What interface it uses. IDE, SCSI, SATA. ect..
How fast does the drive spin? Faster spin rates normally means a faster hard drive.
How much cache ram does the hard drive have. Usually more is better there as well.
What form factor is the hard drive. Is it for a laptop or Desktop computer?
What is the memory storage size of the drive?
How long is the Warranty?
Is it a brand name?
How hard is it to return the drive if it is defective? Do you have to pay to ship it back?
Will the hard drive be banged around alot? If so you may want to consider getting a solid state drive. Also called a SSD.
No, replacing a hard drive will.
Video memory
That crackling sound is your hard drive being read, and it can be fixed by replacing your hard drive with an expensive Solid State Drive.
Offline and then Prepare to remove
Initialize and remove dead segments
if that hard drive is replacing your old hard drive so that it is the only one in there, then yes you will have to reinstall the os. However, if you are planning on adding it in addition to your old one, then you wont have to reinstall it.
Everything is repairable... If you can get the case open its just a regular hard drive inside you can replace it. If its a cheap brand you may be better off replacing it.
The current average price of replacing a hard drive is around 200 dollars. This can be done through major retailers or a private chain.
They need replacing when they wear out. They could wear out at 23,000 miles if you drive hard with lots of stops or ride the brake with your foot. It is not normal for them to need replacing that quickly but it all depends on how you drive.
There are special procedures to follow when changing the hard drive which contains the memory for the PS3. If you are upgrading or otherwise replacing a hard drive you must follow the procedures to reduce any memory loss. See related link
Whether or not the hard drive has Windows installed on it is irrelevant to the actual process of replacing the drive. if you want to preserve the current Windows installation, you'll need to use hard drive imaging software to copy the data from the old drive. Otherwise, you can simply replace the drive and reinstall Windows as you would normally.
Replacing the hard drive with a SSD (Solid state drive) would improve performance.