Laptop hard drive/swap to different laptop

[rmaznj]

I have a HD from a compaq Presario 2100, will it fit in any other Compaq laptop? I have looked all over compaq/hp site, my eyes are criss crossed trying to find specs, thei site is highly un-manageable IMO.
Anyone have a link or know the answer?
Thanx in advance.

 

[bazzert]

Potentially the drive should fit any other laptop (assuming the height is same). Laptop drives are just small IDE drives, most laptop makers fit a gender changer to suit their own interface. This can easily be removed to enable use in another laptop.

 

[micker377]

What OS are you using? What is the "other Compaq laptop"? You will need the drivers for the hardware in the "other Compaq laptop". The hard drive should fit physically (as Bazzard says, the drive usually comes in a "tray" that actually mounts in the computer), but you may have problems getting it to work properly. Your safest bet is to reformat and start over. Out of curiosity, why are you changing the drive?

 

[rmaznj]

I moved the hd to the mount, it fit fine.
I told someone I would try to recover stuff for them, the HD is proly hosed.
Im gonna run Winternals and see what I can get of it if anything.
Thanks for the help

 

[micker377]

You can use an adapter ($5 to $10 USD), to hook up the laptop drive to a desktop and get the files off of it.

 

[rmaznj]

Gonna go for the adapter, been wanting one anyways. Winternals couldnt get the job done..