SATA or IDE?

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slugger_2003

Limp Gawd
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Jan 30, 2007
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I thought there was a problem with my hard drive so I used this program to test it: http://support.wdc.com/download/?cxml=n&pid=999&swid=3
It returned the result that there were bad sectors. It tried to fix them but an error occured during this process.
I presume this means I need to buy a new hard drive, yes?
My hard drive is a Toshiba MK2035GSS, everywhere I look it appears to be SATA-II but according to DLGDIAG it's an IDE drive. Is it possible the drive has been connected to an IDE port instead of a SATA-II port?
How do I find out what kind of hard drive to replace my current hard drive with?
I'm using vista and can't find the "run" program so I can start dxdiag...

Any comments or suggestions appreciated, thanks.
 
Open the case and look at the cable.

If it's a slim cable with a small end, it's SATA, if it's a big ribbon cable, it's IDE.
 
The notebook has a SATA drive interface. It is probably set to legacy/IDE mode in the BIOS, which makes the SATA port appear as a legacy mode port (IDE) to the OS.

The easiest way to reassure yourself is to remove the drive from the bay and look at the connector.
 
BillLeeLee said:
The notebook has a SATA drive interface. It is probably set to legacy/IDE mode in the BIOS, which makes the SATA port appear as a legacy mode port (IDE) to the OS.

The easiest way to reassure yourself is to remove the drive from the bay and look at the connector.
Click to expand...

Correct. It can be set to SATA (usually AHCI mode) or legacy IDE mode. Do not switch it in the BIOS if you don't want to reformat.
 
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