mitac 5030 help

kostasbmw · May 11, 2005, 08:01 AM

i have an old mitac 5030 laptop with a hard disk 4,32 gb fujitsu disk ata33 4200 rpm,

i was searching around to find a bigger disk so i can put xp on it and have some space

what are the specifications i have to look ??

i see that bigger disk have ata100 same rpm same measurments

how do i know if its compatible to mine??

thanks

GNetX · May 12, 2005, 03:53 PM

Hi,

I can't find the specifications for your Mitac laptop anywhere, so I can't be specific in my comments. Low-end laptop hard drives still run at 4200rpm, and the physical size is still the same standard - these are the least of your concerns.

You should be more concerned with interface (ata) speed and BIOS: it is likely that most new notebook hard drives (2.5") should be backwards-compatible enough in terms of interface to allow you to fit them without too many problems, but I can't be sure how your laptop will handle it. Also, if your current hard drive is only 4.32GB it might be that your laptop's BIOS will not cope very well with anything too large.

With the current hard drive's size and interface speed, I am wondering about the age and therefore specification of the rest of the laptop hardware and its suitability to Windows XP. If you want XP to be useable, take the minimum system requirements with a pinch of salt - it might not be worth upgrading to XP if the system's speed is very slow!

It would help a lot if you could give details of the rest of the laptop's specification, or even provide a link to a specification on the internet. Sorry I can't be any more help - there may be others who are in a better position to comment more usefully.

Good luck with it.

kostasbmw · May 14, 2005, 02:24 PM

well this what i found in my laptop
the hard disk is made by fujitsu\details 4,32gb 9,5nm ata33 13ms 512k 4200rpm
some numbers mhf2043at

now i noticed in some bigger disks from the same company that all numbers were the same and only the ata was different ata100 and the cache memory 2mb

the ata value i guess its critical because maybe the bios will not accept it , i am not sure about that just a thought

waiting for comments

thanks again

GNetX · May 14, 2005, 08:21 PM

Kostasbmw,

My concern wasn't the ATA interface speed ("value") in its compatibility with the BIOS, but that the BIOS may not support hard drives larger than the largest available sizes at the time the laptop was designed / manufactured. This could mean that your new hard drive won't be recognised, or that the laptop will not be able to take advantage of the drive's full capacity.

The interface (ATA) speed of the drive should be backwards-compatible as far as I know (i.e. it will slow the output rate of the data to match what the IDE controller can cope with), but it's a risk that you can decide if you want to take - I can't be certain enough to say yes or no definitely.

Since my last comments, I have succeeded in finding the user guides for the Mitac 5027 and 5033 - I am assuming that your laptop's (5030) specification is somewhere between these two models, which are fairly similar anyway. I have copies of these on my PC now, which I can send to you if you want. The thing that strikes me most is the age of these models - they are getting into their 7th year since launch! They are VERY unlikely to cope with running Windows XP. I'm guessing you're currently running Windows 95 or 98, and these are certainly the best operating system for you if you want to run Windows. With this in mind, do you still want to upgrade?

To be honest, with a laptop of this age (assuming I'm right in thinking that your laptop model was launched in 1997 / 1998), you should be considering replacing it and not upgrading - you can get a second-hand laptop for very little money, and entry-level new ones, especially online from Dell, are currently going for much less than 700 Euros.

Sorry that I have not been able to help you much in your quest to upgrade. There may be other people who have a different opinion to me on this issue, but my research so far has suggested that what I am saying is probably the best advice. Good luck with it.

kostasbmw · May 15, 2005, 07:23 AM

you maybe right that i should look for something new and maybe a good secondhand as i dont use the laptop that much as my desktop one

its just that i dont like to through things away that easy

thanks again

May 11, 2005, 08:01 AM	#1
kostasbmw DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: greece Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	mitac 5030 help i have an old mitac 5030 laptop with a hard disk 4,32 gb fujitsu disk ata33 4200 rpm, i was searching around to find a bigger disk so i can put xp on it and have some space what are the specifications i have to look ?? i see that bigger disk have ata100 same rpm same measurments how do i know if its compatible to mine?? thanks

May 12, 2005, 03:53 PM	#2
GNetX DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Nottingham, UK Posts: 44 Rep Power: 0	Hi, I can't find the specifications for your Mitac laptop anywhere, so I can't be specific in my comments. Low-end laptop hard drives still run at 4200rpm, and the physical size is still the same standard - these are the least of your concerns. You should be more concerned with interface (ata) speed and BIOS: it is likely that most new notebook hard drives (2.5") should be backwards-compatible enough in terms of interface to allow you to fit them without too many problems, but I can't be sure how your laptop will handle it. Also, if your current hard drive is only 4.32GB it might be that your laptop's BIOS will not cope very well with anything too large. With the current hard drive's size and interface speed, I am wondering about the age and therefore specification of the rest of the laptop hardware and its suitability to Windows XP. If you want XP to be useable, take the minimum system requirements with a pinch of salt - it might not be worth upgrading to XP if the system's speed is very slow! It would help a lot if you could give details of the rest of the laptop's specification, or even provide a link to a specification on the internet. Sorry I can't be any more help - there may be others who are in a better position to comment more usefully. Good luck with it.

May 14, 2005, 02:24 PM	Thread Starter #3
kostasbmw DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: greece Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	well this what i found in my laptop the hard disk is made by fujitsu\details 4,32gb 9,5nm ata33 13ms 512k 4200rpm some numbers mhf2043at now i noticed in some bigger disks from the same company that all numbers were the same and only the ata was different ata100 and the cache memory 2mb the ata value i guess its critical because maybe the bios will not accept it , i am not sure about that just a thought waiting for comments thanks again

May 14, 2005, 08:21 PM	#4
GNetX DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Nottingham, UK Posts: 44 Rep Power: 0	Kostasbmw, My concern wasn't the ATA interface speed ("value") in its compatibility with the BIOS, but that the BIOS may not support hard drives larger than the largest available sizes at the time the laptop was designed / manufactured. This could mean that your new hard drive won't be recognised, or that the laptop will not be able to take advantage of the drive's full capacity. The interface (ATA) speed of the drive should be backwards-compatible as far as I know (i.e. it will slow the output rate of the data to match what the IDE controller can cope with), but it's a risk that you can decide if you want to take - I can't be certain enough to say yes or no definitely. Since my last comments, I have succeeded in finding the user guides for the Mitac 5027 and 5033 - I am assuming that your laptop's (5030) specification is somewhere between these two models, which are fairly similar anyway. I have copies of these on my PC now, which I can send to you if you want. The thing that strikes me most is the age of these models - they are getting into their 7th year since launch! They are VERY unlikely to cope with running Windows XP. I'm guessing you're currently running Windows 95 or 98, and these are certainly the best operating system for you if you want to run Windows. With this in mind, do you still want to upgrade? To be honest, with a laptop of this age (assuming I'm right in thinking that your laptop model was launched in 1997 / 1998), you should be considering replacing it and not upgrading - you can get a second-hand laptop for very little money, and entry-level new ones, especially online from Dell, are currently going for much less than 700 Euros. Sorry that I have not been able to help you much in your quest to upgrade. There may be other people who have a different opinion to me on this issue, but my research so far has suggested that what I am saying is probably the best advice. Good luck with it.

May 15, 2005, 07:23 AM	Thread Starter #5
kostasbmw DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: greece Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	you maybe right that i should look for something new and maybe a good secondhand as i dont use the laptop that much as my desktop one its just that i dont like to through things away that easy thanks again