Every day more and more users think about the question: how is the HDD replaced in the laptop with SSD? This topic is now particularly relevant: the hard disk as a storage device in a mobile computer is becoming obsolete.
Change or not change? That's the question
For many years, a discussion has been going on: will the hard drive be replaced by solid-state drives or not. Experienced users value SSDs for speed and reliability. However, any medal has two sides, so it should be noted that the reactivity of the drive is very expensive.
The high cost of SSDs for the most part and prevents it from entering into widespread use. Many owners of PCs and laptops, whose activities require the best performance indicators, still abandon the HDD.
Pros and cons of SSD and HDD
The fact is that the railway has a number of disadvantages in comparison with the SSD:
- the average disk for a laptop is heavier than a similar SSD;
- he is extremely unstable to falls and shaking;
- its read / write speed is lower;
- has high power consumption.
As a rule, it is because of them that many decide to replace, but one cannot but take into account the advantages of hard drives over solid-state drives:
- Volume. Currently, ordinary users have access from 320 GB to 10 TB. And the same SSDs in ordinary stores can be found at a maximum of 2TB. We are not talking about drives for industrial or server equipment, but only those that can be bought at the nearest computer market.
- Price. On hard drives, it is much lower. If we compare the cost of a popular hard disk of 2 TB with an SSD of the same capacity, it turns out that a solid-state drive is 16 times more expensive than an HDD.
- With SSD, it is almost impossible to recover deleted data due to the storage method. The maximum that can be done is to take the drive to the laboratory where the necessary equipment will be.
Based on the foregoing, we can conclude if the speed and security of data is more important than their volume. Do you value low power consumption? Feel free to switch to an SSD drive.
What kind of HDDs are used in a laptop?
Notebooks currently use 2.5-inch hard drives. This means that inside are “pancakes” of this particular diameter. Some MacBooks have 1.8 ″ hard drives, but this is a separate issue, and they won’t talk about them.
Each disk has a set of characteristics, such as:
- manufacturer;
- volume: the amount of data contained, usually in GB;
- buffer memory: fast memory or cash;
- rotation speed: the number of revolutions per minute made by the spindle;
- connection interface: the connector used to connect the disk to the board.
The price depends on the set of these characteristics and their quality. The most common version of a hard disk at the time of writing is:
- connection interface - SATA III;
- volume - 2 Tb;
- spindle rotation speed - 5400 rpm;
- buffer memory - 32 MB.
What SSDs can be installed instead of a hard drive?
The main difference between a solid-state drive and an HDD is that data is recorded in a non-mechanical way. Simply put, information is written to microchips. Due to this, a high write / read speed and low noise level are achieved.
Such drives have 4 common form factors:
- PCI-E AIC (add-in-card);
- M.2 2280;
- mSATA;
- 2.5 in.
In the context of this article, which is devoted to the question of how to replace the HDD in a laptop with an SSD, all attention will be paid to the drives of the latest format, i.e. 2.5 inches. They have the same shape with the HDD and the SATA III connection interface. A similar view allows you to remove the disk and install an SSD in its place by screwing it onto the same slide and closing it with the same cover.
MSata form factor SSD
Some laptops also support mSata. They have a special SATA III connector on the motherboard and two places for screws to secure the drive. Such SSDs can be used both as standalone storage devices, and paired with a hard drive, it depends on the design of the laptop.
In many Lenovo models, such an SSD-drive acts as an additional medium (as a cache). There are laptops in which mSata is installed in conjunction with the hard drive and is used as a system partition, that is, on it, besides the operating system, nothing is installed. Thanks to this solution, loading the OS is accelerated, and the amount of data storage remains quite large, as the information is written to disk.
2.5 ″ SSD
To successfully replace the HDD with SSD, you must select the correct drive. At the moment, it was possible to determine that it should be 2.5 inches and connected via SATA III. It is also worth paying attention to the thickness of the SSD, since it varies from 5 to 9.5 mm on hard drives. If you buy a too thick SSD, the lid on the laptop may not slam shut.
Next is a matter of taste. For home use, a sufficient amount is considered to be 100-300 GB. According to Tom Hardware, Samsung 850 EVO is recognized as the best SSD for users , with its affordable price less than $ 100, it has excellent characteristics. If you are an inexperienced user, just look for something similar in the description and you will not lose.
Replacing HDD to SSD in a laptop
The process of changing the hard drive to an SSD proceeds in the same way as installing a new hard drive.
The first thing to do if the old hard drive is to copy information from it to another medium. Important data must be transferred to the cloud, to a USB flash drive or removable disk.
You can buy a case for HDD 2.5, install the old hard one in it and use it later as a mobile storage medium.
Replacement process
First you need to remove the battery. If it is not removable, turn off the computer, remove the cover, and remove the battery connector from the motherboard.
- Remove the screws that hold the disc cover and remove it.
- Remove the screws holding the drive rail.
- Pull the slide from the connector to disconnect the HDD, and remove it from the case.
- Remove the screws that secure the drive to the slide and remove it.
- Take the drive, install it in the slide as the hard was, and tighten the screws.
- Lower the SSD with the slide into the case and slide them into the slot to connect the drive.
- Screw the slide carrier into the housing.
- Close the cover and tighten the screws.
- Connect the battery in the same way as you turned it off, and close the cover if necessary.
- Turn on the laptop and monitor the SSD.
The minimum check will be to enter the BIOS or UEFI and see how the drive is determined. In most laptop models, this can be done by pressing the DEL or F2 key (in some Enter) immediately after switching on.
If the drive is working and installed correctly, its name and serial number will be indicated in the information section. Additionally, you can conduct tests using the utility and check the rest, for example, recording speed.
Replacing HDD to SSD in an HP Notebook
The first thing to do is copy the information. This is written above. The principle of operation for all computers in this regard is the same.
1. Disconnect the battery from the HP laptop. If the battery is removable, like this model, then you can do it simply:
- unlock battery lock;
- pull on the second latch;
- remove the battery from the connector.
2. Use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the screws that hold the hard drive cover in the chassis. In most models, it is small, about ½ of the entire back surface. Remove the cover, you may have to apply a little force, as it can be secured to additional latches from the inside.
3. Loosen the screws that hold the drive sled. There may be 2 or 4. Slide the hard from the connector to disconnect it.
4. Pry the mount and remove the screws. If the hard drive is disconnected from the connector, it will be easy to do.
5. Unscrew the screws that hold the HDD in the slide. Usually they are located on one and the other end in 2 pieces.
6. Install the SSD in the slide instead of the hard disk and tighten the screws on both sides.
7. Install the drive mount with the drive in the chassis and slide it into the slot. Screw the slide screws back.
8. Close the housing cover, install the screws in the same order in which they were removed.
9. Connect the battery, that is, install it until it clicks into place. Slide the battery lock in the reverse position.
10. Turn on the laptop and check that the SSD is detected in the system, you can perform additional testing.
In this way, the HDD in the laptop is replaced with an SSD. In the vast majority of models, this work is the same. The differences usually lie in the way the battery is parsed and turned off.
Replacing HDD to SSD in Acer laptop
In this section, we will consider options for upgrading a hard drive to an SSD drive in Acer laptops. For clarity, an example will be given a model in which the battery is built-in, and requires almost complete analysis.
First of all, we still copy the important data. Here, the amount of information was small, so the transfer was made to a USB-stick. Turn off the laptop and proceed with the replacement.
1. The back cover of the housing must be removed. To do this, remove all the screws on the back side.
2. Remove the back, gently prying it around the perimeter. If the cover does not lend itself to either side, stop and check that all screws are removed.
3. Disconnect the battery by removing the cable from the connector by gently pulling it toward you. Do not tear off the plug, otherwise you will have to completely replace the battery.
4. In this model, the hard drive is not fixed in the carrier, but simply inserted into the connector on the board between the chassis mounts. In order to replace the HDD with SSD in a laptop, just remove the old drive by pulling it from the connector. Then put the drive in its place.
5 . Reconnect the battery. Make sure that the connector is level and not damaged.
6. Replace the housing cover and tighten all screws. Make sure that the back does not pinch the wires.
7. Turn on the laptop, check the performance of the SSD in any way. If the computer does not respond to the power button, you will have to disassemble it again to check the battery.
In this way, the HDD in the laptop is replaced with SSD for some models of the manufacturer Acer. You can rely on this instruction if you have to update other computers with a built-in battery.
Replacing HDD to SSD in a Lenovo laptop
There is no big difference from the previous two options here. It can be noted that replacing the disk with an SSD drive in this embodiment combined the two previous ones. In this Lenovo model, the battery is removable, but the HDD mount is located under the back of the case. There is no separate cover.
Following the main principle, you need to transfer the necessary data to another place or prepare the HDD-case in order to mount your old disk into it. This time we will not copy anything, insert the hard drive into Case and start using it as a portable “flash drive”.
1. First you need to turn off the battery. The battery for this model is removable, so you need to remove the lock and remove the battery.
2. In turn, unscrew all the screws that are located at the bottom. Be sure to check if your model has additional screws on the side.
3. Carefully remove the cover, snapping off each mount one by one. If the case does not give in, check whether all screws have been removed.
4. Loosen the screw that holds the drive slide. In this example, there is only one. Lift the HDD mounts and remove it from the laptop.
5. Use a screwdriver to remove the screws that hold the slide on the hard drive. In this model, the mounts have a shielded foil that protects the disk controller from being shorted to the chassis.
6. Install the new SSD drive into the HDD mount and replace it with the screw.
7. Close the notebook with the bottom of the case, gently snapping all the fasteners. Tighten the screws in the same order and connect the battery.
8. Turn on the laptop and test the drive in "BIOS" or some utility, for example, Victoria.
The ways to change the HDD to SSD in a laptop can be listed endlessly. The fact is that each model has its own disassembly principle. Therefore, if you are not qualified enough and do not have experience in this matter, it is recommended to contact professionals.
Replacing the hard drive with a solid state drive will increase the performance of your laptop by an order of magnitude. However, be sure to consider the parameters of the processor and the amount of RAM. If you have a very weak CPU installed and no more than 2 GB of RAM, then the system will slow down anyway, even with an SSD.
Evaluate your computer adequately, make only the necessary changes, and it will serve faithfully until you buy a new one.