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How to find compatible hard drive?

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  • Storage
  • Hard Drives
  • Compatibility
Last response: in Storage
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October 11, 2014 2:02:43 PM

So my hard drive's on the verge of dying and I need to buy a new one ASAP. Here are the specs: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c02...

It only lists:
" Size: 1 TB
Interface: SATA
Rotational Speed: 7200 rpm "

Should I just find a similar hard drive?

What's the difference between 32mb cache and 64mb?

More about : find compatible hard drive

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October 11, 2014 2:12:08 PM

SATA devices and interfaces are completely backwards compatible. A SATA3 drive will work fine on a SATA interface and vice versa. Of course, the speed will be limited to the drives and/or interfaces maximum performance.
Make sure you backup everything before you replace the drive. Do you have the restore discs for your system or just a Windows disc? There is a possibility that the HP restore discs won't use the full drive if you pick up a 4+TB but that's the only sticking point I can think of (wouldn't hurt anything, you'd just be short-stroking the drive).
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October 11, 2014 2:19:59 PM

alceryes said:
Do you have the restore discs for your system or just a Windows disc?


I don't have a clue since this is my brother's desktop instead! I just backed up all the stuff I wanted into an external hard drive

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October 11, 2014 2:22:50 PM

Yes the ebay and newegg will will both work. The Newegg one is the same as the one I linked above.
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October 11, 2014 2:27:42 PM

lusciouss said:
alceryes said:
Do you have the restore discs for your system or just a Windows disc?


I don't have a clue since this is my brother's desktop instead! I just backed up all the stuff I wanted into an external hard drive



The easiest way to move your stuff is going to be to clone it. I use Acronis for cloning, it's a pretty easy program. Just pull the cords out of the CD drive and put them in the new HDD, clone everything you want then remove the old drive and plug the CD drive back in. There are a bunch of different cloning softwares, some have an option to make the new drive bootable. Keep an eye out for this as if it is an option you will need to select it.
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October 11, 2014 2:39:04 PM

lusciouss said:
So my hard drive's on the verge of dying and I need to buy a new one ASAP. Here are the specs: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c02...

It only lists:
" Size: 1 TB
Interface: SATA
Rotational Speed: 7200 rpm "

Should I just find a similar hard drive?

What's the difference between 32mb cache and 64mb?

Right, any SATA 3.5" 7200 rpm Hard Drive will do.. the size depends on your needs, it could be smaller or larger dependidng on the data you have on the old HD and the price you can afford. The difference between 32 or 64MB caché is speed and efficiency, as well as SATA 3 or 6.. Larger caché is better but smaller are priced lower. Good brands are Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, Hitachi.. in my experience Western Digital is more reliable than Seagate. Hitachi or Toshiba are said to be even better.

Desktop Hard Drives
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...

Top Internal Hard Drives
http://www.pcworld.com/product/collection/1652/top-5-in...

Who makes the most reliable hard drives?
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/175089-who-makes-the...

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October 11, 2014 3:27:19 PM

byza said:
lusciouss said:
alceryes said:
Do you have the restore discs for your system or just a Windows disc?


I don't have a clue since this is my brother's desktop instead! I just backed up all the stuff I wanted into an external hard drive



The easiest way to move your stuff is going to be to clone it. I use Acronis for cloning, it's a pretty easy program. Just pull the cords out of the CD drive and put them in the new HDD, clone everything you want then remove the old drive and plug the CD drive back in. There are a bunch of different cloning softwares, some have an option to make the new drive bootable. Keep an eye out for this as if it is an option you will need to select it.


Is it possible to just clone Windows? I have all I need already on my external hdd

Searched my whole house and I couldn't find a Windows 7 disc anywhere
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October 11, 2014 3:36:11 PM

Yes you can just clone windows, you can select any files you want. It's a good idea to clone any programs you want too.
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October 11, 2014 3:51:01 PM

byza said:
Yes you can just clone windows, you can select any files you want. It's a good idea to clone any programs you want too.


I'm on the Acronis site, which one is ideal for me?
Acronis Backup for Windows Server, PC, or Windows Server Essentials?
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October 11, 2014 4:06:31 PM

You want Acronis True image for PC. You should be fine with just the free trial, just wait till you have your new drive to activate it.
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October 11, 2014 7:36:17 PM

byza said:
You want Acronis True image for PC. You should be fine with just the free trial, just wait till you have your new drive to activate it.


Only True Image 2015 is available and the clone disk option is unavailable for free trials
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