Can i put any hard drive in my laptop and have it run properly?

[computer taco]

I have an old Toshiba laptop that i got for free from my neighbor.  It is a 2003 model i believe and he gave it to me because it had hard drive failure and did not want to get it fixed.  I'm curious if i could get my Dell desktop computer's hard drive and stick it in the laptop so i can have a mobile machine.  Is this possible or no? If not possible what is a fairly cheap alternative? I am a tight on cash so i do'nt want to spend to much money on this.

[soybean]

No, you can't simply put desktop computer's hard drive in a laptop.  Desktop computers and laptops use different size (in physical dimensions) hard drives.  Desktop hard drives are normally 3.5 inch hard drives, while laptop hard drives are 2.5 inch.  Looks like $50 is going to be about the minimum cost for a hard drive for your laptop; see >here<. 

You also need to determine whether you need an ATA or SATA drive.  If you tell us exactly what model laptop you have, someone should be able to help with this determination.

[patio]

No.
You will need a laptop drive...they are 2.5" in size.
Desktop drives are quite larger.

Oooops ...Soybean....i didn't see you coming !
                 

[computer taco]

well thats a bummer... all i know about the laptop is that it is a Toshiba satellite... thanks a bunch though i'll just stick to my desktop I guess

[patio]

Probably worth buying a drive for it though...
Of course you would have to install an OS as well.