I know how to physically do it, that part is easy.. I just take out some screws and pop the old hard drive out, pot the new hard drive in and screw it back into place.
But, how do I go about installing the OS and all the drivers? I mean do I simply pop in the recovery disc and that's it? Will the computer load from the cd-rom drive automatically? I mean I am putting on a brand new hard drive, How do I get the bios on the hard drive if I don't have the driver for the cd-rom drive??
If anyone could walk me through those steps really fast that would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a lot and happy 4th!
Eugene
piemaster
07-03-2006, 11:12 AM
if you have a valid microsoft xp installation disk, you set the bios to boot from it, and you'll be fine. with regard to drivers, the only ones you will have to worry about are sata drivers...but only if the new hard drive is sata and not pata, u-ata.
as for the bios, thats stored on a flash chip soldered to the motherboard so there is nothing to worry about with that.
V.B.
07-03-2006, 12:13 PM
If anyone could walk me through those steps really fast that would be greatly appreciated.
Always have a copy of the 700m Service Manual (http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins700m/en/index.htm).
If there's nothing wrong with your existing hard drive then you can:
1. Ghost it to an external USB drive
2. replace the HD
3. restore the Ghost image onto the new HD
4. reboot the notebook, it will find the new HD and you're done.
or you can start brand new, and:
1. download all the current drivers for your notebook from Dell's download page (http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/index.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen) and burn them to a CD.
2. install the new HD
3. Using the Dell Reinstallation CD, reformat the HD and install the OS.
4. reinstall the drivers. Here is Dell's recommended order of installation for the 700m:
Microsoft® Windows® XP Reinstall Guide [ All Desktops and Portables ]
This is a step-by-step Troubleshooting Wizard. Use the options below to navigate.
STEP: Install the Hardware Drivers on the Dell™ Inspiron™ 700m
It is recommended that you install your hardware drivers in the following order:
Hardware Drivers
1. Notebook System Software
2. Intel Chipset
3. Video Card
4. Sound Card
5. Touchpad
NOTE: Do not connect any Internet connection cables, such as your modem cable, network cable, or connect wirelessly until you are ready to perform the steps in the Perform Windows Update section.
hey V.B. what about if I want to change the hard drive on the I6000?? can u give me the usermanual website and recomended order of installation for it? or is it all the same pretty much?
ohh and the hard drive i am replacing is fried any ideas or freeware to salvage the info on it? thanks again...
V.B.
07-03-2006, 11:34 PM
Link to the Dell User Manuals (http://support.dell.com/support/systemsinfo/documentation.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~cat=12). Link to Dell Support Page (http://support.dell.com/). Under "Select a Tool", choose: Reinstall Guide. (Note: for newer systems with the Restore Partition, the Reinstall Guide is a joke.)
Link to i6000 User Manual (http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins6000/en/index.htm).
STEP: Install the Hardware Drivers on the Dell™ Inspiron™ 6000
It is recommended that you install your hardware drivers in the following order.
Hardware Drivers
Device
1. Notebook System Software
2. Intel Chipset
3. Video Card
4. Sound Card
5. Touchpad
NOTE: Do not connect any Internet connection cables, such as your modem cable, network cable, or connect wirelessly until you are ready to perform the steps in the Perform Windows Update section.