type of design
entails removing dozens of screws, the keyboard deck, the keyboard, the
motherboard, and many parts and connectors. Fortunately, the latter scenario has
become significantly rarer in recent years. The best place to start when you want to
upgrade or replace your hard drive is with the user's guide for your laptop. If the disk-swapping
procedure is simple, the guide will tell you how to do it. In that case, you
won't need any further help, though some of the tips offered here may make the
operation easier and safer for you and the equipment.
If your user's guide doesn't cover the procedure, it may be a more complicated task.
Fortunately, you can find a teardown guide and/or video on the Web for virtually
every modern electronic device. A quick search for your laptop model should yield
something you can use. If not, searching for a similar model may turn up helpful

3. reference material.
Spudgers are excellent tools for gently prying apart pressure-fit laptop components.
To replace your hard drive, you'll need (at a minimum) a high-quality small-head
Phillips screwdriver; you may also need hex-head Torx drivers and with recent Macs,
a pentagonal driver. Ideally, you would use a good multi-tool with a comfortable grip
and swappable flat, Phillips, and Torx tips of appropriate size for laptops, cell
phones, and the like. Thin-handled jeweler's screwdrivers are undesirable because
they may not allow you to apply enough force. If you don't have the right tools for the
job, you can probably find them on Amazon and eBay, or at your local hardware
store.
For some laptops, you may also need a spudger (a plastic or metal tool that you can
use to gently pry apart pressure-fit plastic parts). Older Mac laptops are infamous for
requiring spudgers, but many other laptops also call for some gentle prying before
they'll grant access to their guts. If your spudging skills aren't well developed, stick
with plastic versions; they wear out more quickly, but they're less likely to scratch
metal surfaces or cause electrostatic damage. Spudgers are inexpensive, too, so
you can grab an array of thicknesses and shapes at little cost. Thin-nose tweezers
can be handy on occasion, too. If possible, use a pair with angled tips, so you can
see what you're gripping, without your hands getting in the way. Angled thin-nose
tweezers are great for gently prying open latches and for pulling screws out of wells.
If you're not familiar with the numerous small connectors that laptops may include, a
magnifying glass can help you spot tiny catches that might break if you attempted to
pull a plug out of a connector with the latch still attached, or might result in your
accidentally pulling a receptacle free from a circuit board. If possible, use a
magnifying glass to watch for the following factors that could damage your laptop.
Some tiny connectors have latches that are difficult to spot. If a cable isn’t coming
out as easily as you think it should, take the time to look for a latch.
Keep an eye out for small cables and connectors when taking apart your laptop to
replace your hard drive.

4. Cables: Hidden cables are another common laptop hazard. All parts of a laptop other
than shields and miscellaneous plastic are connected electrically, and if a socket isn't
handling the job, a cable is. Ribbon cables and wire cables run from the keyboard
deck (the upper half housing the keyboard and touchpad, among other things) to the
motherboard, from daughter boards to the motherboard, from the motherboard to the
base, from the modem to the motherboard, and so on. Other cables connect the
touchpad, the finger swiper, the status lights, the speakers and any other
components embedded in the keyboard deck.
Removing ribbon cables generally entails flipping up a tab at the back of the slot
where the cable terminates. Wire cable connectors usually terminate in pressure-fit
connectors that must be pried out. Sometimes you may have to depress a small
catch. A spudger handles this task very well.
REMOVAL TIPS AND TRICKS:
Most hard drives are mounted on rails or metal frames with screws, rubber
grommets, or other shock-reducing technology. You'll need to reuse these rails or
frames when mounting your new drive, so take care not to lose them during the
swap. Usually, the screws from the old drive will fit the new one, but different hard
drive vendors may use screws with a different thread pitch. Your replacement drive
will have shipped with its own screws; if these aren't long enough or are unsuitable
for some other reason, you may need to visit your local computer store.
On older ATA hard drives, an adapter may cover the connection pins. You must
remove this adapter for reuse with the new drive, but perform the operation
cautiously; if you don't grab the adapter in the middle and pull it straight back, you
may bend the connector pins. When this happens, you can try to force them back
into position, but straightening them isn't easy, and they sometimes break off
entirely.
If you can't get a firm enough grip to pull the adapter off, try to pry it up gently with
your tools but do so in tiny increments, first on one side and then the other,
alternating until the adapter falls off.
Side-mounted hard drives: The easiest hard drives to replace are those in laptops
that use side-mounted, removable drive caddies or trays. Usually, a latch or screw
holds the drive in place, and typically that fastener is accessible from the bottom of
the laptop. Undo the latch, or remove the screw or screws; slide out the tray; and
replace the drive.

5. Under an access panel: Many laptop designers situate their hard drives under a
removable panel located on the bottom of the machine. Remove the panel; detach
any retaining clips, screws, or frames; and slide the drive out. Usually, you'll have to
pull backward to free the drive from its connector, and then lift the drive up and out.
Under the keyboard or motherboard: On laptops where the hard drive is located in
one of these places, your job is a lot tougher. Carefully store the removed parts in a
logical, organized manner, however, and you'll find the task time-consuming but not
impossible.
Though the particulars vary, the disassembly procedure should go something like
this:
Flip the laptop over and remove the screws that hold the keyboard deck in place.
Remove the keyboard deck. This may require sliding a spudger along the seam
between the lower portion of the case and keyboard deck to release snaps that may
be holding the two together. Some modern units are sealed, so don't assume that
there's an easy way in.
Remove the keyboard and other components that hide the hard drive or prevent you
from dislodging the motherboard. This step may involve taking out screws; peeling
back tape; detaching components such as modems and Wi-Fi modules; and
detaching clamped ribbon cables, regular cables, or antennas with pressure-fit
connectors. You may also have to remove metal RF shields. Be gentle and reread
the section on hazards, above.
If the hard drive is situated under the motherboard, you can probably remove the
latter after taking out a few more screws. However, the ports integrated onto the
motherboard protrude out the case, so you may have to jockey the motherboard as
you pull it out. Again, be alert for hidden cables.
Stop the disassembly process as soon as you have access to the hard drive. There
are drives that are taped in place, screwed down, or held in position by fancy
hardware. There are also drives that lay loose after removing a shield or panel. None
of these various circumstances pose a special challenge; but carefully observe
what's there, and above all don't force things.
Once you've successfully removed your old hard drive, simply reverse the procedure

6. to insert the new drive and reassemble the laptop.
Here are some common Laptops Models. You can learn how to take-apart a:
Dell 610 Laptop - this website has guides for many Dell Laptop models
HP Pavilion dv6000 series laptop
Acer Aspire 5100 laptop
HP Pavilion dv6500, dv6600, dv6700, dv6800 notebooks
If your model isn't listed above, please do a Google search for ‘disassemble brand
/model’ or replacing ‘brand / model’ with your own laptop make and model. For
instance, if you have a HP Pavilion G6, you can search ‘disassemble HP Pavilion
G6.’
I have installed my new hard drive but my laptop cannot recognize it. How can
I fix this?
Windows 7 installs only the driver necessary for the hard disk drive on which it is
installed. This means any changes to a SATA boot drive’s low-level configuration
can confuse the operating system. This can happen if the SATA modes in your
notebook’s BIOS settings are accidentally changed or if the BIOS settings are
inadvertently reset.
To check this, first access notebook’s BIOS settings. You can usually do this by
pressing the F2, F10 or Delete key shortly after powering up. Now look for an option
labeled ‘SATA Mode Selection’ or anything similar. This option will either be set to
IDE or AHCI: please change this to the corresponding opposite setting, save the
changes, exit the BIOS and finally restart Windows (or re-try the recovery option).
If this doesn’t fix the problem, then it’s likely that the hard disk itself has developed a
fault. If you have access to another PC, confirm this by downloading and burning an
Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD). This can be used to start your notebook from an external
CD or DVD drive, and then use UBCD (which include Seagate’s own test tools) to
assess the drive without the added confusion of what Windows can and can’t ‘see’. If
the Ultimate Boot CD can’t detect the drive either, then it increases the possibility of
the hard drive being faulty.
My computer has come up with a message saying that there us ‘No Bootable
Device Available’ - What Does This Mean and how can I fix this?
Simply put: ‘No Bootable Device Available’ means your computer can't find your hard
drive. As your computer ‘can't find’ your hard drive (HDD), it cannot boot (start)
Windows.
It would be best to check if your computer has any link left to the hard drive. You've
already tried pushing F1 (if you are on a Dell), and received an "Internal HDD Error".
So, Step 1: Press F2 (or whatever the computer suggests) to enter BIOS setup. If F2
doesn't work try the ‘Delete’ or F10 key. The ‘esc’ key works on some brands, too.
BIOS has different versions, but there should be an section labelled ‘Primary Hard
Drive’ - if it says ‘none’ then your computer doesn't even recognize that a Hard Drive
is connected. It could just be a loose connection in which case, you would need to

7. remove your Hard Drive and push it back in firmly. This should fix the problem.
My laptop keeps restarting and goes off on the windows logo screen. Do I
need a new hard drive?
Please reinstall your operating system. If the same problem persists then you need a
new hard drive.
Are some laptop hard drives compatible with other brands of laptops?
Yes they are as long as the other machine uses the same interface (SATA or IDE).
I ordered a Samsung hard drive but I was sent another manufacturer?
Yes. We can ship other branded hard drives from Western Digital, Toshiba Samsung
or Hitachi as the spec is still the same.
I can’t find my laptop model number on your listings?
We try our best to list every compatible laptop model we can in which you can use
this hard drive, but if you cannot find it on our listings, please let us know and we will
check whether we have the right hard drive for you.
My hard drive seems to be clicking, do I need a replacement?
The clicking is the sign of the hard drive on its way to becoming faulty. It’s best to
replace it with a new hard drive.
My current hard drive is working fine but I would like to upgrade it so that I
have more space. How can I do so?
The ideal option in this case would be to purchase an 2.5” external enclosure and do
the following:
Step 1: Replace your old hard drive with the new one.
Step 2: Reinstall your operating system (Windows XP)
Step 3: Transfer all data from your old hard drive to your laptop by putting your old
hard drive in the external enclosure.
After you’ve transferred all data from your old hard drive in the external enclosure,
you can format it and either use it as a back up or even an external hard drive.
Please find some pictures of External Enclosures below:

8. Please email us if you have any further questions.