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Choosing the correct replacement hard drive . . .
Hi, I have a Dell Inspiron 9300 pp14L, and I'm trying to change the dead hard drive. On the support page, I'm shown a list of compatible hard drives, and I ended up buying the Western Digital (WD2500BEVT). However, the end of the hard drive does not have the pins that insert into my hard drive bay. The end of this hard drive has a black plastic tab that does not have the pins that connect with my computer. The dead hard drive I removed (Toshiba MK8026GAX) has the correct pins. This makes no sense to me. If Dell Support lists the Western Digital as a compatible drive, why does it not properly connect inside my hard drive bay? Is there an additional pin adapter required, or something else I'm not aware of? The Western Digital fits perfectly into my hard drive bay, but without those male pins on the end, it's unable to make contact with the female housing. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
osprey4
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December 15th, 2009 16:00
Hi, DustinM1985:
Most of the earlier 9300s came with PATA drives, but some later versions had SATA. So that WD will fit the later SATA models, but you need a PATA version.
Of course, you are not obligated to buy from Dell, since you're out of warranty, but in this case, call them up and they should offer to swap that one for the correct drive. Unfortunately, I don't believe there are any 250GB PATA drives.
DustinM1985
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December 15th, 2009 17:00
Osprey4, you're a life saver. Thank you so much for explaining this to me--and for being so quick to respond. I used the "service tag" on the back of my laptop to search out the correct hard drive, so I'm extremely dissatisfied with Dell Support for causing me to waste my time. Why wouldn't the information you provided me be on the support page? I would expect this EIDE/SATA/PATA business to be clearly spelled out in big red block letters, to avoid confusion. It's not something I should have had to go to a forum to find out. Absolutely unacceptable. In any event, your help is much appreciated. Thanks again!
osprey4
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December 16th, 2009 04:00
Very sorry you had to go through all the hassle. Good luck with the new drive.