Computers & Tablets

[Ane1]

I purchased a internal hard drive for my Dell inspirion 1720 and it doesn't fit correctly. It's too short and the connecting prongs at the top don't connect. The hard drive says Toshiba on it but my lap top is Dell. So I'm pretty sure i recieved the incorrect part. Please help me out

[deusexmachina Valued Contributor]

Your hard drive might be in a "caddy" which needs to be transferred to the new hard drive before it can be installed. A hard drive caddy is a connector board which the hard drive is screwed into. It converts the pins on your hard drive to fit the connection on the laptop itself. I'm not sure if I can link external sites, but if you search for "Dell inspirion 1720 hard drive caddy" you'll see examples of what this piece looks like.

https://youtu.be/ddm7cBH32Y8?t=18 shows the process of removing the hard drive from the caddy. You'll need to put your new hard drive into the old caddy before connecting it to the laptop.

If this is not the issue, we'll need some more information. However, the brand of the hard drive doesn't matter and it doesn't have to match the brand of the computer.

[Dave-BBY Retired: Social Media Specialist]

Hello Ane1,

I'm with deusexmachina on this one. When you opened up the laptop to replace the original hard drive, was that hard drive not in its caddy? If it is, then you'd have to remove the 4 bolts in the back that hold it down and swap it for a new one. The new one should be a 2.5" version and if it's an SSD (which is traditionally skinnier than a mechanical drive) the packaging should include a spacer to stick on and remove any loosening.