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Replacing a Dell Laptop Hard Drive

Hard drives are the most failure prone device inside of a laptop or desktop computer. Spinning at over 7200 RPM for hours, these storage devices are under extreme stress. If your hard drive on your Dell laptop happens to fail, there are several considerations to take into account when replacing that unit. This article will cover those considerations, as well as how to install the unit.

First, you should confirm that your Dell laptop hard drive is in fact no longer functional. You can do this by either talking to a Dell technical support representative (which usually takes up to an hour), or you can visit the manufacturer's site of your hard drive, and download their diagnostic utility. Dell typically uses Western Digital for their notebook and laptop hard drives. Once you have confirmed that there is an issue with your current hard drive, you should check to make sure that the unit is still covered by your warranty. Dell offers up to three years of protection against faulty components in their warranty plan. If your computer hard drive is not covered by an extended warranty, you will need to purchase a replacement for your Dell hard disk drive. If you have critical data on the drive and no backup, then you should never try to repair the hard drive yourself but instead you should send the drive to a professional hard disk recovery specialist.

Purchasing a replacement drive is relatively easy. You can purchase a replacement for your Dell laptop hard drive either by purchasing a hard drive of the same size, or an upgrade. If you are planning on upgrading, make sure that your laptop can support a larger drive. You can confirm this by reading the user's manual review available for download at the Dell's website. You will want to purchase a notebook hard drive which is 2½ inches thick. Most laptop hard disks are of this size, so you should not have any trouble finding a drive this size. At last, you are ready to replace the actual drive.

Replacement of the hard drive will require a Phillips jewel screwdriver. This type of screwdriver is available at most hardware stores, and electronics stores. Once you have the proper screwdriver, turn off your laptop and flip the laptop upside down, so that the bottom of the laptop is facing up. Next, locate the compartment part where your laptop hard drive is located. This compartment should be a rectangle, which usually marked 'H'. If you have problem and cannot locate this place, view the user manual for your laptop available on Dell's website. Once you have located the compartment, unscrew all of the screws holding the compartment closed. Once this has been completed, remove the cover from the compartment, and you should now see the drive. Dislodge the hard drive from the interface socket by lightly pressing in the opposite direction, and then remove the hard drive assembly part. Next, unscrew the original laptop hard drive, and insert your own drive into the hard drive assembly. Finally, you may replace the hard drive, insert the compartment cover, and re-insert the compartment screws. You have now successfully replaced your hard drive for your laptop with either a replacement from Dell, or with another hard drive.´

Once your hard drive is replaced, you can then insert your Dell restoration CDs that came with your laptop. This will allow you to re-format the drive, and re-install Windows. Make sure to backup your hard drive, as you know now that hard drives may fail unexpectedly!





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