Any Computer Folks Here?

[5900_XL-1]

I killed my laptop by water damage. It is definitely dead.

I'm considering buying another used one, same model, and want to know by you experts if I can simply put the hard drive from my dead unit into a used but working laptop of the same model. The HDD from the wet lappy will read when installed into a docking station, so it works.

My goal is to get back to having a machine with all of my files and utilities, and I'm finding some listed on Ebay as working, for around $60 but it has no OS. If my drive which I have mow from the dead lappy, all I need to know is if the new, used unit would simply take the old drive and simply work.

Y'all think the laptop mainframe would take the drive I have now and spin up and run? Does the bios care?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Southwind]

If it's the exact same model and the drive is good it should go right in and boot up.

 

[5900_XL-1]

That's what I'm hoping for. Another poster from another site said it would need the original OS install disk which came with the laptop years ago, because the serial# of the CPU would show up as different. I seriously doubt that the Dell install disk can be found after all these years, so I'm crossing my fingers that you are entirely correct.

Anyways, I'll find out in a week or so, depending on USPS, which BTW is on holiday today. Before out govt even thinks about stopping social security, they should eliminate these useless USPS holidays! I wish I had even half the paid holidays when I was in the work sector!

Never fails that when I REALLY need something, there's a holiday :-(

 

[5900_XL-1]

Good news! My used laptop from ebay came today, and the quick replacement of the old original hard drive, spun right up. EXACTLY what I wanted, worth all of the $60 IMO!

I didn't know ahead of time, but I got extra memory and a machine which looks pristene in appearance.

Y'all were a great support, thanks!