Can I buy a new hard drive and install it and windows myself profesionally?

Question

Can I buy a new hard drive and install it and windows myself profesionally?

Answer 1

yes. you can do it your self. If you want take some guidance from microsoft info base. I saw a site where the hard disc inbstallation aspects are discussed , you can try at http://www.jskproducts.co.uk/harddrive.htm

Answer 2

of course you can. I wouldn't dream of paying a computer geek good dough for such a simple task. its like paying to have RAM installed. however 1 point you should ask is how computer savy are you and just what do you mean by install a new drive. Do you mean in place of the one you have now or in addition to. new hard drives come with all the software you need to copy over your info but to add in addition be careful of all the proper settings and of course make sure you unplug the computer.

Answer 3

Sure, but working on laptops is not the same as working on a desktops. Everything is much smaller and crammed together. It also helps to have the service manual for your model.



Installation:



http://www.google.com/search?q=install%20hd%20in%20laptop&sourceid=groowe&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8



Service manual:



http://www.google.com/search?q=laptop%20manuals&sourceid=groowe&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8



Windows:



http://www.google.com/search?q=clean%20install%20windows&sourceid=groowe&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8



Make it a great day

Answer 4

Yes you can. However, these are the things you need to consider before buying a new hard drive:



1.) A laptop hard drive is different from a desktop hard drive. Make sure you pick the right one.



2.) A laptop purchased in 2003 might not be able to recognize hard drives with capacities larger than 200 GB. Be sure to review your manual.



3.) Installation of laptop hard drives is also different from the desktop ones, but laptop hard drives are usually easier to install.



4.) Be sure that you remember your Windows OEM serial because you will need to reactivate your copy of Windows after a reinstall. Licensing won't be an issue though, since only the laptop hard drive has changed.





Here is a listing a laptop or notebook hard drives from newegg.com:

http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=380

Answer 5

You can do anything you set your mind to now using the professionally term has some connotations to it.



Usually someone that says "I do it professionally" would be certified in that field and from your asking that question it would seem to me you don't have the credentials (letters after your name) for Microsoft and or Hardware Maintenance.



Now that being said who is to say you will not do a better job then the so called professionals.



Have fun with it, I refresh the OS my box every 3 months.

Answer 6

Well, it wouldn't be professional. :)



I don't even try to think about opening a laptop. Desktop, it's easy as pie.



My opinion, take it to someone.

Answer 7

I dont know what your skill level is, but my guess is that if you are motivated enough, you could probably do it. Be careful of static electricity, it can zap hard drives, memory, computers, etc. I really don recommend Windows Operating systems, but if you already bought it, then go ahead. Make sure your computer is powerfull enough for the operating system before you do that.

Answer 8

Are You a Professional? Have you had Studies. If you answer no, then you can't install them professionaly but you can give it a shot. Yes you can do this your self it really isn't complicated.

Answer 9

go for it

Answer 10

Yes. It's not hard. Here's some comments:



1. Be careful with all the parts. Don't force anything. Touch something metal every few minutes to avoid frying something with static discharges. There aren't very many parts to work with in a laptop but they all go together really closely.



2. Back up your data on an external hard drive. Do this before anything else. If you don't have one, just buy one. They are quite affordable now, especially low capacity ones. If you don't do this, you may lose your applications as well. Most of the drives come with software that will help you do a backup. There's no need to pay extra money for backup software. If you back up your drive, you won't need to reinstall windows either.



3. About the best brand available is Seagate. Maxtor isn't bad either. Western Digital and iomega aren't known to be as good as Seagate. Toshiba may be good. I don't know. Do a google search on laptop drive reliablity.



4. If the existing drive is already fubar, try and find all the cd's that came with the laptop when you bought it. You may need drivers or software that standard windows doesn't have right off. this is especially true if you've added a wireless mouse or a cam or other peripherals. If you can't find them, download them from the manufacturers websites and have them ready before you start.



5. Try to do this when nobody, and I mean NOBODY else is around. The worst thing in the world is getting interrupted, going away, then coming back and losing track of where you were. Or trying to concentrate deeply while someone is trying to talk to you, or needing help or attention with this or that. Alot of people really don't understand that even if this isn't hard, it takes concentration and patience. The exception here would be if you have a friend that is an supergeek and could help. Keep an eye out for the ones that really know their stuff versus the ones that talk a good game, and will get in the middle of your business and mess it up worse.



All that being said, this is not a hard thing to do at all. Just try it and see what happens. If it's already busted, or if you have it backed up, you can't really mess anything up unless you fry it with static, force something that doesn't belong, knock something onto the ground, or spill your coke in it. Bottom line, long as you are careful., there's nothing to lose.



- Kevin

Answer 11

sure u can .... u need to google ur laptop specs to know what kind ... most likely a 2.5" ata ... put it in ... load bios defaults ... set boot order to cdrom first ... put in the windows cd ... load drivers and software ... if its ur first time u will be lost but its easy enough to learn ..