Can RAM and hard drive from laptop be used in desktop?

[mommie Alice]

Hi,

I have dead laptop which I think motherboard died on me.

My son is building desktop computer and I was wondering if RAM or hard drive from my dead laptop can be used in desktop computer he is building?

Thank you so much.

[RiderKamen]

you mean a disk enclosure? someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[orangeman]

Laptop drives are 2.5" (I doubt you have the blade-type or 1.8 versions) so you'll need one of these 2.5 to 3.5 brackets for internal use.

As for ram, laptops use SODIMM and it's physically incompatible with a majority of desktop motherboards. You can buy adapters but desktop ram is ridiculously cheap and not worth the extra hassle. 

[Guest IonNuke]

I've mounted 2.5" SATA notebook drives inside a desktop before. It looks shady and won't run as fast but works.

[froggy604]

I think Nettops (desktop version of Netbooks) use the same RAM from laptops. The RAM is called SO-DIMM, or somthing similar, and the hard drives are 2.5" drive.

You can buy a Nettop kit at Newegg : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167043 , and install your own memory, and hard drive which is 3.5", so you need a 2.5" to 3.5" hard drive holder to use the hard drive in the Nettop.

There maybe other brands of Nettop brands which you can use a 2.5 inch hard drive on like this one : http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=424724&CatId=336

But, you need to make sure the RAM is compatible with the Nettop which usually use

Memory slot

200Pin SO-DIMM

Memory Type Supported

DDR2 800/667

Inexpensive price, Power savings, does not produce much heat, so it does not heat up your room while it is ON, space saving, lower noise, and cool design are the main advantages of a Nettop, but Nettops are slower then most desktops and laptops made in the last 3 years or more. However, they are fast enough for video, music, web browsing, office work, and casual gaming.

The Sound, CPU, Video, networking, and HDMI port are all integrated, so you don't have to install these parts manually on most Nettops.