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Hi guys!! Found you all through google.com

Like most owners of the TR notes (TR-3AP) having a bigger HD is a dream come true (compared to 40gb). I was wondering, has anyone tried replacing their HD with either the following HDs:

Toshiba:
Toshiba MK8032GAX - Hard drive - 80 GB - internal - 2.5 inch - ATA-100 - 44 pin IDC - 5400 rpm - buffer: 8 MB (MK8032GAX)
*Not for use with Sony Vaio PCG TR, VGN T, VGN TX Series, Toshiba Portege 2000, 2010, R100, R200 Series, and Toshiba Libretto U100 Series models.
Alternate Part Numbers:
MK8026GAX

Toshiba MK1032GAX - Hard drive - 100 GB - internal - 2.5 inch - ATA-100 - 44 pin IDC - 5400 rpm - buffer: 16 MB (MK1032GAX)
*Not for use with Sony Vaio PCG TR, VGN T, VGN TX Series, Toshiba Portege 2000, 2010, R100, R200 Series, and Toshiba Libretto U100 Series models.
Alternate Part Numbers:
MK1032GAX

Toshiba MK1234GAX - Hard drive - 120 GB - internal - 2.5 inch - ATA-100 - 44 pin IDC - 5400 rpm - buffer: 8 MB (MK1234GAX)
*Not for use with Sony Vaio PCG TR, VGN T, VGN TX Series, Toshiba Portege 2000, 2010, R100, R200 Series, and Toshiba Libretto U100 Series models.
Alternate Part Numbers:
MK1234GAX

and for the Hitachi:

Hitachi 0A25022 - 60BG - internal - 2.5 inch - ATA-100 - 44 pin IDC - 7200 rpm - buffer: 8MB
Alternate Part Numbers:
0A25022

Hitachi 0A25023 - 80GB - internal - 2.5 inch - ATA-66 - 44 pin IDC - 7200 rpm - buffer: 8MB
Alternate Part Numbers:
0A25023

Although, the site (http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com) <<—very reliable source; mentions that for the toshiba HD it is not recommended to be used in the TR, has anyone ever tried ?

Thanks for the attention & take care!~

hi,

none of those harddrives will work im afraid. they are too big (2.5 instead of 1.8).  the toshiba mk8007gah was the biggest hdd for the tr model i believe, which is 80gb

instead of 1. 8 (sorry)

Thanks for the guide. A couple of days ago I was opening up my TR to remove the hdd and I removed all screws except for the one that holds the hdd in place. In attempting to remove it, I managed to mess up the screw head as well. I took it to circuitcity and they removed it for me…charged me like 16 bucks just to remove a screw but thankfully it was done… just to get my new hdd and install it and I should be good to go after that.

I also noticed one thing…. the fan above the CPU doesn’t come on immediately. First I thought it was broken but after leaving the machine on for a while it came on… has anyone else noticed this as well?

Hi guys, I finally got my HD and just installed it successfully thanks to this great post. Here are few pictures that I took during the process.

Like I announced earlier I was buying Hitachi HD from Finland, but when I ordered one the seller’s representative just announced about some problems of getting the item at all to Finland so I decided to get it from abroad. After a new searchround I found this webshop called Compuvest in USA and they had a great bargain for this specific HD, but instead of regular 40Gb, I got 60Gb just for 84 US dollars. Shipping cost me 39 dollars and finally I had to pay some 20 % tax of the value, but still I got it a lot cheaper than anywhere near Finland so I’m pretty happy. Well to be honest, cheap US dollar for Euro country made the choise also much easier

But now I’m installing Win XP again, but since I have more space this time I’m thinking of installing Linux Ubuntu 6.10 for another partition. Does anybody have any experience on this? Would be nice to hear some comments.[/img]

haha….I got my harddrive, a mk8007gah, form china for my TR5MP today. I was waiting for a long time because the guy who sent it had problems.

My experience:  the temperature of my old hardddrive, the builtin 40 gb model, reached up to 62 degrees.

The temperature of the new mk8007gah keeps around 47 degrees when in use or not. After scanning for viruses for about 2.5 h it reached 49 degrees…...

this harddrive is really good….buy it.

Chris, first of all thank you for the fantastic instructions and pictures, never would have even thought about it without the pictures. I know my IT guys here are scared of opening this laptop as they think the whole thing will be packed in and will spring back. Sony EU takes 40 GBP just to take a look at the laptop.

Unfortunately, I was not successful in replacing the HDD as the one I ordered was MK6008GAH model which has a ZIF connector instead of the IDE or IF connectors on the MK3004GAH that is in the laptop. I had actually spent quite a bit of time trying to look for information on whether the conectros will be different but still made the mistake. The older IDE connector HDD are quite hard to get and are not available from big suppliers. The thing to remember with the PCG-TR1MP laptop is that if it has the Toshiba MK3004GAH HDD then it is most likely IDE connector so order a MK?004GAH or MK?006GAH HDD and not the MK?008GAH 1.8” HDD.

Considering I have already opened the HDD I can’t even perhaps return it or maybe order an enclusore which can accept a ZIF 1.8” HDD so I could use it as a external hard drive. Few I found were - ICY Box and Digital intelligence which makes ZIF compatible usb2.0 HDD enclosures.

I was wondering it you have experience opening the LCD ?
I started by taking the screws off the bezel on the LCD (screws are hidden by the 4 rubber pads on the panel)
Then the white face plate (bezel) comes out as it is on tabs, there are two on each sides and four on top.

The camera can be disconnected by removing the screws on both sides but the wires run underneath the LCD panel so you will have to take it out to access the wires. I could not remove the face plate completely so I had to abort my disassembly. Anyone with experience taking apart the camera as it does not work and my guess is it is the wires that are torn apart and need replacement.

Cheers,
Sunil

Just followed this guide and replaced my 40gb Toshiba with a 60gb one. Took less than an hour doing the whole thing =D Thanks. Wow the 60gb is so much quieter than the original 40gb one!

Just had a quick question. Will the toshiba MK8007GAH fit inside the TR series laptop. Does Hitachi make a 1.8” 80GB hardrive, or is the 60gb their max in the 1.8 range?.. if it is what is the correct model number for the HItcahi hardrive that can be installed inside the TR?. Please respond, anyone. thanks.

OK - they moved this forum and I didn’t realise. I’m intending updating the original post a bit to mention the ZIF drives that appear to be coming along, and the 80Gb situation. I have a couple of questions that I’d like answered if anyone knows:

1: Am I right in saying that both the Hitachi and Toshiba drives usually now come with ZIF connectors? Are the model numbers the same as they always were?

2: Can anyone corroborate fizdurham’s claim that the MK8007GAH works fine in the TR?

Chris

Excellent post on TR HDD replacement!

The MK4004GFH on my PCG-TR3A is making funny sounds…random length stalls with disk I/O. Virus check - neg. Spyware cleaned. FIles and settings all backed up. Recovery disks completed. CHKDSK finds new and different errors each time it is run. I’m as ready as ever for the big crash. Couple of questions for this group:

1. Replace now or wait for full crash. Performance is annoying but not work-stopping. I guess waiting for the big one might mean a few lost files since the backup.
2. eBay lists quite a few MK6006GAH drives (US$80-90 plus shipping) as 4G iPod replacements (eBay listings here). Are these the same as mentioned in the original post?

Greg

Excellent Thread!! Notching up the good work, could anybody post the video of the complete disk replacement procedure may be?? Considering that there is few to no information available on internet regarding any tr3a stuff, this might become a masterpiece!!!

Please consider this as a sincere and honest request.. Will give a lot of confidence of doing hard drive replacements to complete newbies such as me

My Hard drive crashed a few months ago, I’ve been using a live Linux cd, but I’m really in need of a new drive!
It is the Hitachi version. Does any one know where to get a new hard drive?

The HDDs that are described as Ipod HDD replacements should work. You just need to see if they are ATA-6 50 pin connectors. If they do then you are good to go, otherwise it will not connect up right.

Just wanted to say thanks for this excellent guide. The pictures were very helpful. Only problem I ran into was with the keyboard and ribbon holder. I ended up snapping the brown latch off. So I managed to get the ribbon back in and then put the brown piece back on as best as I could and then cut a thin piece of electrical tape ontop of the brown piece and onto the sides of the holder. Booted it up and the keyboard AND the hard drive work perfectly! So I just want other readers to beware of the brown latch. Be sure to have steady hands if only at that point. Peace