Replacing bad X40 HDD - Ideas

[OMSkates]

My daughter's IBM X40's HDD has been in a state of decay the last 6 months, continues to develop bad sectors.  I'm not going to re-install on it again so looking at three options:

1.8" IDE PATA 16GB SSD 44pin

16GB CF Flash Card with IDE 44pin adapter

2nd hand IDE HDD in good condition (not so keen on this idea)

Just curious what some of you might think, chime in if you'd like

[bicol_willem]

Would a NEW IDE HDD not be a good idea? (Or a SATA drive + adapter)  Sample  http://www.satacables.com/html/sata_to_ide_adapter.html  

Or are the other options that cheap?  

Edit: OOoops, me bad! LAPTOP!   (Got LO on my mind  )

[OMSkates]

Would a NEW IDE HDD not be a good idea? (Or a SATA drive + adapter)  Sample  http://www.satacables.com/html/sata_to_ide_adapter.html  

Or are the other options that cheap?  

Edit: OOoops, me bad! LAPTOP!   (Got LO on my mind  )

Thanks for the reply.  The SATA+adapter would be nice but I don't think the X40 has space to accomodate.  Its a very small/slim 12" notebook, no optical drive.  The CF card or SSD in 16GB would be around $50, as would a 40GB IDE HDD.  I was more curious if anyone has installed and booted off of similar storage options.

[Just17]

There are other - bigger storage - drives available in 1.8" but their prices seem exhorbitant ..... I would use a SSD in preference to a CF card ....  but again price might be an issue.

You may find a 120GB or a 160GB used HDD that would be a better option?

[menotu]

I would use a SSD in preference to a CF card

+1

I don't know whether you came across this whilst doing your research omskates (it's from 2009)

http://www.i4u.com/27653/ibm-thinkpad-x40-upgraded-kingspec-32gb-ssd-beats-todays-netbooks

It concludes with:

The upgrade is definitely highly recommendable as your are getting basically a top of the line netbook with still one of the best mobile keyboards around.

It is kind of funny to have a 5 year old hardware that can compete with brand new netbooks in terms of size, speed and ergonomics. The latest netbook generation also hits the 12 inch screen size the IBM X40 has.
I am now using the X40 again around the house instead of the first generation Asus Eee I had used the last year.

The eBay link has a starting bid of 95cents but delivery is exorbitant at nearly $76.

If you can source it from elsewhere or something similar it's something to put in the mix.

[OMSkates]

I would use a SSD in preference to a CF card

+1

I don't know whether you came across this whilst doing your research omskates (it's from 2009)

http://www.i4u.com/27653/ibm-thinkpad-x40-upgraded-kingspec-32gb-ssd-beats-todays-netbooks

It concludes with:

The upgrade is definitely highly recommendable as your are getting basically a top of the line netbook with still one of the best mobile keyboards around.

It is kind of funny to have a 5 year old hardware that can compete with brand new netbooks in terms of size, speed and ergonomics. The latest netbook generation also hits the 12 inch screen size the IBM X40 has.
I am now using the X40 again around the house instead of the first generation Asus Eee I had used the last year.

The eBay link has a starting bid of 95cents but delivery is exorbitant at nearly $76.

If you can source it from elsewhere or something similar it's something to put in the mix.

Thanks guys,
I'm leaning more towards a SSD, I may have seen 16GB for under $50.  This is only a connectivity notebook so I'm not concerned with amount of storage.
 Thanks for that link menotu!
  I've always had a preference for the X40 over most of the 10" netbooks on the market during the last 5 years.  I would buy a used, stripped X40 (to build) long before resorting to a typical netbook these days.  Such a good machine, excellent keyboard, very durabile.  Only has the OEM HDD issues.

[horusfalcon]

Not too familiar with the X40, but if it uses an IDE/PATA interface, another IDE hard drive would seem to give best bang/buck storage-wise.  Good IDE laptop drives are getting hard to find though... SATA rules the day these days.

Hitachi 160 GB 7200 RPM, ATA-6 (should be quick enough...)  NEW, $125
http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-Travelstar-HTS721010G9AT00-Notebook-0A25015/dp/B000FKM3Q4

Hitachi 100 GB 7200 RPM, used ($49.99 BIN on EBay)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Hitachi-2-5-100GB-IDE-ATA-7200RPM-Laptop-Hard-Drive-/150649128860?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item231363479c

These are just a couple I found in a hurry.  I'm sure there are plenty more.

If you're willing to go to 5400 RPM the choices get a lot wider... at the price of significant speed.

I'm not too experienced with SSDs... just know that they're still too expensive for me yet.  I hope you can find one you like if that's what you decide to do.

Wish you all the best whatever you decide, but it's good to have choices like this one.

Later On,
D

[OMSkates]

Thanks D   If I go with IDE HDD it must be a 1.8" 44pin.  Seeing how often my daughter lets this notebook take a tumble to the carpet I'm leaning towards SSD.  Really don't need more than 16GB as it serves like a netbook and she can always use external or file share off our network. 

I'd been looking at something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/KingSpec-SSD-1-8-IDE-16GB-PATA-16-GB-IBM-X40-Agd-/120547849362?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c11363492

Thanks much,

OMS

[horusfalcon]

Oops... failed to note the smaller drive size.

Looking at your link, I see this SSD is actually pretty inexpensive, but it's Multi Layer Cell (MLC) flash memory so a touch more error-prone and slower than Single Layer Cell (SLC) would be.  It is compatible from what the info on the seller's site says, too.  Heck, at that price, cheap enough to try and not lose sleep over if it didn't work.

Pity they don't make PCMCIA flash memory of any real size (the X40 has two slots, right?).  I did find several PCMCIA dual ESATA interfaces, though... at Newegg.

Good Hunting,
D