Laptop hard drives

[Doxy]

I was given a laptop with an unknow nhistory. Model# Sharp pc-A820. It's a P3 500mhz class laptop that was originally come with an 8gb hard drive. BIOS says that there is no hard drive. So, I opened it up to physically spot check for the missing 2.5 IDE hard drive place, but found no vacant spot!
My question is specific. Are laptop hard drives available in a form factor that connect similar to PCMCIA cards?(slid into place from the exterior)?
Because, there IS a strange exterior slot that is 2.5" WIDE and twice as thick as a PCMCIA card.
Unfornunately, Google came up with very little. A Sharps's support was non-existant for that model.


Thanks for any help with this!

[Stuey]

Yup! Typically, from what I've seen, this is the case. There should be a screw at the bottom of the laptop case, below the 2.5" cartridge. Unscrew the screw, and then there should be a groove which you should use your nail to loosen. Pop, out will come the HD or the HD retention bracket!

Laptop HDs are 2.5" in width, they have a standard length, and have ~.9 cm depth.

[Doxy]

Are these "slide in" HDs called something in particular? Because, it's gone and will have to be replaced. FYI, at the back of the exterior slot there
a connection slot that looks similar to a PCMCIA connection slot, but larger.

[LaptopExtreme]

Originally Posted by Doxy Are these "slide in" HDs called something in particular?...

No, its just a hard drive that's screwed on some rail kit of some kind. Some are under the unit (inside one of those panels), some are on a rail kit and screwed into place, and some are mounted in a modular solution and slide in like a CD drive. Do you have a pic of yours for us to make sure?

[Doxy]

I don't a pic to give right now, but I think that a "rail" solution must be how this model was designed. I would like to research this kind of hardware. Could you point me in the right direction for me to investigate these options?

Thanks

[Stuey]

You're going to want to search for 2.5" HD, like these. As for the mounting mechanism... I'm clueless.

[Doxy]

Yeah, 2.5" ATA-6 drives from Newegg is what I'll go for. The mounting carridge is what will be difficult to figure out. Thanks for you help. I'm in nyc too.

[Stuey]

If you can take a picture of it, we might be able to help decipher a mounting solution. I haven't been able to find good examples through google that could be suitable or close to what your configuration is like.

[Doxy]

Okay, I will upload photo tonight.

[Doxy]

Okay, here is a pic. The upper slot is a PCMCIA. The lower is in suspect as a hard drive slot.

[Doxy]

Sorry, I tried to post the photo but was unable. I could not get the pic under the 100k requirement for this site. Bummer. Thanks again for looking!