Anyone out there work on computers for a living? I have a serious question about a hewlett packard 5300 series laptop and removing the hard drive!! If anyone out there has any experience with this (the hard drives were/are notoriously failure-prone), then let me know why I cant slide the thing out.

np. - Nothing!

Wish I could help. Not familiar with that particular, but could probably figure it out IF I WAS THERE.

Did you unscrew the screws? All of them? (Usually 4 -- check both sides.*) Also, it's possible that even if you did unscrew screws, you may have unscrewed the wrong ones.

*EDIT -- scratch that, I'm thinking of CD/DVD drives. I have no idea how many hard drives usually have.

Cant even get the HD bay out of the slot. It is supposed to be a slot-loading , easy-access HD and it is definitely not.

Here is the link to the .pdf by HP

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00246219.pdf

If you go to the 'Replace Hard DRive' section, it gives a great tutorial, unfortunately, the part where it just slides out of the front is not happening. It feels like I am screwed in, but there are no screws left in sight!! I would hate to have to take the whole thing apart...

You're not trying to do this while it's on, are you? See that first instruction where it says power down and unplug? Make sure you do that, sometimes there's an electronic switch that holds it in place.

I have done that and removed the battery also

Sometimes you have to really tug on it...We use IBMs in work and when I have had to replace the HDs they have been tough at times..On a few you have to actually push the edge of it down away from the pc because it latches, and then pull it out..

Do what I do, use a bigger hammer.

Problem solved.

There was a third screw hidden.





I am at once enraged and embarassed.

NP - nothing!...yet

I rejoice.