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LarsCA · Oct 9, 2006, 01:53 AM

SMART tells me the original HD in my Powerbook Ti15 1GHz is "failing". I haven't noticed any problems, weird noises or anything like that but I figure I'd rather be safe than sorry. A new computer is on the horizon, but I can't afford to take the plunge yet.

I know my original HD is a 5400 rpm 60GB Toshiba (TOSHIBA MK6021GAS) and I'm fine with that kind of storage capacity. OK, perhaps a few more gigs wouldn't hurt. Anyway, what should I replace it with? Is there any sense in getting a 7200 rpm drive? I've read about Seagate but it seems quite a few people have been having problems with them.

I prioritize reliability over performance, and 80-100 GB is fine. If anyone has any tips on what to get and where from I'd appreciate it.

amazing · Oct 9, 2006, 11:58 AM

Circuit City has a $50 rebate on a Seagate 5400 rpm 2.5" 120 GB drive, $100 final price

Buy the Seagate Notebook Internal Hard Drive (ST9120821A) and other Hard Drives at circuitcity.com

sadpandas · Oct 10, 2006, 02:25 AM

Both Hitachi and Seagate make 7200 2.5 drives. and there are threads if on this forum about the differences between the both and if i remember correctly the main issue was the noise output for each drive. I am too tired to do the search so if you haven't done it by tomorrow, which i am sure you will have it taken care of it by the time i get i wake up.

good luck young skywalker and please let us know what your final verdict is.

panda

amazing · Oct 10, 2006, 10:23 AM

tomshardware.com is a great place to look for performance info:

Find Your Notebook Hard Drive: 2.5" Performance Charts | Tom's Hardware

and also a great place for comparisons between the Seagate and Hitachi 7200 notebook HDs

Fast and Furious: New 7200 mobile drives from Hitachi And Seagate | Tom's Hardware

With moving on to a newer laptop in view, you're gonna eventually be putting the HD into a firewire/usb 2.0 case (and putting a cheaper HD into the Ti for resale.)

sadpandas · Oct 10, 2006, 02:19 PM

Amazing does have it right. you could even buy a cheap 2.5 enclosure for your existing drive and use that as back up until you get you new lappy.

sadpandas · Oct 11, 2006, 12:48 AM

sorry, if it's failing then you dont want to use it as a back-up drive.... sorry bout that.

chipchen · Oct 11, 2006, 01:05 AM

If you don't need any more than 60, I'd say get a 80GB 5400RPM Seagate from Newegg.com and be done with it. Remember, you need ATA, NOT SATA.

LarsCA · Oct 11, 2006, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by chipchen

If you don't need any more than 60, I'd say get a 80GB 5400RPM Seagate from Newegg.com and be done with it. Remember, you need ATA, NOT SATA.

I wasn't sure if I needed ATA or SATA, so thanks for clearing that up for me. It's ATA-6, right? (I have no clue to what these things mean - just what it says on the specs.)

I am still debating with myself between the 80 gig 5400 Travelstar and the 7200 version. I don't care about battery life or noise. I use my laptop as a stationary video editing device, and it's only a $20 difference between the two drives. I guess I was hoping I could get a little more juice out of the 7200 rpm drive. (What I really need is a new computer - I know, I'm hopelessly outdated.)

chipchen · Oct 11, 2006, 03:02 PM

For $20... do it. Get the 7200RPM. And yes, ATA-6 will do.

LarsCA · Oct 12, 2006, 06:31 AM

Originally Posted by chipchen

For $20... do it. Get the 7200RPM. And yes, ATA-6 will do.

I just ordered the 80 GB Travelstar 7200 rpm. Once installed and running, I'll post here again with my thoughts of the drive.

LarsCA · Oct 16, 2006, 04:46 AM

I managed to pop the new drive in and it's working as it should - I think. Now I need help with restoring via disk utitlity. When I load my backed up HD.dmg as source and chose the new HD as destination - when I hit "restore" I get a "Restore failure - You must authenticate in order to restore." message. I can't find any info on what "authenticate" means and am at this point ready to give up, put the old HD back into the laptop and... well, I guess just run it 'til it crashes. But I'd rather not, of course. Anyone know what I need to do to get this to work?