Want to replace eMachine M2105 laptop 40gig with Seagate 160gig

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GRISSOM

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My 40 gig burped then chkdsk deleted EVERYTHING. I'm assuming the 40 gig drive was the root of the problem an want to replace it with a Seagate 160 gig but have concerns about war stories I've read in various forums about doing this. Are any of these true?

1. Is there something called a "STAMP" on the eMachine motherboard that prevents installation of any hard drive that isn't purchased from eMachine?

2. The restore CD for the 40 gig eMachine won't work on the new 160 gig upgrade? I've even heard that it can't even be done with a brand new Windows XP SP2 home installation. What gives?

I've heard some horrible stories about upgrading eMachine laptop hard drives. I'm searching info before buying the new Seagate 160 gig drive.
 
Good luck to you. We have repaired a number of these with new drives. They don't remain fixed, crashing after three months. We suspect the cooling channels are too small... and when they fill with dust and hair, the M105 overheats.
We have NOT had any trouble using the restore discs to install windows on a Seagate or Western Digital 80 GB hard drive. We also have not had trouble installing WXP OEM on a larger drive up to 120 GB.
However, they do not stay fixed... due to some problem with the computer which we never bothered to understand.
We ordered a new 3-Disc recovery set from eMachines... and had no trouble installing it on a number of machines.
The problem with the other sizes is due to restrictions by Microsoft, not by eMachines... and eMachines tech support has been willing to help us reset tje system.
 
Quote: We suspect the cooling channels are too small... and when they fill with dust and hair, the M105 overheats.

Question: Can these "cooling channels" be cleaned?

Quote: We have NOT had any trouble using the restore discs to install windows on a Seagate or Western Digital 80 GB hard drive. We also have not had trouble installing WXP OEM on a larger drive up to 120 GB.
However, they do not stay fixed... due to some problem with the computer which we never bothered to understand.

Question: Which "do not stay fixed" ; both the 80 GB and the 120 GB or just the 120GB?
OR.. did you mean that they do not stay fixed regardless of the size of drive because of cooling channels being too small and are either NOT cleanable or clog up again within 3 months after being cleaned?

I noticed just before mine died that the fan was really working hard and the bottom of the laptop was almost too hot to touch.
 
I've decided to replace the original M2105 Hitachi 40g with a Seagate 80g and 'restore'. If this fixes the random WXP rebooting then I'll go after the cause of the overheating if/WHEN it reoccurs. I'll post results here.

Thanks again for all the help raybay.
 
UPDATE:
Seagate 80GB 7200/8MB installed and restored with eMachine restore CD's but the erratic random errors persist and eventually cause the original problem; corrupting XP Home to a point where it stops at the Safe Mode ~ Windows option. Now I suspect the MB -- will troubleshoot that next.
 
What you report is typical of the bad motherboard on that eMachines M2105.

Please let us know what you learn, and how you resolve the issue.
 
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