Help with replacing hard drive (I'm new)

[Daxter]

I'm new to this and not a tech wizard so bear with me please. 

My hard drive is failing and I'm thinking about buying a new one to replace it. The current one says this.

Type : ATA

Model: Toshiba DTO1ACA100

My question is what kind of hard drive will be compatible with my computer? I'll be happy to give more information, just ask!

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

The product specs for your PC indicate that it comes with a standard 1 TB 3.5" desktop hard drive.

So, you can replace it with any kind like that.

Here is my recommendation for a replacement that is of good quality and reasonable price...

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Cache-Desktop-Drive-WD10EZEX/dp/B0088PUEPK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=154612...

Here is the service manual for your PC.  You can find the hard drive R & R procedures in this guide.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05149586

If you don't have a way to reinstall W10 on the new drive, you can do so for free as follows...

To reinstall W10...Use the Media Creation Tool.  Make the 64 bit installation media.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

You can make a W10 USB flash drive installer using an 8 GB flash drive using another Windows PC, if your PC is not working.

If you are asked to enter a product key during the installation process, select the 'I don't have a product key' option, and W10 will install and automatically activate once you are connected to the internet.

Here are the steps to create the W10 USB flash drive installer...

1. Select Download tool now, and select Run.
2. If you agree to the license terms, select Accept.
3. On the What do you want to do? page, select Create installation media for another PC, and then select Next.

4. Select the language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) for Windows 10. You want 64 bit.

5. Select which media you want to use:
6. USB flash drive.  Plug in a blank USB flash drive with at least 8GB of space. Any content on the flash drive will be deleted.

Then you can install the drivers and available software from your PC's support page.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-slimline-260-a100-desktop-pc-series/12079697/mod...

[Daxter]

Thank you sir! So any 3.5 inch hard drive? Does it matter if it has exactly 1 TB of space?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Any capacity 3.5" desktop hard drive will do, but not to exceed 2 TB.

[Daxter]

How do I know which drivers to install?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

The first driver you want to install is the ethernet driver, so you can get connected to the internet.

If you don't know what drivers to install (audio, graphics, wireless, etc), then use the HP support assistant to do the work for you.

https://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/hpsupportassistant/hpsupport.html

[Daxter]

Is it possible to connect to wireless or tethered internet from a smart phone instead of using an ethernet cable?

Thank you for the in depth answers sir, and have a good 2019!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Yes, your PC has a wireless card, so here is the W10 driver for it.

This package contains the DCHU driver installation package for the Realtek RTL8188EE, RTL8723BE, RTL8723DE, RTL8821CE and RTL8822BE wireless LAN Controller in the supported notebook and desktop models running a supported operating system (Microsoft Windows 10 and Windows10 Cloud OS).

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp88501-89000/sp88574.exe

Happy New Year to you too!

[Daxter]

Oh sorry! I misread your post, I thought you meant that I'd need to get hooked up to the internet in order to install windows from the creation tool. This isn't the case, is it?  I asked that because I don't have access to an ethernet connection at the moment.

Anyway thanks so much for telling me about the HP support assistant. For some reason I didn't have it installed already. Super helpful!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

You need another Windows PC with an internet connection so you can run the media creation tool to download and create the W10 installation media.