Upgrade HD in OLD Laptop

**Loose_Moose** · February 24th, 2011, 01:47 PM

Posted this in the wrong forum earlier...

I have an old Sony F610 laptop with an "awesome" 6GB HD...lol. I would like to upgrade the laptop with another HD that I have from an old HP laptop. Both hard drives are IDE so I'm pretty sure that the connector will be the same, but I really have no idea whether the laptop will recognize the new HD or not. Could anyone let me know if this is possible or am I trying to put a square peg in a round hole? What sort of info might you guys need to let me know if this is possible?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Loose Moose

**Steve R Jones** · February 24th, 2011, 03:30 PM

You didn't really give us much in the way of information.

Simple thing to do is plug the other drive in and see what happens

A pc old enough to have a 6 gig drive might fall into the "can't see over 32 gigs" of drive space catagory due to limitations in the BIOS.

**Loose_Moose** · February 24th, 2011, 03:48 PM

I was pretty sure that I didn't give enough info, just wan't sure what to give. I went ahead and stuck the 60GB drive in the computer. Everything fit just fine, computer powered up, it flicked to the Windows screen, then 'blue screen' for a second, then to the screen where you can start in safe mode, networking, command prompt or last known good configuration. I imagine that it has something to do with the BIOS, but I don't really have any idea of what to do at this point. At least the computer knows there is a different drive.

Not even really sure if trying the new drive is worth it, but 32 is better than 6. I'm just trying to keep myself running until I get the replacement for my old HP dv6000 that bit the dust. My main goal is get access to my drive from that computer. This machine with the 6GB drive is running ME and the HD is rather questionable, but it does still amaizinly work. I am even able to run wireless with a PC card!

I will provide whatever info that you would need to help me out with this. Thanx

Loose Moose

**Steve R Jones** · February 24th, 2011, 05:07 PM

The drive you put in is full of all the wrong drivers

Plus, if the OS is off an HP cd - it probably won't let you do a repair install.

What ya need now is a OS cd and a unused keycode....Or you could use the WinME that came with the Sony.

**Loose_Moose** · February 24th, 2011, 06:42 PM

So, I just put the 60GB drive in, then insert OS disk, reboot and do a new install I should be OK? I know the 60GB drive is full of HP stuff. It is from my other HP laptop that died. I'll give the reinstall a try.

I'm relatively good with these things when they are running, but all the insides just aren't really my thing. Thank you

**JLK03F150** · February 24th, 2011, 07:28 PM

After you install Windows you will need to find/download/install all the Sony drivers for your F610. BTW, their site doesn't consider F610 a model number, so you may need to search the bottom of the notebook for a # Sony likes.
Sony eSupport - dash™ Personal Internet Viewer - Select Your Model

**Loose_Moose** · February 25th, 2011, 11:47 AM

I got the HD installed, reloaded ME. I have my original software that came with the computer so I have all the original applications and software. I had to spend most of my time at Windows Update getting everything up to speed...well, something like 2006 speed.

The computer recognized all 60GB on the new drive and it runs SOOO much faster than the old HD. I still have a few things to work out, but I can at least get online to send/receive email. Main issues at the moment are getting another SDRAM chip and getting this thing up to the blazing speed of 256mb RAM, trying get USB running a bit faster, and finding a browser that runs on ME that is better than IE6.

Do you think the computer could handle running XP? It runs faster than ever with the new HD, but not sure if XP would tax the RAM too much.

I want to thank you guys for helping me. This is a great forum and I hope that I can help someone here soo as well.

Loose Moose

**Steve R Jones** · February 25th, 2011, 12:03 PM

Ever heard the expression: "Its all in the details?"

Without knowing any of the specs to the machine we can't guess if XP would work or not

I wouldn't install XP unless the machine as at least 512megs of ram.

**Loose_Moose** · February 25th, 2011, 01:16 PM

Ahh yes, the details. I wouldn't even really know what to give you other than the system is pretty much stock year 2000 model. I agree with your statement of not installing XP unless I have alot more RAM. This computer can only go up to 256mb.

I just am trying to stay connected for the meantime. I am currently not working, so cash is pretty much nonexistent. I do hope to be getting a replacement for my HP dv6140 through the nVidia lawsuit. It can't come soon enough at this point. Might even try to find a bare bones tower.

**dunbar** · February 25th, 2011, 02:22 PM

Kingston Technology Company - Kingston Memory Search - Sony F610?

AMD K6-2 550 MHz?

Anyways, the hard disk from the HP seems to have worked out for you.

**JLK03F150** · February 25th, 2011, 06:58 PM

You can try Mozilla Firefox as an alternate to IE6, but you'll need a version prior to 3.0. I'd try v2.0.0.20 from here...
Old Version of Firefox Download - OldApps.com