Hello, frequent admirer of the site, first time poster.

I have two related questions in two posts. The other post asks if my solution really is to replace the HDD on my laptop. This post assumes the answer is "sorry, yes", meaning I need to figure out how to do it quickly.

I do not wish to send my laptop into Sony to fix it; I fear it will take far too long and due to the * note below I may need to send it to South America, whereopon I am certain it will become infested with tarantulas. That violates Australian quarantine.

So I want to try putting in a new HDD myself. Is this stupid? Is there some voodoo that Sony does to the drive that I cannot? The drive I buy will likely be nonrefundable so I hope to get it right.

If it is smart to buy and install my own drive, what models can I get which will work with my system?

My system data:
Model: Sony Vaio PCG-Z1WAMP*
OS: Windows XP SP 2
HDD: Toshiba Mk6021GAS, ATA device, 60GB, serial # 4F89669T

* Part of my tragicomedy is that though I bought this in the USA from NewEgg, I am told this exact model is only a South American model. This makes support tricky as the tech support phone number is crackly and only in Spanish! It appears that the USA model PCG-Z1WAMP1 is very similar so I have been using that as I browse Sony Support.

Many thanks in advance,
Matty

Notebook hard drives are all pretty much standard 2.5 drives so any of them should work. I am not aware of any notebook maker that is using special drives.

the model you have listed is standard for laptops
look into western digital os seagate 2.5 HDD's the pins will fit
the trick is getting your data over to the new one