Thanks for those tips Kyle.  Since I posted my original request I managed to
find a manual on the net.  But it looks like I'm gonna need to strip the
thing down to get at the HDD - I can't see any quick access.

Ian Porter
Computer Guys Inc.
Arrowtown
New Zealand
[log in to unmask]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kyle Elmblade" Subject: Re: [PCBUILD] dying Dell Inspiron 3500 laptop


> Hi Ian,
>
> I've pulled apart a few in my time.  In most of them you can get at the
hard
> drive fairly easy without disassembling them.  The only reason I
disassemble
> one is to get at something on the inside like a shorted wire, a pulled
> connection, etc.  I would look closely on the outside to find the bay
where
> the hard drive is stored.  On my Dell, there is a door on the side to pull
> the caddy out, but you have to remove a single screw from the bottom of
the
> unit to open the door.
>
> As far as the compatibility is concerned, most laptop hard drives have a
> standard pin-out.  If the laptop is not compatible with the actual
pin-out,
> it usually has an adapter that is compatible, and it plugs into it's own
> little slot or socket when inserted into the unit.  I would be more
worried
> about dimensions.  I have a 1.3GHz drive that I wanted to put in my
Toshiba
> laptop to play around with, but the drive was about 1/8 inch too high to
fit
> in the bay.  Most places that sell the hard drives will list the units
that
> are guaranteed to be compatible with the particular drive.

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