I'd get something like an M.2 SATA SSD to 2.5 IDE 44pin Converter paired with a decent M2 2242 SATA SSD .

An M2 SATA SSD will almost certainly perform better and the SSD should have wear leveling and trim support for much better longevity under a PC work load.

What OS are you using?

douglar wrote on 2022-11-02, 02:33:

What OS are you using?

Thanks for that. I'll look in to that.

MSDOS 5, 6.x, Win 3.11, Win NT 3.51 Workstation.

I'd use a CF card and an adapter. Much, much, cheaper and perfectly adequate.

CraigAB69 wrote on 2022-11-01, 23:28:

Hi, […]
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Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has used, on a consistent basis, an adapter SD to IDE (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/133931099824) to replace a IDE HD in a laptop?
1 gb laptop hard drives seem to be quite rare these days.
There are some projects I want to do and I prefer to be on hardware rather than emulation.

SD cards, as I understand it, are primarily used for storage and not the constant usage of an OS. So their longevity may be short?

Or is there another way?

Regards,
Craig

The storage industry makes 2.5-inch PATA SSDs for laptops/industrial systems, in the 32-128GB range, though you might be able to find larger, uncommon sizes. Just use one and you'll get all the benefits of an SSD, with the assurance that it fits perfectly. They don't cost very much and you can order them right off of Amazon.

CraigAB69 wrote on 2022-11-02, 05:47:

MSDOS 5, 6.x, Win 3.11, Win NT 3.51 Workstation.

IMHO a Disk On Module (DOM) with capacity from 512MB to 2GB might be more suitable as they were designed for industrial computers as HDD. You might also need a gender changer depending on the connector type of your laptop; most PATA connectors on laptops are 44-pin female in order to accept 44-pin male connectors of most 2.5" mechanical HDD.

Alternatively you can also use CF cards and adapter; they are much cheaper, easy to buy, easy to swap (such as DOS/Win311 on one card and WinNT on another), and much more stable and compatible than SD cards with adapters.

CraigAB69 wrote on 2022-11-02, 05:47:

douglar wrote on 2022-11-02, 02:33:

What OS are you using?

Thanks for that. I'll look in to that.

MSDOS 5, 6.x, Win 3.11, Win NT 3.51 Workstation.

Personally I far prefer CF over SD cards to replace small IDE disks. You might know it already, but CF cards basically speaks IDE. Most CF to IDE adapters simply passes through the signal, no bridge chips etc.

An even better alternative would be an IDE DOM (Disk On Module). They're specifically made for replacing HDDs. There are plenty of those on Ebay etc.

Don't know about NT 3.51, but the rest of the OSes won't write a lot to disk, and it's not like retro computers use to be daily drivers anyways. Weardown shouldn't be an issue.

--

Apparently I forgot to click the submit button before going to lunch, and you've gotten a couple of similar suggestions since then, but figured it might be worth posting anyways to confirm those at least 😀

Thanks, guys.
I will use the CF card until the 1Gb DOM comes from China.
I think I'll have to remove the plastic case from the DOM so that it will fit in the hard disk caddy of the Dell 800.