my 9 year old Compag laptop is giving me problems. I was looking at laptops at wally world this morning and there is the choice of a standard hard drive or a solid state hard drive. I'm thinking just the standard hard drive just in case I need to play a cd. which is better?

I must be confused...hard drives do not play CD's DVD's or Blu_rays's.

The difference is between a spinning disk(s) and computer chips as the hard-drive - aka non-removable storage.

The solid state is longer lasting, faster, and less prone to shock failure.

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On the Oak Savannah

A standard hard rive is mechanical - it has a motor and spinning disks the hold the bits of data. A solid state hard drive is not mechanical - it's a memory chip of sorts because it isn't mechanical, it tends to be more reliable and faster to read/write data. The type of drive had nothing to do with playing a CD - totally separate components. IMHO the solid state hard is definitely better. They tend to be costlier, especially when you get into the larger capacity drives, so a popular option is to have a solid state drive as the main drive that holds the operating system and some programs, and a second mechanical drive that will hold terabytes of data, such as what photographers need.

SSD's are quite a bit faster than standard hard drives. Most definitely get one with a SSD in it.


ETA:


Mom has a Lenovo desktop that has been bogging down a lot lately with lots of HDD activity when it does. I picked up a $50 500GB SSD off Ebay and cloned everything over to it with our Acronis TrueImage software. Swapped drives and everything booted up fine. No more bogging down and excess HDD activity.

One thing I noticed when I was inside the computer doing the work was how cheap everything in it was. The 1TB HDD that came with the box originally is older larger form instead of the common 3.5 laptop size HDD that are prevalent these days. There are 2 SATA connectors, one for the HDD and one for the DVDROM. No possibility of adding another internal HDD, you have to connect through one of the external USB ports. There is no power supply in this computer. It is built into the motherboard. Cheapest flimsiest DVDROM I have ever seen. Although, at least it has one. This was not a budget box either. I think we paid about $800 for it a couple years back. Pretty sad from one of the bigger names in computers these days.

I have had much better luck with Acer brand laptops and desktops compared to any others. I have a darn nice Acer 17inch screen laptop that is 7 or 8 years old that still works better than most modern laptops. I updated it to the highest speed CPU, max memory and a SSD hard drive last year for $100.

SSDs are faster, more reliable with no moving parts.
The old school hard drives are spinning discs turning fast at several Thousand RPM.
The solid state downside Is they are usually smaller.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

I should have realized the difference. when I start my computer up in the morning it gives me a warning that the cooling fan ain't working some or all of the time. I have given it a thought to just get the fan replaced but that would probably cost as much as new computer even if the fan was available. I just hate starting over with a new computer after getting this one just how I want it. since Windows Live Mail is no longer available I have to start with a new e-mail program as well. at least I have a copy of all my e-mail addresses so it is just a matter copying them over. I will have to start looking over the computers again. wally world have an HP for about $350 which is in my price range.

I agree with the others. The hard drive whether traditional or SSD does not play CDs. That is the job of an optical drive, and most new computers come without one these days. The SSD is faster (assuming it's PCIe rather than SATA), and it should be more reliable and long lasting than a traditional hard drive. A SATA SSD is only a little faster than a traditional drive because of the limitations of the interface. The drawback is that the SSD costs more than a traditional hard drive.

If you need to use the computer for playing CDs or DVDs look for one with an optical drive. They are becoming less common, but can still be found.

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Or something like that . . .

Cooling fans on laptops are not that difficult to replace, but it's sometimes difficult to find the right fan. I've replaced a couple, and it took some searching to locate the right part. Desktop cooling fans, on the other hand, are readily available and cheap.

It may just be bad luck, but I have found HP laptops to be problematic. I've had much better luck with Dell, Acer, or Lenovo. Acer is often the least expensive brand available feature for feature.

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Or something like that . . .

You are mixing things up here. Let's review:

A "Hard Drive" is similar to an "Optical Drive" (a.k.a. - "CD/DVD/Blu-Ray Drive") but not the same thing. Other than how they are built, a hard drive is generally not removable when the computer is in use; the disc for an optical drive is.

As for "Standard" (HDD) versus "Solid State" (SSD), a standard drive uses multiple spinning magnetic discs to store data where a SSD uses non-volatile computer chips with no moving parts for the same task. The SSD is much tougher, much faster and uses less power as compared to a standard hard drive. The computer will boot up faster, programs will run faster, everything will run cooler and be more tolerant of bumps and small drops, and the battery will last longer. When run side-by-side, you will be amazed by the difference.

However, a SSD will cost more. How much more? Not so much as their prices have been falling for years as they become more and more prevalent. I have three different computers - all of them have a SSD.

My advice - get the computer with the Solid State Drive; a small or moderate increase in price is more than offset by the benefits, even for a basic or intermediate user.

It is interesting how apparent drive speed is highly dependent on the OS.
Since probably macOS 10.9 Mavericks, Mac performance has been very slug-like and pretty much unusable with a mechanical hard disk. I have no idea what they did to cripple the performance, but it is terrible. 10.6 Snow Leopard runs fine with a hard disk.

It has been a while since I've used Windows on a hard disk, so I don't know how well behaved Windows 10 is. An SSD is ok.

I have been playing around with Linux, a hard disk is perfectly adequate and works ok, an SSD is nice improvement but not a necessity.

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Common sense isn't so common.

Definitely choose one with a solid state drive. I replaced an original drive with an SSD in my HP. The difference is like night and day. Incredibly fast,

I agree the SSD is better but more expensive. As far as optical/CD_DVD drivesgo they are getting harder and harder to find in laptops which would be a big selling point for me. No optical drive no sale as far as I would be concerned.

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I Cor. 10:13 "1611KJV"

One other option, depending upon how much you want to pay, is to get a laptop with both a relatively small SSD (128 GB for example) and a 1 TB regular hard drive. Then assign a C (usually automatic) to the SSD and only have your programs running on it. Then assign "E" to the "regular hard drive" and use that one for all documents, tables, databases etc. That way you will boot up faster and will not worry about exceeding storage limits as you will never fill a 1 TB regular hard drive unless you store and run high quality videos / movies.

If you use Windows 10 (or earlier versions) and Microsoft 365 then you will simply have to change the default assignment of "saved documents etc." This is very simple once you have done it for one of the Office programs you do it for all. Dave_n

I have heard of Acer but not Lenovo. there was a Lenovo at wally world. I will have to look into that

I've found that large SSD drives go on sale fairly often. what we've done for my wife is get fairly nice laptop with a standard HD and then buy a large SSD drive and switch, cloning the OS onto the new drive. Cheaper and you end up with a very large SSD drive. I've got an old dell that I changed to about a 500GB and doubled the ram. The Dell website said RAM wasn't upgradable but the internet said otherwise. It's only 8GB or ram but it was only 4. It sees the 8GB just fine. The 2 upgrades really improved my computer so I hope to get another 2 years out of it. A fan shouldn't be too hard to change out.

The Achilles heel of laptops is heat dissipation. While new designs are more efficient and run cooler for a given load, thermal issues could still arrise.

If you plan on continuing to be a laptop owner, consider getting a laptop cooler. It is a base with a cooling fan that blows cool air at the underside of your computer. It is typically bus-powered from your USB. The one I've been using for the last decade is made by Thermaltake.
Good luck.

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Slava Ukraini!

so would this solve a cooling problem that already exists? I looked at the their website. what version of the laptop cooler did you purchase> I didn't see any pricing on their website

Cooling lap tops.
Every once in the while turn the thing over and clean out the cooling fan grate maybe blast it with canned air. DO NOT use an compressed air hose. You can spin the fan so fast it is ruined with compressed air.

Our cooler is the Thermaltake Massive 23 LX. It fits up to the 17" laptop size.
Massive23 LX

Can't know if it will help the issue you face, but it couldn't hurt.
It's one of two prophylactic procedures we use at home as insurance against potential computer problems. The other is thing we do is plug computers, and all expensive electronics, into "UPS" Uninterruptible Power Supplies" to protect against under and over voltage conditions. The UPS brand we've settled on is the Cyberpower "Pure Sinewave" series.

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Slava Ukraini!

My old hard drive started getting the death click every now and then. I knew it was just a matter of time.

I bought a new 3 TB drive, and a clone program. Plugged the new drive in and ran the program. It took about 8 hours or more to clone everything.

After it was finished, I swapped out the hard drives. Started up my PC and it was exactly like it was before.

I've had better luck with HP/Compaq desk tops and lap tops than any other brand.

Bought my first PC back in the 90's. Never knew a soul who owned one. Found a PC dude at work and asked him what kind to buy. He said get a Compaq, told him I didn't want a little one I wanted a big one.

< < < rimshot > > >

And use less power, so battery life before a charge should be a bit longer too.

Yes, see if you can cure the current problem, before going for
replacement

Laptops tend to accumulate a lot of very find dander/dust,
all over cooling fins, fan blades, etc. No need for external
"laptop coolers", just clean the junk out.

I go with vacuum, instead of pressure, with hose from
household vacuum cleaner. Power laptop off, and put
hose end *near* every vent/grill on the cabinet for
a few seconds. I agree with Steelslayer, avoid overspeeding
the fan--I keep a fingertip-gap between hose and cabinet,
to moderate the suction.

Its worked so far, for me. Think this laptop dates back to
2006...

I bought the first laptop cooler for a brand new MacBook laptop that would spool-up the internal fan speed until it's roar was disturbingly loud, and the laptop locked-up. The external cooler fixed the problem and kept the Mac much quieter.
Apple eventually issued a patch for this thermal problem that lowered the voltage to the graphics chip, which of course lowered it's capability.
Computer components can get hot enough to self-destruct and the space limitations of laptop design mean cooling solutions are less than optimal.
These external coolers keep the laptop's internal fan from running at high speed. That's a better, cooler environment for the computer.


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Slava Ukraini!

Heat is probably the number 1 killer for laptops.

Too many people lay them on beds and stuff where they can't get any ventilation.

I bought a laptop stand years ago. It's curved to allow airflow under it, plus has a built in fan. Just plug it in the laptop USB port.

Just checked Amazon, they have some crazy ones now with LED lights and stuff.

I agree strongly with this. It is a good idea to blow out the vents now and then with canned air. If the vents get clogged with dust and the heat cannot exhaust you cook components inside quickly. My best friend's laptop started shutting itself down by itself recently. When I checked it the temp of the CPU was over 90 degrees Centigrade. It should have been down in the low 40's. We cleared out his exhaust vents but the laptop's USB ports no longer work, although everything else seems to be okay.