Currently, I have a 160GB hard drive (SATA) in my notebook. It is getting full. What is the easiest way to install a new hard drive? I think I have a universal hard drive enclosure. So assuming any SATA drive would fit the laptop (please confirm), I guess I could purchase a new SATA online, put it into the hard drive enclosure, copy everything over, and then install the new hard drive. Which program should I use to copy everything to the hard drive? What is the likelihood that everything will go smoothly?
I bet someone else will give you the real answer you're looking for- but I have to say I am amazed at how much value you can get on an external hard drive, or even a thumb stick these days. Thus my point is- one option is to use the external hard drive as back up/temporary, install the newer bigger hard drive, and toss the old one. Then, you still have the external back up around for anything else. About $120 gets you a TB external drive.
Yes If you have a SATA Laptop Hard Drive you can just pop in a larger hard drive and your laptop will recognize it. From this point you will need to reinstall the operating system and programs. Once you have it up you can then buy a hard drive enclosure (about $10) and just copy the data from old to new. Easier may be as stated to make an image of your old hard drive on an external drive and then reimage your new drive. It's a lot easier than it sounds
Best to do a full clone of the current drive to the new one, then swap them out and test. I assume you're on a Windows machine so I can't recommend a cloning app (I use a Mac) but this is how I've always done new drive installations and it's worked flawlessly for me. I'm sure some Windows users can recommend a cloning tool. Confirm from the vendor that the new drive will be compatible with your PC, but these are fairly standard components and there are many hardware options out there that should work fine for you.
Don't know if they market "green" drives for laptops but don't buy into any of that nonsense. You know how they make "green" hard drives use less power? By making them spin as slow as hard drives from 10-15 years ago. For the best performance you'll want a 7200rpm drive.
