Changing hard drive & operating system

[MrMoeMoe]

I have gotten an Error message: Smart Hard disk error, has detected an imminent failure. Please back up and run Hard disk test.

I did that and it failed. I have no warranty so I am trying to do it myself.

 I have a 640GB (5400RPM) Hard drive; I want to replace it with 1TB.

Does it have to be the same 5400RPM?

Does make and model make a difference?

And I don’t have a backup for the operating system, where can I get one?

Any suggestions or tips or stuff I am missing on the procedure to change the hard drive & operating system? Please advise.

Thanks

[Huffer]

First thing: where do you live (country)? It does not have to be a 5400 rpm and in fact I would say you should not install a 5400 rpm drive. Get at least a 7200 rpm model or better yet, a solid state drive. 

Your was originally a Windows 7 machine and Windows 7 is hard to get now. There is no free place to download it and HP no longer stocks Windows 7 recovery disks. Did you every by any chance do the free Windows 10 upgrade? If you did then Windows 10 is a free download and you would not need a Key Code it will just activate. If not we can perhaps help you find a Windows 7 recovery disk from a third party vendor. 

If you live in the US here is a 7200 rpm 1 TB drive which would be the minimum thing I would use for a reinstall. 

https://www.amazon.com/HGST-Travelstar-2-5-Inch-Internal-0J22423/dp/B00B4QESVQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qi...

Brand of hard drive is not relevant. They are all interchangeable, generic. The only thing that matters is dimensions and the one linked above is the correct size.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpV8-UaGWac

if this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as Solution" to help others find it.  

[WAWood · Accepted solution]

@MrMoeMoe

Hello;

Allow me to welcome you to the HP forums!

I'll be happy to answer your questions ...

Yes, you can replace the smaller capacity drive with a larger one, the rotation speed does not have to be the same (although, 7200 RPM disk will generate more heat than 5400), and the make and model does not matter as long as it is a "laptop" drive (2 1/5 inches) and SATA connection.

There is no backup as such for the OS; instead, what you will need is something know as HP Recovery Media:  

HP Recovery Media is a set of DVDs and a CD, or USB stick, that will erase the hard drive (removing all data, settings, and applications, reinstall the original OS, drivers, and some HP Utilities. In some cases, you may be able to order a USB stick instead of disks. You have to order these from HP; they can not be downloaded.

You can look online for Recovery Media starting with the linked paged: http://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers

Once there, input your Product name or number. On your Software and Drivers Download page, select your Operating System and and Version. Click "Update". If HP Recovery Media is available for your machine, down near the bottom of the page, you will see an entry for Order Recovery Media-CD/DVD/USB. Click the "+" symbol to expand that entry and click on Order Media for details.

Or, if you prefer, you can do the same by contacting HP Customer Service:

If you live in the US or Canada, contact information is on this page: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/phone-assist.html#section1

If you live elsewhere, contact information is on this page: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/ww-contact-us.html

NOTE: After you get through, stay on the line until you are finally able to talk to some one -- it can take a while!

If you have trouble finding a phone number, then try: 1 (800) 474-6836

If HP no longer provides Recovery Media for your model, a couple of other sites you can check are: http://www.computersurgeons.com/ and http://www.restoredisks.com/

Once you have the media, read through this: http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00006110

Good Luck

[MrMoeMoe]

Thank you very much for all this information! This was very informative and definately be very helpful. Yes I am in the north east of the U.S.

thanks again for your help and saving some money!

[MrMoeMoe]

Thanks and  I am in the North East of the U.S, and I did upgrade for windows 10.

You mentioned that a Solid State drive is also good. Would you have an Amazon link for that, like the one for the 1TB hard drive..

thank you again.

[Huffer]

Sure. What is your budget? SSDs are significantly more expensive. A 240 gig SSD costs about the same as a 1 TB hard drive. 

[MrMoeMoe]

I saw the prices of the SSD and they are very expensive. I was  looking on Ebay and they advertise the Hybird drive for 70 dollars but most of them are refurbished. So I am just sticking to the link you sent me from Amazon.

[Huffer]

OK for me it is either an SSD or a 7200 rpm mechanical drive. I do not find the hybrid drives live up to their hype. 

[MrMoeMoe]

Hi I got hard drive from amazon and changing it was easy from the video thanks. But when I finished changing the hard drive I got " No bootable device found press any key" 

however I was able to get the recovery disk from a one time copy.

I tried using a USB stick but it wouldn't work. So I had to use 5 blank disk.  The first time all 5 disk loaded up but when I pressed the ESC key to restart I got " No bootable device found press any key"  again.

So I loaded the 5 recovery disk again but on the 2nd disk I got a different error message:
 
"Recovery manage could not restore your computer using the factory image. Please contact HP support. Error code 0xe0ef000e.

think I made an error some where thanks.

[Huffer]

What does this mean:

however I was able to get the recovery disk from a one time copy.