Upgrading hdd on Medion Notebook

[old wrinkly]

I have a Medion MIM2120 Notebook that has a 40GB WD Scorpio WD400UE drive fitted which is 5400 RPM.

I would like to either fit another drive, if possible, or upgrade the existing drive. The WD Scorpio is available in 40Gb to 320GB capacities but I would not mind fitting another faster model or an alternative make if that would work.

Has anyone had any experience of doing a hard drive upgrade?

I've messed about with desktop PCs but never ventured inside a laptop so would probably need to take it somewhere for the upgrade.

I live near Colchester, Essex, does anyone know of a reliable individual/company I could approach to get a price?

Thanks

 

[Deluks]

Have a look on ebuyer.com, aria.co.uk, scan.co.uk, dabs.com etc etc and get yourself a bare drive. You will require a 2.5" drive with an IDE or PATA connector (same thing) NOT Sata though. Any brand should be compatible.

First you'll need to see if the existing drive is accessable. Remove the flaps under the machine until you locate it (small screwdriver required) The drive should be held in with a few screws, undo them and the drive should just slide out from the ATA connector.

Don't worry, this will all make sense when it's laid out in front of you.

The tricky bit is saving all your old data and reinstalling operating system (Windows usually) If you have the original installation disks that came with the machine then keep them handy.

If the old drive still works ok, get one of these, then you'll have a spare 40GB pocket size disk drive that can be used for backups and moving files about. You can also use this to access your data on the existing drive by plugging it into the USB on the laptop.

 

[stevec59]

Most laptops are easy to replace the HDD, you just need to find out how and where they are fitted.
I have not worked on a Medion before, so can't tell you.
Do you have the Instalion CD ROMs so that you can re-install the Operatining syestem and drivers?
Some laptops have a Hidden Partition on nthem that holds all the Operatining syestem and drivers, again not sure about the Medion.
Of course you will need to check if you type of drive you need IDE \ SATA.
Might be as easy for going for external drive as per previous post