Are all 2.5" 9mm laptop hard drives compatible?

[tearsmith]

All,

I have an IBM ThinkPad 600E and 770Z. Two questions...

600E - Hard drive works but is only 6.5gb. Want to upgrade to 30-40gb. Hitachi is current model, size is 2.5"/9mm. Can I use any other mfr's HDD in this size and it work? Do I need drivers or anything? Is is hard to replace the drive myself? I do know how to remove the old one, but is there any special thing I will need for the new one?

770Z - Hard drive sounds like a dying yak, has "Sector not found" errrors and is basically ready to push up daisies.
Same scenario as above, but size is 17mm/2.5. Questions are same as above? Current drive is IBM Travelstar.

Thanks for any help. Tearsmith

 

[micker377]

Physically: remove the drive "caddy" from the computer. Place new drive in "caddy" and put back in. The problem is how big a drive will your BIOS allow? The break points are around 8meg and 32meg. I just replaced my 5gig Solo 2500 (1987 computer), with a 30gig - no problems. What OS? If 95 or 98, you can "clone" old to new drive.
Download all the drivers specific to your computer from IBM, and copy to floppy. You will need these if you do a complete new install of your OS (best idea).
Sounds like the 770 is dying. First, see if the 600 will work in the 770. If so, buy a new one for the 600 and use the old 600 in the 770. Remember, you will need all the drivers for each computer.