Replacing Dell Inspiron 6400 Hard Drive
Von Fourche
I have a Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop (XP) with a hard drive around 106GB.
My hard drive is almost full from video I've added.
Is it possible to buy another hard drive and replace the 106GB with a
bigger one? Also, is it possible to clone the data on the old
hard drive to the new one?
I recently added a second internal hard drive to my Dimension E510
desktop and it offered me to clown the first hard drive but I did not do it.
All I wanted to so is add a second hard drive.
But with the laptop, I don't think there is room for a second hard
drive. I will probably have to replace the 106GB with a bigger one.
So, is it possible to get a bigger drive, clown the first data onto the
new one, and put the new one in the drive?
Thanks
BillW50
Yes it is possible. And XXClone offers a free version and it clones far
better than the commercial versions of Paragon and Acronis.
Yes it works under XP too.
--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - OE-QuoteFix v1.19.2
Centrino Core Duo T2400 1.83GHz - 2GB - Windows XP SP3
Christopher Muto
yes, this is not just possible but a very common upgrade.
you will need a new hard disk and an external usb enclosure for that
hard disk. first you will install the new hard disk in the external usb
enclosure, then you will clone your current hard drive to the new, and
finally you will replace the inspiron 6400's current/internal hard disk
with the new drive and that's it.
you will need a sata type 2.5" (sometimes called a "notebook" size)
drive. Your drive is probably 5400rpm but you could install a faster
7200rpm drive such as this 250gb seagate for $50:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148375
or you could give up the added performance and get more space with a
this 320gb drive that i 5400rpm for $50:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148455
you could go smaller, say 250 or 160 but at most it would only be $15 less.
also you will need a usb enclosure for that drive like this $11 one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817816003
this enclosure can be used later for your old 100gb hard disk as a
backup driver or additional storage.
you will need closing software, and for that i would suggest downloading
the software from website of the drive manufacture that you choose for
the new drive (seagate for the two drives suggested above). the
software installs and runs under windows, is very easy to use and
completely free (well, the cost is built into the cost of the new drive).
finally, once you clone your current drive to the new, you will need to
know how to install the new drive inside your laptop. this is detailed
in the service manual found here:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins6400/en/sm/index.htm
good luck.
Brian K
Does that laptop have a 128 GiB HD limitation? I don't think it does.
Does that laptop have MediaDirect in a Host Protected Area? If it does and
you replace the HD with a 500 GB HD, only 106 GB will be seen by the BIOS.
This can be prevented.
Bob_Villa
Are you talking to yourself?
Brian K
Bob,
I left out a sentence. If you clone the old HD to a 500 GB HD then only 106
GB of the new HD will be seen. Naturally this only applies if MediaDirect
was on the old HD.
Christopher Muto
suprisingly bestbuy has very competitive prices on 2.5" sata drives.
the above models/prices are a little better that bestbuy but you could
have a similar one (not the 7200rpm) from best buy the same day. and if
storage capacity is more important than speed bestbuy has a 500gb
5400rpm drive for just $10 more ($60 plus tax).
RnR
Yes you can. I'm almost positive that you won't have any hard drive
size limitations with your bios.
If money isn't tight, probably wise to go to the 7200rpm drives as its
not much more in price than the 5400rpm drives. Just be aware that
the 7200 drive may be noisier (mine isn't) and may run a bit warmer.
Von Fourche
"RnR" <rnrt...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:fqff975phsoo3dnia...@4ax.com...
How do I find out if I will have size limitation problems? The laptop
does have Media Direct. It has a Media Direct button though I hardly ever
use it.
Brian K
">
> How do I find out if I will have size limitation problems? The laptop
> does have Media Direct. It has a Media Direct button though I hardly ever
> use it.
>
I'm glad you found out now rather than later. You can clone your HD to a
larger HD and avoid the Host Protected Area issue but not by cloning with
the conventional method. If you need help I can help you.
Have a look through this and get back to us...
http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/mediadirect.shtml
RnR
<khon...@hotmail32865473.com> wrote:
Well, the best answer I can give you is to Google around. From what
I read, others didn't have a problem on theirs. I do not think Media
Direct makes any difference. Unfortunately I don't have the same
laptop so I can't test it to answer your questions. I once had a
E1405 but I don't recall if it had Media Direct on it but I don't
recall having any drive limitations neither. I will say that the
difference in price between a smaller and larger drive isn't that much
so you might want to just bite the bullet and try it. In worst case
scenario it won't work on that laptop but it would on a newer one so
all isn't lost.
Christopher Muto
that is all pretty dated information. the problem mentioned regarding
cloning a system with media direct installed only applies to media
direct versions 1 and 2 and if you are using older cloning software that
does not know how to deal with an hpa partition. newer cloning software
can handle hpa partitions, but more importantly newer version os media
direct (ie media direct 3) does not use hpa and so if that is the
version you have then this discussion is completely irrelevant to what
you are trying to accomplish.
Christopher Muto
your link points to a page that is loaded with dated information and is
not very well written. it does seem to have a one line 'update' that
mentions how this issues is entirely irrelevant to media direct 3, but
it does not detail the version so acronis true image that had problems
with hpa partitions and that starting with version 10 and above this was
no longer the case. but that aside, you do not need acronis true image
as mentioned above as there are plenty of free products available that
do the job, and in particular the one from western digital or seagate do
it with extremely easy to follow prompts designed for the complete novice.
Brian K
I'm pretty sure you have MediaDirect 2. I recall some friends had 6400 Dells
and I removed their HPAs. When you look at Dan Goodell's web page you will
be able to decide.
If you do have MediaDirect 2 and you go ahead any clone, even with the
latest software, you will be in trouble. You need to either replace the Dell
MBR with a generic MBR or zero LBA-3 before you clone and the HPA will not
be a problem. The following thread was my first exposure to the HPA issue
and I've seen a lot of reports since 2007.
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=167401
Von Fourche
"Brian K" <bjk444_...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:_K%lq.4173$7r4....@viwinnwfe02.internal.bigpond.com...
I opened up Media Direct and went to settings/about and it said - Version
4.7.2023-Dell. Audio - 2CH. Copywrite 2006.
Von Fourche
"Von Fourche" <khon...@hotmail32865473.com> wrote in message
news:9bKdnZnY_InRAwXT...@earthlink.com...
Copyright 2006.
Brian K
MediaDirect 2.
Under Disk 0, what is the disk size in GB? Is it 106 GB? What disk size came
with the Dell?
In Disk Management if you can't see a MediaDirect partition you have
MediaDirect 2.
The problem isn't cloning or not cloning the HPA. That's irrelevant. The
problem is all cloning apps will clone the MBR and LBA-3. If these sectors
are cloned to a new HD then a HPA will be created on the new HD (on first
boot) with a starting position of 106 GB. Your new HD instantly becomes a
smaller HD.
Von Fourche
it says 106GB.
In Disk Management I see what I believe to be four partitions:
1. Partition - Basic - Fat - Healthy (EISA Configuration) - 47MB capacity.
2. Partition - Basic - Fat32 - Healthy (Unknown Partition) - 3.66GB
capacity.
3. C - Partition - Basic - Fat32 - Healthy (System) - 106.07GB.
4. Media Direct - Partition - Basic - Fat32 - Healthy (Unknown
Partition) - 2.00GB.
1,2, and 3 are dark blue colored (Primary partition). Media Direct is
regular blue colored (Logical drive).
Brian K
.
>
> 1,2, and 3 are dark blue colored (Primary partition). Media Direct is
> regular blue colored (Logical drive).
>
>
clone your HD.
For those who would like some "light" reading, here is an old Dell thread on
MediaDirect 2...
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.sys.pc-clone.dell/browse_frm/thread/131a235d54644954/f16490b7b6179a20?hl=en&q=%22mediadirect%22+group:alt.sys.pc-clone.dell+author:brian#f16490b7b6179a20
Christopher Muto
http://www.techsupportforum.com/337-how-to-upgrade-the-hard-drive-in-a-dell-laptop/
Brian K
"Christopher Muto" >>
> this is a much better explanation of the issue...
> http://www.techsupportforum.com/337-how-to-upgrade-the-hard-drive-in-a-dell-laptop/
Von Fourche
Von Fourche
"Christopher Muto" <mu...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:bIqdnSzOgMfELgXT...@speakeasy.net...
Monica
I haven't read all the replies so it might have already been mentioned.
There are "how to" videos on YouTube for changing hdds and memory on Dell
laptops.
I didn't realize how easy it was...it's easier than adding a hdd and optical
drive to the (mini case) of my XPS 8300!
"Christopher Muto" wrote in message
news:f-2dnZnLU4Wv4grT...@speakeasy.net...
On 10/13/2011 5:22 PM, Von Fourche wrote:
> I have a Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop (XP) with a hard drive around
> 106GB.
> My hard drive is almost full from video I've added.