My laptop harddrive went out on me today, and unfortunately my laptop is no longer under warranty, so I'm faced with the double task of A) Seeing if I can get the little bit of data that was not yet backed up off of it, and B) replacing it. I went to the manufacturer website to see about getting a replacement from them, but it was going to cost $400! My question is this: are laptop harddrives pretty much like tower harddrives in that they are standard sizes and I don't neccesarilly need a drive from the manufacturer? I looked through google, and I saw hints towards this, but I just want to be sure. The specs from the manufacturer are as follow:
40.0GB ATA-100 EIDE hard disk drive - 4,200 RPM, 2.5-inch form factor, 9.5mm height
The thing that bothers me is the "form factor." It's an HP laptop, but the drive from the factory is Toshiba. Any help will be greatly appreciatted!
Thanks, Josh