1. Laptop base $29
2. Hybrid hard drive $120
Labor
2 hours
Benefit
Decreased boot time by 1 minute
As usual, I am questioning my new hard drive. It is simply a process I must go through in order to "qualify" it as trustworthy. I purchased it from a reputable store so there is no chance warranty would be invalid.
The process to get to my hard drive is long and tedious.
The Dells at work require 4 screws off the bottom and the drive slides out the side. Mine is a little different.
First take off all the screws from the bottom, remove keyboard, palm rest/touchpad, remove LCD, unscrew motherboard and I/O boards (little boards attached to the main board), and finally you have access to the hard drive.
I have taken the laptop apart 3 times already, each to verify a possibly missed step. It's a pain but I am happy right now. The amount of time it takes to go from loading to usable is significantly less and I have more space!
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| The drive! |
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| Note how the main screw post is cracked off, and the two minor ones lower center and to the right are just black circles |
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| The left side is perfect, note how there is a tube and two screw posts with a little nut in them. The other side did not have any of these parts left. |
