PATA or SATA HDD

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WeirdClayJisKOO

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I am planning on upgrading my hard drive in my laptop. from what I can tell, I would want to get a SATA hard drive. I currently have a PATA hard drive. how do I know if I can install a SATA hard drive or if i need to stick with a PATA one? Thanks!
 
I think you'll most likely need to get a PATA. Run your laptop through google and find the schematics of the motherboard.
 
is there software that could tell me? for my model number there is a amd and intel version, variations in ram, and different os's. also (it's an acer) and the specs on the acer website (i've heard rumors) are wrong. I know I have a turion 64X2 processor, ATI Radeon xpress 1100 graphics card, 120Gb PATA hdd, and 1 gig ram.
 
Sure is, google > Search "Lavalys Everest" > Download > Run everest > Computer > Summary and it'll tell you.
 
i thought that might tell me. i had everest untill i had to re-do vista. but i had to re-install it.

ok so when i ran everest i got this:

Motherboard
CPU Type: Mobile, 1600MHz
Motherboard Name: Unknown
Motherboard Chipset: Unknown
System Memory: 896 MB
BIOS Type: Unknown

is this because i'm running vista it can't tell me? i will try booting into xp and see if it works then
 
ok i ran it in xp and i got this

Motherboard:
CPU Type Mobile DualCore AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50, 1600 MHz (8 x 200)
Motherboard Name Acer Aspire 5100
Motherboard Chipset ATI Radeon Xpress 200M/1100M/1150M, AMD Hammer
System Memory 896 MB (DDR2-533 DDR2 SDRAM)
BIOS Type Phoenix (01/09/07)
 
sorry for posting again, but i have another question. I would still like to know if i can use a SATA HDD, or if i have to stick with PATA. I would also like to know what kind of RAM i need to get to upgrade it. can i get any DDR2 ram, or do i need a specific type. also, my computer says it can take up to 4 gigs ram, are there 2 gig ram cards in existance that would work with my comouter? thanks
 
It doesn't really make a difference whether you use Sata or IDE. There's nothing wrong with IDE. You need to get Laptop specific ram. There are 2GB chips but they're expensive. I doubt you'd need more than 1GB for anything you're gonna be doing on a laptop. Do you really have 120GB worth of stuff on your current hard drive?
 
from what i've read sata allows the computer to run cooler, thats why i would want to use it. the hdd's you buy compatible with either, or do i have to look for one specificly for sata or ide?

as far as the ram goes, i'm running 64bit vista ultimate, and am using about 75-80% ram usage. how do i know what ram i need? all my computer says is DDR2 (support dual-channel)

my hard drive is currently in two partitions. one for xp, and one for vista. the xp partition has about 3 gig free, and the vista partition has about 12 gigs free. however i plan on installing macromedia with alltogether is over a gig, and i also have an expanding video library. besides that, i want to use vista as my primary OS, and i want to use my current HDD as an external, so when i install vista on the new hd i can just copy all the stuff over from the old hd. plus, my current hd is 4200 rpm, and i would like to upgrade to 5400.

thank you for all your help, i'm sorry i hope i'm being to difficult i just want to make sure i know exactly what i need before i buy anything.
 
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