Asus G71GX HD Help

I've had my Asus G71GX for almost exactly a year, I bought it recertified off of NewEgg. Yesterday when I woke up I could no longer get Windows 7 64x Ultimate to boot. I've tried multiple things (repairing, reinstalling, loading previous states), but everything ends up taking 100 times longer than you would expect it to (once I get to the Windows 7 installation window, it literally takes a half hour to get to the next screen) and I set it to repair overnight, but when I woke up it was still processing, so I think I'm boned. I've come to the conclusion that my HD is borked. I tried to take out my HD but one of the screws is really stripped, my dad says he can take my laptop to work and use a tool to get it out. Even if this doesn't work, luckily the Asus G71GX has a 2nd HD port, which I can get access to. So I basically have 2 questions:



1. Is the HD likely the problem?

2. Assuming that, where can I get a replacement HD? I've read that I need a Asus brand clip or something in addition to any HD I get. I had planned on buying a SSD a year after getting my laptop anyway to supe it up a bit, so any links yall can provide to a good SSD would be greatly appreciated (120b min please).



Thanks!



Ok, I've found a SSD that is supposedly killer here: Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)



On the page is says

Quote:

2.5" to 3.5" Adapter Included The OCZ Vertex 2 Series is specifically designed for notebook computers coming in a 2.5-inch hard drive form factor. In addition, the installation kit includes a 2.5" to 3.5" bracket for matching with 3.5 drive bay to extend the storage of your desktop computer.

Does that mean I wouldn't need an Asus HD caddy? I believe I found the place to order them here:

Hard Drive Caddy



I'm basically ready to buy both of these but will wait for feedback from you guys to make sure I don't make a bad purchase. Thanks in advance.

Reply 1 : Asus G71GX HD Help

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Reply 2 : Asus G71GX HD Help

Found an alternate G73 drive caddy...



You can get a Dell caddy that works for our units that is much less expensive.



If you want to stick with Asus OEM caddy, you can get that if you wish.



Seeing your issues, I think you old HDD is boned.



Time to get 1 caddy, a SSD and a new 7200 rpm hdd.

Reply 3 : Asus G71GX HD Help

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chastity Found an alternate G73 drive caddy... You can get a Dell caddy that works for our units that is much less expensive. If you want to stick with Asus OEM caddy, you can get that if you wish. Seeing your issues, I think you old HDD is boned. Time to get 1 caddy, a SSD and a new 7200 rpm hdd.

Thanks for your help. New question: is it possible to to flash and install an OS on a SSD when it is your sole HD?