[Ham-Computers] Laptop Hard Drive Connector Differences

[Jim Hill]

Hi Dale:
My Inspiron doesn't use a SATA drive, and no ribbon cable is used. 
The drive is bolted into a small "box" almost the same size as the 
drive, and the box slides into an opening in the side of the 
case.  Once the drive is bolted in the box, installation is roughly 
the same as installing a plug-in amplifier in a Tektronix scope.

I'm installing a 120GB drive to minimize the possibility of getting a 
bad hard drive. If I have problems, I don't have another computer 
available to verify the drive.  I also replaced the motherboard with 
one Dell supplied when they mis-diagnosed a problem with my computer, 
so have two potential problem areas.  At Newegg, It has a four ball 
customer rating, while a 160 GB has a three ball rating.  Actually, 
120 GB should be fine for my usage.  I much prefer a desktop, and use 
the laptop where a desktop is impractical, such as in my (small) RV 
and looking at star charts outside next to my telescope.

I checked my Dell packing slip, and the Inspiron was shipped with a 
40 GB Ultra ATA hard drive upgrade (from 30 GB)!  Sizes really change 
in a few years.

Jim



At 10:06 PM 3/31/2008, you wrote:
>Jim, are you sure the harddrive is not encased in an enclosure that 
>the ribbon your referring to attaches to?
>
>I do have questions that need answers.
>
>The drive model you link to is ATA  _not_ SATA, the Seagate drive is also ATA.
>
>Is the laptop suppose to be ATA??
>
>Why are you replacing a 160GB drive with a 120GB drive??