change hard disk in laptop

[colore]

hello

an old laptop specs sheet says that the hard disk is ATA-5

for what kind of hard drives do I have to look for in order to replace it?

I know it must be 2.5", but what other characteristics it should have? searching for ATA-5 in a shopping comparison website does not return much, are IDE the same? or PATA? or SATA?

also is there any other spec that might not be compatible?

thanks

[Ponch]

IDE (=PATA) and SATA are physically different interfaces, so this is the 1st thing to check. Unless your laptop is more than 3 years old, there's 99% chance it's a SATA (open the cover in case of doubt, IDE has 2 parallel rows of 20pins, Sata has 2 connectors aligned). For the rest, any new drive should be compatible (as your laptop doesn't look that old).

For small extra cash, a 7200rpm might be faster than the standard 5400rpm (but will also eat out more battery, if yours still lives).

[jaclaz]

Additionally, if instead of "an old laptop" you post EXACT make and model, it is likely that someone may be able to tell you whether it is Sata or Pata/IDE.

jaclaz