Laptop hardware component & upgrades forum: New hard drive for 3 year old laptop?

Hah, hah..., actually I had them switched at birth. The laptop came with the SSD as 'C' and it filled immediately so after many attempts by Toshiba techs I sent it back and had it rewired so the HDD is 'C' now and the SSD is "D". I have been getting warnings the SSD is having issues but since I don't use it I've been ignoring them.

Could the SSD be the problem even though it was rewired by Toshiba?

Thanks Bob!

So, here we go with the million dollar question..., is it worth it? I need to run Win7 so it can network with another machine I use in my work. What are the chances both drives are shot or nearing shot? We lived in the tropics which eats electronics for a bit over a year. I can replace the Toshiba with a decent machine for $700 or so. I'm just scratching my head here.

Bob, thanks for the help.

Lee

Okay..., unplug the SSD..., ummm, how do I do that? Are there instructions for this, or at least a diagram of where it is?

The thing has been running recovery for nearly two hours now, hasn't restarted for 30 min, wondering if it's stuck in a loop. Screen is 'Applying Final Configuration, DO NOT INTERRUPT'

I have Toshiba's Recovery discs and my own as well.

Again, thank you Bob!

Lee

Bob, you're grossly underpaid and under-appreciated! You have been a tremendous help to me and I cannot thank you enough!

I'll give this a go, unplugging the SSD, I haven't used it since Toshiba rewired the machine 3 years ago. I'll pull it's plug and hopefully the HDD won't be so confused. I'll let you know the results tomorrow or the next day.

Lee

Sorry about the typographic error above. I meant "help" instead of "have." Ouch.

Pulling that drive should and appears to have the effects we wanted. The machine should be a bit quicker, not only because of the fresh install but since less drives seems to perk up Explorer and Windows in general. You'll notice that quite often as you see more machines.

Bob

How long since you reached for and used the canned air?

Upon reading your question and then some of the replies, you maybe better served getting a tougher laptop. basically, one that can take the increase tropical heat or humidity. that said, look into "military or shop/commercial" laptops. The immediate one that comes to mind are "Toughbooks" by Panasonic. Lenevo brand do well too. AND!!! it wouldn't hurt to have a laptop cooler running here as well to help maintain the laptop operation if applicable. These all cost alot more but you get a laptop that can take it and handles well extreme conditions. use the keywords, "ruggized, tough or commercial" laptop for hits that are better suited for your needs. Also, if you work in direct sunlight, MOVE to a better location if possible(make shade).

example:
http://content.dell.com/us/en/slgov/slg-rugged-solutions.aspx?ST=ruggedized%20laptops&dgc=ST&cid=247991&lid=4297907&acd=sDONm98av,12617617522,901rb36697

tada -----Willy

as a D drive. The power of the SSD is the quick boot times and using it was a D drive would make it a data drive. Using it as a Data drive means your going to write to it often and thats the disadvantage of SSD (although I hear they are getting better). A SSD has a limits amount of writes. One thing you should never have a page file on the SSD drive especially one 64 GB. SSD's run cooler and use less battery because there are no moving parts in the drive. You are better off not having a SSD if you have to use it as the D drive. You are eliminating the advantages of a SSD drive and testing the disadvantages of the drive.