Reader Support
How do I replace my hard drive?
How do I replace my hard drive? Q I have an Advent Torino X600 laptop that currently runs very slowly. I would like to follow the advice given in Issue 536’s cover feature (‘Missing Manual for PC & Laptop Upgrades’), and replace the hard drive with an SSD. The problem is that I can’t see how to open the laptop to carry this out, and I can’t find a manual to help. The machine came with a link to the Advent website, but this appears to no longer exist. Can you help please? Frank Turley
A Unfortunately, the Advent Computers brand is no more, so it can be difficult or impossible to find manuals for some older models. We contacted Dixons Stores Group, which was responsible for the Advent range and, while the company does maintain a database of support materials for older models, the X600 isn’t one of them. The firm’s advice was to take the laptop into one of its PC World stores so that its staff could take a look, and then advise you on how to proceed.
If that’s not possible, the best we can offer are some general pointers. Access to laptop components, such as hard drives and memory modules, is usually via removable panels on the laptop’s underside.
However, such plates are usually obvious to identify so, if none exist, then it’s possible that access is instead via the keyboard. If you look carefully at the keyboard’s top and bottom edges, you might find that it clips out to pivot forward or up – and then you should be able to access the drive.
If this doesn’t provide access, the only way in is likely to involve removing the entire underside of the laptop. If you can’t see any screws, remove the rubber feet. There might also be one or more screws under the warranty and software-licence stickers, so look for those too.
Whatever you do, though, don’t try forcing the case off. If it doesn’t come away reasonably easily, then there are probably still some screws or clips in place somewhere. Where’s the Command Prompt option? Q On page 67 of Issue 536’s Problems Solved you offered a possible solution for corrupt system files to execute the command sfc /scannow in the Command Prompt window. I tried to follow your instructions to open a Command Prompt window but, though I do see a menu when I right-click the Start button, it doesn’t include a Command Prompt option. If I instead click Run and then type command or command prompt before pressing Enter, a window appears to tell me it cannot find the tool.
I searched on the web for solutions but most of the advice seems out of date. So, my attempt to use your advice failed at the first click. What do you have to do to open the Command Prompt window?’ I’m running Windows 10 (build 1803). Ian Watkins
A After clicking Start, you should type cmd, then you’ll see the Command Prompt option. We show this in the accompanying screenshot but we did make a slight mistake in our instructions (it used to be possible to right-click the Start button to see Command Prompt). So, we’re sorry about that. Incidentally, the ‘cmd’ command is also what you need if you want to launch Command Prompt from the Run box (see screenshot above). Why can’t I format as NTFS?
Q I tried to follow reader Robert Aindow’s tip, on page 42 of Issue 536, to format a USB stick as NTFS. However, when I open the ‘File system’ menu I don’t see NTFS listed. Could this be because I’m still using Windows Vista? Margot Horner
A This is a problem that can be encountered in older and newer versions of Windows, depending on how they’ve been set up. To fix it, launch Device Manager (by pressing Windows key+r), type devmgmt.msc in the Run box and press Enter. Click to expand the ‘Disk drives’ category, then right-click the relevant USB drive and choose Properties. In the box that opens, click to select the Policies tab, then select the ‘Better performance’ option (see screenshot left), before clicking OK. Now try Robert’s tip again and the NTFS option will be there.