Laptop hard drives and upgrades

[rallynavvie]

I've got an IBM ThinkPad 600X. The OEM hard drive is a little 12GB unit which isn't bad for what I was using it for but now I'd like to give it more drive space so I can use it for portable storage and photo/video work in the field. I've read on the IBM site that the drive is ATA-4 and I'm assuming it's just a 2.5" drive. Will later ATA tech 2.5" drives work in there? I'm looking at a 30-60GB drive from NewEgg, just a 5400rpm drive so as not to drain the batteries much. Of course IBM's site says it will only work with their drives but the drive itself doesn't look to be proprietary. I've got a 2.5" drive in a bus-powered FireWire enclosure but that's about all the experience I have with the little drives.

The laptop already has upgraded memory to 192MB. I'd like to upgrade it further, like at least 256MB. IBM says it'll go to 597MB or something but I can't see how that would be possible. Two 256MB modules would be ideal. Probably get memory on eBay.

There is also a DVD-ROM drive for it. This will be my next upgrade since playing DVDs on it would be a very handy feature for passengers during road trips or when I take flights to places. I can get one off eBay easily enough, that seems to be the place for laptop parts. I already got a brand new expansion battery, car/plane/DC adapter, and a replacement internal battery for it on eBay for a lot cheaper than from the official IBM source.

I'm liking this laptop though. I find new uses for it every day. Many small cities I visit have coffee shops or libraries with free wireless, as do more and more hotels. I was using it during my vacation this past week to connect with my home computers to check up on things, check email, and post here (of course) . Now when I get my HTPC/file server set up and stowed away I can remotely access it from anywhere in the house with the laptop to control the TV and IIS. Technology is cool

[Jester700]

Should be no problem with the drive you're considering.