Thinkpads Forum

Hey all, just joined to ask a question about my HD.

Lenovo claimed my troubles were not hardware related after they had me do some tests before booting up. however, I took it to a computer store beforehand, and they checked it, said the HD was bad, and that I wasn't infected with any viruses(my firsts suspicion after experiencing troubles). I have an extended warranty(good for another year), but after they claimed it must be software related, and they weren't liable, I kind of feel like the company is brushing me off, after all.. isn't everything on a computer somehow software connected/related?

Unless you have input about the above, my real question today is this:
I've got a bad HD and instead of paying $300+ at the computer store, I'd like to do it on my own with the help of a more experienced friend.

A friend recommended this:
Seagate Momentus 5400.6 ST9500325AS 500GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148371

for the <$100 range, is this a decent drive?

After searching all over, I still can't find out of it will work with my T61?

I'm hearing something about needing an OS disk, for installing the HD. Lenovo just sent me a 3 disk set to restore/reformat after my HD crashed several times. will that work?

Mine current drive is only 105gb and I rarely play games. Just need a reliable computer for school, music, photos, and some home videos.

I am also have trouble with my cd RW dvd rom drive. It works on and off.. when its in a bad mood it it makes a cyclical 4 clicks,(" bo beep bee boow" only more "click-like" than beeping) while at a slow sounding speed, and won't play anything. then the next day it might work. Its 3 years old. is it worth trouble shooting or just better to replace? THink its ocvered by warranty?


Thanks a lot Folks!
t61O


*ETA,
I read the sticky "HD FAQ", but there was a lot to take in, and nothing I read seemed to be conclusive. It sounds like I can't install an non-IBM HD if my pc is a T4x or newer? is that correct?

I see member "Lukee" has something in his signature that fixes the problem?

Welcome to the Forum.
You can put in ANY SATA hard disk that is 2.5" wide and 9.5mm high.
Rather than a Seagate, go for a WD Scorpio Blue (5400rpm) or Black (7200rpm).
Buy from Newegg, which has some of the best prices around.
You will only need a Phillips #1 screwdriver and about 5 minutes to swap out your old HD for the new one.
Re-use the HD-tray and rails that are mounted around the old HD. Watch how everything is mounted (upside down).
You use the recovery set that Lenovo sent you to re-install the OS, incl. the Recovery partition (ca. 1 hour).

Your DVD/CDRW might be covered by warranty, call them up and ask. If not, replace it.

The Seagate Momentus XT might be worth a look. It's a 7200RPM drive with a 4GB flash drive attached. It offers near SSD performance, more space and costs less.

Hitachi makes a nice 500GB 7200RPM also, and they are an OEM supplier to IBM/ Lenovo. amazon had them in the low $80s and I've seen them for less at PXs.