Hello David,
I'm actually really thinking about replacing the HDD, and if this is not solving the problem, I'll use it as a storage solution !
But just before I clicked on "Buy", I checked the comments about other users of Amazon.com regarding this product you suggested me as the optimum for the computer i've got, and this comment is not so reassuring ...
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
104 of 116 people found the following review helpful
Size Name:750 GB|Amazon Verified Purchase
Before I get into specifics, this caution - note the date and model on this (and other) Seagate internal hard drive reviews. Amazon lumps together drives of differing technology, size, and generation into one review pile. Look for the reviews that actually apply to the drive you're considering.
Even though I read multiple reviews warning that this 750GB drive is prone to failure, I'm an optimist so I bought one anyway. About two weeks later, my computer crashed with a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) which turned out to be due to a bad sector that had developed in a critical system file. I ran a repair, got the machine working again, and two days later got another BSOD from more newly-developed bad sectors. The drive's built-in SMART diagnostic system is now predicting imminent drive failure. Given the number of people who have had similar experiences with this Seagate 750GB internal laptop product, one that has not been on the market that long, Seagate should stop selling it until they fix the problem.
If you're even more optimistic than I am and buy this drive anyway, be aware of another problem (albeit fixable) that nobody will tell you about in advance. This 750GB drive uses a new 4k sector size. Seagate advertises that they have built-in code that should make the sector size transparent to your system. While it seems to be true that the drive doesn't require you to install special software to accommodate its sector size, nevertheless your machine may require that you install an updated version of Intel's Matrix Storage Manager before the drive will function properly. You will get errors that don't tell you that this is the problem. I had to figure it out for myself by web searches, and if I had not had been computer literate I would never have gotten the drive working in the first place.
Note that all this feedback only applies to the 750GB drive. Drives of capacity up to 500 GB use a "standard" sector size and don't have identical issues. I have owned the 500GB drive in this same line for a long time with no problems.
Even though I read multiple reviews warning that this 750GB drive is prone to failure, I'm an optimist so I bought one anyway. About two weeks later, my computer crashed with a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) which turned out to be due to a bad sector that had developed in a critical system file. I ran a repair, got the machine working again, and two days later got another BSOD from more newly-developed bad sectors. The drive's built-in SMART diagnostic system is now predicting imminent drive failure. Given the number of people who have had similar experiences with this Seagate 750GB internal laptop product, one that has not been on the market that long, Seagate should stop selling it until they fix the problem.
If you're even more optimistic than I am and buy this drive anyway, be aware of another problem (albeit fixable) that nobody will tell you about in advance. This 750GB drive uses a new 4k sector size. Seagate advertises that they have built-in code that should make the sector size transparent to your system. While it seems to be true that the drive doesn't require you to install special software to accommodate its sector size, nevertheless your machine may require that you install an updated version of Intel's Matrix Storage Manager before the drive will function properly. You will get errors that don't tell you that this is the problem. I had to figure it out for myself by web searches, and if I had not had been computer literate I would never have gotten the drive working in the first place.
Note that all this feedback only applies to the 750GB drive. Drives of capacity up to 500 GB use a "standard" sector size and don't have identical issues. I have owned the 500GB drive in this same line for a long time with no problems.
Anyway, it was in 2011 and maybe now the problem is solved, but do you think it still happens ? Is there another product that could also fit ?
I just took the actual HDD which was in the computer (I'm blond, I didn't think about taking the same than I had before ..... !), and this is a Toshiba but I can't tell which are the characteristics of this one :-(
Anyway, should I just buy the Seagate you found, check if it makes the computer working, and see what happens if not ?
Thanks again very much for your precious help!
Take care,
Julie