Hard drive upgrade of t42

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keith5523 · #1 Post by **keith5523** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 4:24 pm

My system is a T42 2378-FZU, 1.70 GHz processor and 1.5GB RAM with standard issue 40 GB HD. Reading here, it looks like the TravelStar 7K100 is a no brainer, but I have a couple of questions. I've read an online review from the newegg site that said:

Cons: IBM Notebooks use IBM Firmware on hard drives. Your IBM BIOS will flip out about this drive. However, there are certain procedures that can be performed to dodge this issue.

I'm really not a power user, but need more space for business applications. I increased the amount of RAM a few months back and was disappointed with the lack of increased speed, so I'm hoping this combination will speed things up. However, I'm probably not competent(or patient) enough to deal with numerous install issues.

So my question is this: Is this drive easy to install and what problems should I anticipate? I'm using ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery for weekly backups and plan to use it for the re-install or new-install. Thanks for your comments.

Keith

sugo · #2 Post by **sugo** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 4:38 pm

You should expect no problems. Only T43's bios complains about certain drives. T42 doesn't do that.

#3 Post by **Johan** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:20 pm

Keith;

For pro's and con's about HDD's from different manufacturers, see: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=37543 That thread also contain cloning instructions.

The thread http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storag ... -7200.html ("2.5-Inch Hard Disk Drives with 7,200rpm Speed: Five Models Tested") is also interesting!

Try go to http://forum.thinkpads.com/search.php and search for "7k100" and (in another search) "7200.1". Many users' experience with these drives will turn up.

Good luck!

Regards,

Johan

w0qj · #4 Post by **w0qj** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:13 pm

It's a very easy job.

I have the T42s (2373-K5H) that came with fingerprint reader with factory pre-installed SP2 for English Win'XP-Pro (that was the first 100% certain Thinkpad with SP2 preinstalled).

This came with 5K40 hard drive.
Since then, I've had no problems upgrading to 7K60 and 7K100 hard drives. Any off-the-shelf 2.5" notebook hard drive is OK for T42.

Here's how I did it:

1. Burn your own Recovery CD's (all 7 of them).
Do not run any other program while you are buring this, as a precaution.

2. Back up your user email & data and any programs you've downloaded from Internet to another hard drive.

3. Turn Off your computer. Unplug your computer's AC adapter from computer, and remove battery.

4. Remove your hard drive with a screw driver.
(hint: note the orientation of the hard drive relative to the HDD caddy.

5. Put in your new hard drive, put back all the screws.
(hint: make sure new hard drive is same orientation relative to the HDD caddy. trick.)

6. pop your new hard drive back into computer.

7. put in battery, plug in wall outlet power.

8. pop in Disk 1 of 7 Product Recovery CD, boot from it, and follow the instructions (this may take a while; i usually do this about 2 hrs before bedtime, so it runs overnight...)

9. Voila! new hard drive in computer!

Temetka · #5 Post by **Temetka** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 7:17 pm

10. Reload your programs.

11. Copy your files back.

keith5523 · #6 Post by **keith5523** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 7:24 am

1. Burn your own Recovery CD's (all 7 of them).
Do not run any other program while you are buring this, as a precaution.

Thanks for everyone's replies. I've been away on business and haven't been able to see the posts. I've ordered the Hitachi drive and plan to install this weekend, or sooner. I have another question regarding the suggestion to burn my own recovery CD's. 8-9 months ago, I replaced the factory drive under ibm's warranty. They sent discs for the re-install. Any reason NOT to use those disks?
There are 8 disks, 7 titled Product Recovery CD for .... and 1 titled Rescue and Recovery with Rapid Restore. I've backed up the entire EXISTING hard drive to an external USB drive using Think Vantage rescue and recovery program. All 29+GB. Is this the way to go?

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. You've been a lot of help.

Keith

#7 Post by **carbon_unit** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 7:31 am

The ones IBM sent will work fine. That IBM set has one more cd in it because it covers a range of model numbers while the set you make yourself only covers your specific model.

Oldgeezer · #8 Post by **Oldgeezer** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 11:49 pm

I picked up a 100 GB Hitachi 7200 rpm drive from newegg for cheap last week, and just finished getting it my T42p with no issues whatsoever.

It took only a few hours to rebuild the system from factory. I chose the following order:

save Docs&Settings and all installers to usb hard drive
installed system to virgin disk from cd/dvd R&R version 3
deleted norton av
installed corporate-owned av and firewall
copied Docs&Settings folder
installed all my apps, including office, from usb hard drive
run microsoft update till it finally said it had enough
download current version of software installer from ibm site
use SI to download and install ibm driver updates and IBM apps
finally re-tweaked the system settings and apps preferences to my previous choices

(and intel 2915abg/access connection with wpa worked first time!)

Cheers

(This is a great site-- my thanks to all who write in!)

keith5523 · #9 Post by **keith5523** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 5:52 pm

2378
100 GB Hitachi 7200 HDD
1.5 GB RAM
1.70 GHz Processor

Well, I've completed the install on the new Hitachi HDD, thanks to all of the help here. The only hiccups were self inflicted, due to my own lack of knowledge.

So now I've upgraded the RAM to 1.5 GB, and the HDD to 100 GB. I'm sure I've got a lot of storage capacity, but I still don't have much speed. I can't tell a marked difference between the old HDD and the new one, but my main reason for the upgrade was space, not speed. Speed would have been a nice bonus.

How difficult, and how expensive, is it to upgrade the processor? I've got a 1.70 GHz. The machine functions fine now, but if it's not too expensive....

Thanks again to everyone for their help and comments.
Keith

w0qj · #10 Post by **w0qj** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 9:25 pm

Congrads on your successful RAM & HDD upgrades!

How many programs do you have open at the same time?
Since you had 512 MB RAM, you might or might not have fully used your physical RAM (hence avoiding the SLOW swap drive on your 5K40 hard drive).

However, my T42s (2373-K5H with fingerprint reader) previously with 512 RAM & 5K40 HDD, I had so many programs open that my computer was quite slow, especially when switching between programs by pressing the program button on the TaskBar.

This was very noticably changed when I upgraded to total 1 GB RAM, and my 7K60 / 7K100 helped my bootup speed, as well as faster at starting programs (eg: my 4 GB Outlook Express).

In fact for Win'XP, boosting your RAM to 1+ GB and getting a 7200 RPM hard drive (Seagate or Hitachi) is your "poor man's T42p".

By not buying a T42p, i saved enough money to plurge on total 1 GB RAM, a 7200 RPM hard drive, extra spare battery, and even a Port Replicator II !

Temetka · #11 Post by **Temetka** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 10:49 pm

I hate to say this, but that is exactly why I bought a T41P. Now all I need to do is toss in a 1.8GHz Dothan to replace my 1.7GHz Banias and BAM! T42P.

I could have dothan / banias switched, I lose track of these things.

mantella · #12 Post by **mantella** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 11:32 am

I just got a new 100G drive for my T42. In order cut down the time and hassle involved in changing hard drives (reinstalling software, primarily, but also all my config settings, etc) my plan was to put the new drive in the second bay HDD adapter, image the primary disk onto it, then swap disks. Seems much simpler than going through the whole recovery and reinstallation process. Anyone see any potential problems with this approach? Anyone else use this method for new disks?

nikki605 · #13 Post by **nikki605** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 8:43 pm

A few weeks ago I upgraded to a 7K100 HDD almost as you described with no problem. It was a T21 and yes, I know this is the T4x forum, but the idea is the same. I took the new drive and temporarily installed it in an external enclosure with a USB 2.0 interface. I used Acronis Migrate Easy ver 7.0 (free 15 day trial) to clone the existing drive. Then, I moved the new drive to the laptop. It worked without a glitch, first time, in about an hour.

Go for it

tevanine · #14 Post by **tevanine** » Fri May 25, 2007 9:56 pm

Nikki605,

That is exactly what I want to do! I am looking into getting the Seagate 100Gig 7200rpm with 5yr warranty vs. 1yr with Hitachi at newegg. Does everything work the same as if you never changed drives? Thanks.

nikki605 · #15 Post by **nikki605** » Fri May 25, 2007 11:01 pm

I've been using the TP for some months now and I have not found a single program or function that did not work since using Migrate Easy to clone the previous 60GB HDD to the new 80GB HDD. I had to do nothing else. No other tweaking, no lost program preferences or options, no lost files no boot problems.

I'm still using the 60GB HDD in the external enclosure with SyncBack, to keep the TP data files in sync with my desktop system. That works great too.

Good Luck!

tevanine · #16 Post by **tevanine** » Sat May 26, 2007 10:56 am

Thanks! I heard about Acronis True Image but the Migrate Easy sounds exactly like what I need. I just got everything working the way it is supposed to with the latest patches and Access Connections, etc..

I ordered the Hitachi Travelstar 100Gig from tigerdirect who had 3yr warranty for about $5 more than newegg with shipping.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=2680

I will be happy when all goes as smoothly as yours did *cross fingers*...

nikki605 · #17 Post by **nikki605** » Sat May 26, 2007 11:47 am

Remember also that after cloning the HDD with Migrate Easy, you will still have the original HDD with all of its data and programs. When I swapped mine, I put the original HDD on a shelf and left it there for several weeks until I felt comfortable that the new HDD was completely error free and the OS, programs and data files were all there and working correctly.

That way, if there was a catastrophic problem, I could have always put the original HDD back in the TP. Of course, it would be missing any OS, program or data file changes since the day it was removed, but at least I wouldn't have been totally dead in the water.

Happy Upgrade

tevanine · #18 Post by **tevanine** » Sat May 26, 2007 12:01 pm

Good advice. Thanks!

w0qj · #19 Post by **w0qj** » Sun May 27, 2007 1:43 pm

The biggest PATA 7200 RPM hard drive is Seagate's 160 GB 7200 RPM.

Hitachi came out with a 7K200 but it's only SATA.

Hope Seagate continues to support 7200 RPM with PATA drives...