VGN-A397XP HDD Replacement Advice Please?

[Semi]

Hello.

My A397XP has been out of Warranty for a few months now and has come
into serious HDD problems.
I contacted Sony, and to have the Drive replaced would cost over £250+.
I told them i would try to get the disk active again through many Disk
repair programs but to no Success.

My Question is, will the following HDD be able to replace my old drive,
e.g. Will it fit?, is it the right interface?, is there a guide to HDD
upgrade like the Memory Upgrade on Vaio site?

http://uk.insight.com/apps/productpresentation/index.php?product_id=HTGA04JO4&src=CHIN#mainspecs

Thankyou in advance for any help you can provide.

James

[Blencogo]

Hi James,

Yes, the Travelstar will fit fine. They also do it in 100GB.

Almost any modern SATA laptop drive will fit as long as it is the standard size 10 x 7 x 9.5.

The Seagate Momentus 7200.1 is also meant to be a good drive and worth looking at.

The Momentus and the Travelstar are the two best available.



EDIT: Replacement is usually easier than replacing memory. I don't know your model but is there a panel on the bottom similar to the memory slots? If so, the drive just slots in and out!!

[rich912]

is there a guide to HDD   upgrade like the Memory Upgrade on Vaio site?

Here are a couple of links that will be of help. They don't refer to your specific model but all A series are very similar.

Text only - English
Text and photos - German

[Blencogo]

Rich,

That looks quite complicated compared to my K Series!!

[rich912]

Unfortunately there are few models that have an accessible HD caddy – luckily one of mine does:smileyhappy:

[Semi]

Wow! thanks for the Links, they will come in handy.
Um. not sure which drive to pick as they are the Same Price!
What would be the better Drive?
Seagate or Hitachi? (Current HDD is a Hitachi)

http://uk.insight.com/apps/productpresentation/index.php?alert=categoryresults&product_id=SGGA04CUK

http://uk.insight.com/apps/productpresentation/index.php?product_id=HTGA04JO4&src=CHIN

Also, Can you buy the shell for an A series as mine has got scratches on the Top and bottom from general use? is the a site i can buy direct? shame i will lose the stickers

Thanks for your time

[rich912]

Also, Can you buy the shell for an A series as mine has got scratches on the Top and bottom from general use? is the a site i can buy direct?

The only source I know of is Nexttronics