Upgrade Your Notebook's Hard Drive

Ready to upgrade your notebook's storage capacity or drive speed?
As I mentioned last week, notebook users are more likely than desktop PC users to fill up their hard drives, simply because notebook hard drives are smaller in physical size and consequently in capacity. And with notebooks--because of space limitations imposed by their form factor--you don't have the same options for adding additional drives. Last week's newsletter, with tips on how to maximize your notebook's existing hard drive, is archived online.
If you've tried cleaning up and archiving unnecessary apps and data, and you're still running low on storage space, it's probably time for a new hard drive. But the upgrading process isn't without some "gotchas." Here are some things you need to know.Know Your Warranty
Before you do anything, check your notebook's warranty. You may void the warranty if you replace an original part, such as the hard drive, yourself. When in doubt, call the notebook maker's support line. You may learn that you will void your warranty unless you buy the replacement hard drive from your vendor. The tech support rep may even offer to guide you through the process over the phone. Be aware, though, that the notebook maker may not offer the best price for a replacement hard drive.Know What You've Got
Next, collect all the specs on your current notebook hard drive, so that you can pick an appropriate replacement.
For example, it's important to know the capacity so that you can gauge your future needs. You'll also want to know who manufactured the drive so that you can contact the manufacturer to find any of the facts that aren't listed on the drive itself.
Other very important facts to know:
Form factor. You'll find 2.5-inch hard drives in almost all full-size notebooks; subnotebooks may have 1.8-inch drives.
Height. The most common are 12.5 mm and 9.5 mm.
Interface. Newer notebook drives are often serial ATA.
The rotational speed (such as 4200 rpm) is less important, although you may be able to improve your performance by choosing a replacement that spins its disks at a faster rate, such as 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm.
If you can't find the info you need on the drive itself, note its model number and ask your notebook vendor or check the drive manufacturer's Web site.Consider Upgrading the Speed
Increasing hard drive capacity is the primary reason most people upgrade. But you might also want a faster hard drive.
The majority of notebook hard drives in use today have rotational speeds of 4200 or 5400 rpm. Newer models, often found in gaming notebooks, rotate at 7200 rpm. Upgrading from a 4200-rpm hard drive to a 5400- or 7200-rpm drive should give you a nice overall system performance increase. Indeed, a sluggish hard drive is often the primary culprit in poor notebook performance, says Simon Blackstein, senior network engineer for MicroMenders, an IT service organization in San Francisco.
However, a faster hard drive may also drain your notebook's battery more quickly and generate a bit more heat. So are the tradeoffs worth it? If you plan to frequently edit video, play high-end games, or run large database searches, definitely. Otherwise, you may want to stick with a 5400 rpm drive.Can You Do the Job Yourself?
Increasingly, notebook manufacturers are making it easier to remove and replace an internal hard drive. Physically, the entire process may take just a few minutes, requiring not much more than removing a screw, sliding the old drive out, and popping in the new one. Before you attempt this, though, check your notebook's documentation to get a sense of what's involved. If you don't feel comfortable following the instructions in the manual, you might want to hire someone for the job.
Of course, just physically swapping the drive isn't all there is to it. You'll need to move your OS, apps, and data over to the replacement. If you're not an upgrade sophisticate (or even if you are), consider using a product designed to facilitate the process, such as one of Apricorn's hard-drive upgrade kits, which vary in price from $39 to $289, depending on what's included and the interface you want to use for the transfer. (Apricorn also offers PC Card-based solutions.)
Here's how it works if you buy a complete hard-drive upgrade package: The new notebook hard drive arrives housed in an external drive enclosure. You attach the new drive to your notebook via a USB 2.0 port (for optimal performance) and install the data transfer software on your notebook. The software turns the external hard drive into a mirror image of your notebook's existing internal drive, transferring all your files, applications, and settings, according to Apricorn.
When the transfer is complete, remove the old drive from your notebook and the new drive from the external enclosure. Then you swap the two drives, popping the new drive into your notebook and inserting the old drive into the external enclosure. The end result is that you'll have a new hard drive in your notebook with all the settings, files, data, and applications intact from your old drive. And you can now use your old drive as an external drive for archiving or other purposes.
You may want to do yourself a favor and stop by Apricorn's online hard drive configurator first; you'll find offerings of compatible hard drives for popular notebook models. (Note: I haven't personally tested Apricorn's upgrades.)Do Your Homework
Of course, you'll want to shop around for the best prices on internal notebook hard drives. Some places to look include the following:

• Apricorn
• Computer Giants
• Drive Solutions
• NewEgg.com Did You Upgrade?
  Have you upgraded your notebook's hard drive? If so, tell me about your experiences.Mobile Computing News, Reviews, & Tips
  Are laptops the new desktops? They can be, with the right tweaks. Columnist Kirk Steers offers tips on maximizing your notebook by upgrading the hard drive, memory, and keyboard.
  Got an old Dell notebook or desktop you no longer need? The company announced it will offer free recycling for all Dell-branded products beginning in September. Previously, Dell's free recycling program was offered only to consumers who purchased a replacement Dell product.
  Three tempting new smart phones have become available recently: the Treo 700p, the Sidekick 3, and Motorola's Q. Which one is right for you? Columnist Grace Aquino put all three to the test. Her take? The Treo 700p is an expensive office workhouse; Sidekick 3 improves on its predecessors and is the best bet for those primarily interested in IM and e-mail; the Motorola Q is long on style but suffers from the inelegant Windows Mobile operating system.
  Is there a particularly cool mobile computing product or service I've missed? Got a spare story idea in your back pocket? Tell me about it. However, I regret that I'm unable to respond to tech-support questions, due to the volume of e-mail I receive.

10 Things Every Mobile User Should Know

Make your next gadget-laden journey as painless and productive as possible

Want to minimize the hassle of juggling two carry-on bags? The smartly designed, wheeled Victorinox Coliseum Wheeled Overnight Brief ($399) features an external pocket big enough to hold a laptop bag, plus a capacious interior for clothes, reading material, and other items. You can get it from retailers like .

1. An iPod (and other portable USB storage devices) can hold computer files, Outlook data, Internet Explorer favorites, desktop wallpaper, and in some cases, applications. Connect the iPod to a borrowed PC, and voil--it's like having access to your own computer. Later, sync the
2. iPod with your PC back home. The ($30) and ($30) utilities each provide this capability.
3. charges $2 per month plus 15 cents per page to forward faxes as PDF files in e-mail.
   Raise your chances of being reunited with a lost laptop by registering it with . You'll receive a sticker to put on your notebook, informing others of a reward for its return. To contact you, the finder dials the toll-free number on the sticker or goes to the StuffBak Web site. A $6 sticker provides two years of free return service.
4. You should always take a grounded (three-prong) extension cord with at least three outlets so you can recharge multiple gadgets; blank CDs, for transferring files to another PC or burning tunes to play in the rental car; an RJ-11 phone cord, because you never know when you'll need one; an ethernet cable, for the same reason; and your AC adapter, with airline and car power adapters.
5. Before booking a flight, head over to . Charts reveal which seats on domestic and international flights have the greatest width and pitch and provide in-seat power ports.

On the Road

1. The free Google Maps for Palm, BlackBerry, and other smart phones shows nearby businesses, gives directions, and delivers real-time traffic info (in 30 U.S. markets).
2. Most Bluetooth phones (and some others) include data-modem capabilities, enabling you to use your phone to connect your laptop to the Web wirelessly. Check with your carrier for a connection kit and compatible data plan.
3. If there's no hotspot at the airport, you can often connect through a lounge. With a you gain admission into 500 lounges in some 300 airports. Standard membership is $99 per year plus $24 per visit. Also, some clubs now offer $50 day passes.
4. Listing more than 120,000 hotspots worldwide, is the place to go when you're sniffing around for a Wi-Fi connection. And its Hotspot Helper software ($25 per year; free ten-day trial) lets you locate hotspots offline, too.
5. Some hotel rooms still offer only wired broadband access. But a portable router--such as Apple's AirPort Express ($129) or Linksys's Wireless-G Travel Router ($100)--lets you create your own wireless network, so you're not shackled to the uncomfortable guest-room desk.

ViewSonic VLED221wm 22-Inch LCD Monitor

Though the attractive specs and smooth design of this LCD monitor are impressive, its premium price will turn off most people
ViewSonic's 22-inch wide-screen VLED221wm is the world's first sub-$1000 LCD monitor with LED backlight technology, which delivers an evenly bright screen and a wide color gamut.
The VLED221wm, which should be available in late February, offers a 12,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio that allows the display of impressive blacks; provides great color reproduction due to its ability to represent up to 118 percent of the NTSC color gamut; has a 1680 by 1050 native resolution; and boasts a 5ms response time. At $800 (as of 1/29/08), the VLED221wm costs more than double the price of the HP w2207, currently our highest-ranked 22-inch display.
The cleanly designed VLED221wm has a thin, glossy, deep-black bezel. Most glossy bezels collect fingerprints and dirt, making the monitor look as if it were part of a CSI crime scene. The VLED221wm, however, proved smudge and fingerprint resistant, despite my repeated attempts to dirty it up. The built-in stereo speakers blend nicely and unobtrusively into the bezel, too. Though the display tilts, it does not swivel or pivot. In the user-friendly OSD (on-screen display) menu, you can adjust the color settings, the brightness and contrast, and the audio volume by using the up, down, and select buttons on the front of the display.
Sound quality was lacking. In my informal audio-quality tests, the high frequencies were too high, and the lows lacked the punch that a stand-alone speaker system would provide. While the tinny sound won't please audiophiles, it is satisfactory if low background music is all you want.
In image-quality tests performed by the PC World Test Center, we were surprised to see the VLED221wm fail to outperform all of its cheaper, non-LED-backlit competitors. Nevertheless, it didn't score poorly, ranking fourth in our graphics tests overall and sixth in our text-clarity tests. This display produced better-quality images than 18 other 20- and 22-inch displays we looked at.
While viewing a scene from Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones, I noticed that the colors seemed inaccurate, but a quick tinkering with the color-temperature settings fixed the problem. Afterward the on-screen colors were bright and clear, not oversaturated. Red lasers shot from starfighters looked so brilliant and intense that they reminded me of images from Mitsubishi's Laser HDTV, which exhibits the latest in display technology and, in a demo, showed the brightest colors I've ever seen.
Though ViewSonic packed a lot of high-end features into the VLED221wm, the impressive specs did not produce a huge image-quality boost in our testing. This monitor is best suited for a movie buff, for a multimedia/graphic designer who needs to see a wide gamut of bright colors, or for any tech enthusiast with money to burn. For the price, though, $800 would be better spent on a larger LCD monitor, or even a dual-monitor setup.