Questions about putting a solid state drive in old laptop

[jadee]

Hi everyone, I have an old Compaq Pressario C700 laptop and today Windows alerted me that the drive may have a problem. By looking at Control Panel I found out that I have a Samsung HM161G1 ATA drive. I then downloaded Seatools for Windows and ran a test, telling me the drive had failed. I've copied all my important files to an external drive and obviously need to buy a new hard drive even though it's still working.
I live in Bangkok and I know I'll have to go to a Thai computer shop to get a new drive and have windows installed. However, I looked on Amazon and started reading about solid state drives, I just have a few newbie questions. 
1) can solid state drives replace regular 2.5" laptop drives and have Window installed on them etc? 
2) can anyone recommend a good 250Gb SSD with approx price I should pay in Thailand? I can see Amazon.com has a SanDisk SSD PLUS 240GB Solid State Drive - SDSSDA-240G-G26 for $74.99 but don't know what price I should be paying in Thailand. 
3) any advice, like is it a waste of money/ should I just buy a regular drive? If so, any advice about which regular 250GB laptop drive is best?
Many thanks for any and all helpful replies! 

[Pib]

Your computer is pretty dated specs-wise but you can put a SSD in it.  I have had two personal laptops similar specs/age-wise, put SSDs in them (250GB in one case, 500GB in the other) and they made very significant performance improvements.  Well worth the investment I think.

 

You can look at the SSDs on the "invadeIT" website to get a good idea of the going SSD retail price in Thailand and that is what you are likely to see at a computer store/shop give or take a little.   Drive bought in Thailand almost always cost significantly more than prices on western website like Amazon....it's just the drive cost more due to a "excise" tax applied to the drive even though they are probably made in Thailand....plus most western website are selling at much higher volumes than in Thailand which helps to lower cost. 

 

As to what size of SSD you need just consider how much of the current disk space you were using on the old hard drive and make you decision from that.  If your old hard drive say only had 100GB of total data used, well, a 250GB SSG will handle all of that with 150GB left over for more data.  I really depends on how much you store on the drive.

[jadee]

Hi, thanks for the helpful reply! I didn't know about that site, it's very useful. I can see the same SSD on there for 2,900 which, like you say, is higher than on Amazon. Good to know the prices before I go to a shop!

Many thanks

[wpcoe]

Just be aware you might not see much speed improvement by replacing your failing HDD with a SSD.  According to a Google search, that laptop has "SATA" which to me indicates it's not SATA3 or even SATA2.  For the full speed benefit of a SSD, you need an SATA3 connection:

 

Quote

What is the difference between SATA I, SATA II and SATA III?

SATA I (revision 1.x) interface, formally known as SATA 1.5Gb/s, is the first generation SATA interface running at 1.5 Gb/s. The bandwidth throughput, which is supported by the interface, is up to 150MB/s.

 

SATA II (revision 2.x) interface, formally known as SATA 3Gb/s, is a second generation SATA interface running at 3.0 Gb/s. The bandwidth throughput, which is supported by the interface, is up to 300MB/s.

 

SATA III (revision 3.x) interface, formally known as SATA 6Gb/s, is a third generation SATA interface running at 6.0Gb/s. The bandwidth throughput, which is supported by the interface, is up to 600MB/s.

 

This interface is backwards compatible with SATA 3 Gb/s interface.

 

(source)

 

That's not to say you won't see *any* speed boost with an SSD, just don't set the bar too high with the older SATA bus.  You *will* enjoy other SSD benefits, though:  quiet operation, not as susceptible to damage if you drop the unit, less power used/less heat generated, etc.  You can also consider an SSD a future upgrade for another system if you decide to stop using the notebook at a later date.

 

FWIW, you can probably find an HDD for about B1500 with the same, or higher, capacity and >100MB/s transfer speed.

 

[Pib]

So true about the SATA 1, 2, 3 speeds.   The two old computers I had were just SATA 1 computers also.  The areas where you see the big speed improvements is during boot up, when doing anything that requires a lot of loading of data/files, startup of software, installation of Windows updates, etc.  But after the software/program has started up and doesn't require a lot of file/data loading from the drive while operating don't expect any speed increase as that is primarily determined by the CPU and memory speed.   Another benefit of a SSD is you no longer need to worry about knocks, moving the laptop around while using it, etc., possibly causing the drive head to crash into the spinning platter as no a SSD has no moving parts.  If you are going to replace a primarly drive in a computer you use a lot and that drive has programs and data on it versus just being a file storage drive like for movies, backups, etc., go with a SSD.

[KneeDeep]

7 hours ago, wpcoe said:

Just be aware you might not see much speed improvement by replacing your failing HDD with a SSD.  According to a Google search, that laptop has "SATA" which to me indicates it's not SATA3 or even SATA2.  For the full speed benefit of a SSD, you need an SATA3 connection:

 

(source)

 

That's not to say you won't see *any* speed boost with an SSD, just don't set the bar too high with the older SATA bus.  You *will* enjoy other SSD benefits, though:  quiet operation, not as susceptible to damage if you drop the unit, less power used/less heat generated, etc.  You can also consider an SSD a future upgrade for another system if you decide to stop using the notebook at a later date.

 

FWIW, you can probably find an HDD for about B1500 with the same, or higher, capacity and >100MB/s transfer speed.

 

 

You went wrong at the very beginning. Intel ICH8M is SATA 2. Whether there is a limitation set by the BIOS, I haven't checked, but the Chipset is SATA 2 capable.

I certainly wouldn't splashed out on a 250 GB SSD for that thing, but perhaps a 120GB.

 

There is also the issue of RAM and not allowing the shop to install a dodgy OS and programs for you.

In my opinion, it's a bit too late for that machine.

I upgraded a similar machine, from 2009 a few years ago. Took the RAM up to 4GB and installed an 120 GB SSD.

 

Did similarly with an ATOM powered Netbook, though could only take that up to 1.5GB of RAM.

 

SSD makes a huge difference, regardless of SATA-1 or SATA-2. The Netbook was virtually unusable before being fitted with the SSD.

Netbook is nine years old and still going strong. In fact I'm posting from it right now.

 

But the OP's machine is already nine years old, so likely soon to fail. So not really worth spending much on, including the RAM needed to take it up to 4GB.

 

 

 

 

 

[TaveewatLim]

I just upgraded my Samsung netbook with 120gb ssd and installed windows 8.1 on that old machine.SSD is worth to invest to old laptop, but for general using, it boot a lot faster .

[iang]

A Samsung SSD I bought, came completed with software for transferring windows & other programmes over from the old HDD to the new SSD. Then just swapped over the old HDD with there new SSD & there laptop rebooted as normal - with one major difference. It rebooted in about a quarter of the time oft there old one & really breathed new life into an old laptop. If your laptop has an old CDROM drive, you can buy adapters on eBay which replaces the old CDROM with a second SSD or HDD, Manning that you can ring a laptop with two hard drives! Have windows & all programmes run off the SSD & store files on the second HDD ok the CDROM bay. Worked perfectly!

[BuaBS]

The OP doesn't say which OS he uses on the old laptop. If you're still using XP , then there is no support for garbage collection and TRIM on the SSD.

I looked at SSD's for my 11 year old , which still has ICH7 , so only SATA 1. Second drive in the CD bay is great though.

[atyclb]

http://wp.xin.at/archives/920

 

Trim support for XP . SSD's

[KneeDeep]

14 hours ago, BuaBS said:

The OP doesn't say which OS he uses on the old laptop. If you're still using XP , then there is no support for garbage collection and TRIM on the SSD.

I looked at SSD's for my 11 year old , which still has ICH7 , so only SATA 1. Second drive in the CD bay is great though.

 

It came replete with Vista. 

I have already have a firmware update for the model which updates the licence from Vista to Windows 7. That way you can install genuine Windows 7 and subsequently Windows 10.

Once you have updated the firmware, you only need this; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-Windows-7-Pro-Operating-System-DVD-CD-OS-restore-install-repair-disc-64bit-/182945311595 or an image of it to install the OS.

You can then choose to stay on Windows 7 Pro or upgrade for free to Windows 10 Pro.

 

No need for a dodgy install for 200 or 300 baht.

[dave_boo]

Raw speed doesn't matter in that old of a computer. Yes, any SSD he will put in there will be bottlenecked for MB/s. But doesn't the puter only have USB 2? So what does that metric matter.

 

The random access times are what's important. Not waiting for the heads to seek the data will be huge for him. The slightly less mass and less energy consumption will be there also along with increased shock tolerance. 

[nss70]

I have an ancient Dell Inspiron (originally xp now w7) laptop that I gave the ssd treatment to several years ago and maxed out the ram to 2gb.

It's still running very snappily today although it's one heavy beast by today's standards.....christmas is nearly here though!

[atyclb]

google "windows tiny 7" . it is a trimmed down version with the resources hog and bloat taken out. it runs better and faster in older less powerful computers.  i used to use tiny xp on a laptop and it was fast and smooth.

 

if you just need basic apps and internet browsing there are versions of linux that also run well on your hardware.  linus apps are free and compatable with ms office etc etc.

[jenny2017]

On 12/21/2017 at 11:18 AM, KneeDeep said:

 

You went wrong at the very beginning. Intel ICH8M is SATA 2. Whether there is a limitation set by the BIOS, I haven't checked, but the Chipset is SATA 2 capable.

I certainly wouldn't splashed out on a 250 GB SSD for that thing, but perhaps a 120GB.

 

There is also the issue of RAM and not allowing the shop to install a dodgy OS and programs for you.

In my opinion, it's a bit too late for that machine.

I upgraded a similar machine, from 2009 a few years ago. Took the RAM up to 4GB and installed an 120 GB SSD.

 

Did similarly with an ATOM powered Netbook, though could only take that up to 1.5GB of RAM.

 

SSD makes a huge difference, regardless of SATA-1 or SATA-2. The Netbook was virtually unusable before being fitted with the SSD.

Netbook is nine years old and still going strong. In fact I'm posting from it right now.

 

But the OP's machine is already nine years old, so likely soon to fail. So not really worth spending much on, including the RAM needed to take it up to 4GB.

 

 

 

 

 

My DELL Inspiron is also 9 yrs old, but running well on 4Gb DDR II and W 10 Pro, 32 bit.

 

   It's a classic machine that never let me down. 

[jenny2017]

On 12/22/2017 at 10:48 AM, nss70 said:

I have an ancient Dell Inspiron (originally xp now w7) laptop that I gave the ssd treatment to several years ago and maxed out the ram to 2gb.

It's still running very snappily today although it's one heavy beast by today's standards.....christmas is nearly here though!

   My Dell Inspiron 1440 is (still) pretty cool, but running on 4 Gb. Two slots, a 2 Gb is possible. 

Edited December 23, 2017 by jenny2017

[BuaBS]

55 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

My DELL Inspiron is also 9 yrs old, but running well on 4Gb DDR II and W 10 Pro, 32 bit.

 

   It's a classic machine that never let me down. 

What about all the drivers for graphic card , sound , ....

Edited December 23, 2017 by BuaBS

[jenny2017]

10 minutes ago, BuaBS said:

What about all the drivers for graphic card , sound , ....

No problems with drivers for graphic card and sound. Bluetooth might be a problem, but I finally found one that works well.

 

  

[NanLaew]

Getting an SSD for that legacy laptop is a waste of money IMHO. Get a replacement 'old fashioned' SATA hard drive and install the Linux distro of your choice. I think the OP will be pleasantly surprised by what Linux can wring out of old laptops.

[superglue]

I have a Samsung SSD. Top performer. 

[KneeDeep]

17 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

No problems with drivers for graphic card and sound. Bluetooth might be a problem, but I finally found one that works well.

 

  

 

 

18 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

   My Dell Inspiron 1440 is (still) pretty cool, but running on 4 Gb. Two slots, a 2 Gb is possible. 

 

That machine is not old.

Git outta here! This thread is for machines that came supplied with XP or maybe Vista with 1GB of RAM.  

You should be ashamed of yourself, bringing that new machine in here.

 

My machine almost qualifies; http://www.toshiba.co.uk/discontinued-products/satellite-l300-1g5/

 

Now of course with 4 GB of RAM and an SSD.

 

Your DELL Inspiron isn't nine years old, but eight at the most.

Released around the same time as mine. August 2009.. 

[KneeDeep]

18 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

My DELL Inspiron is also 9 yrs old, but running well on 4Gb DDR II and W 10 Pro, 32 bit.

 

   It's a classic machine that never let me down. 

 

Why only 32 bit?

[Peterw42]

OP, nobody has mentioned it, but no matter what drive you get, a computer shop may still be able to do a "clone" of your existing HD, OP system etc. No need to reinstall windows, settings and apps.

At the very least, extract your existing key to reinstall widows.

 

[jenny2017]

21 minutes ago, KneeDeep said:

 

 

 

That machine is not old.

Git outta here! This thread is for machines that came supplied with XP or maybe Vista with 1GB of RAM.  

You should be ashamed of yourself, bringing that new machine in here.

 

My machine almost qualifies; http://www.toshiba.co.uk/discontinued-products/satellite-l300-1g5/

 

Now of course with 4 GB of RAM and an SSD.

 

Your DELL Inspiron isn't nine years old, but eight at the most.

Released around the same time as mine. August 2009.. 

Crr.....soon 2019, dude !! Okay, it's 8.5 years old. 

[jenny2017]

6 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

OP, nobody has mentioned it, but no matter what drive you get, a computer shop may still be able to do a "clone" of your existing HD, OP system etc. No need to reinstall windows, settings and apps.

At the very least, extract your existing key to reinstall widows.

 

OP can clone his hd alone. It's not that difficult. And as long as the motherboard isn't changed, it will always be genuine, even with a new drive/ 

[jenny2017]

22 minutes ago, KneeDeep said:

 

Why only 32 bit?

It's got a 64 processor, but I always used 32 versions. It came with XP when I bought it and i continued with the 32 bit version of W 7, then upgraded to W 10. 

[KneeDeep]

8 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

It's got a 64 processor, but I always used 32 versions. It came with XP when I bought it and i continued with the 32 bit version of W 7, then upgraded to W 10. 

 

I would always run a clean install anyway. At that point I would install 64 bit.

[KneeDeep]

19 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

Crr.....soon 2019, dude !! Okay, it's 8.5 years old. 

 

Nope. 2019 is more than a year away. 

 

Perhaps you meant 2018. I didn't buy my laptop as soon as it was released. Did you? 

Mine September 2009. Eight years and three months.

No need to exaggerate. 

[jenny2017]

30 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

Crr.....soon 2019, dude !! Okay, it's 8.5 years old. 

Of course 2018....sorry/.

[jenny2017]

18 minutes ago, KneeDeep said:

 

Nope. 2019 is more than a year away. 

 

Perhaps you meant 2018. I didn't buy my laptop as soon as it was released. Did you? 

Mine September 2009. Eight years and three months.

No need to exaggerate. 

It was released in June 2008, I think that I bought it around November 2008 with XP on it. 

 

OP, Macrium is a free and one of the best programs to backup, restore, but also to clone. Always up to date and working well.

 

  It's always good to have two back ups/

 

https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

Edited December 24, 2017 by jenny2017