Compatible Hard Drive for HP 15-1162DX?

[KeefKay]

Hello there,

I recently ran a hardware diagnostic test on my laptop and the hard drive is faulty, affecting my laptop in several ways. I was wondering which specific hard drives are compatible with my current one, and where I may buy them. Don't know anything about hard drives and how they differ, so I'm afraid of buying the wrong one. Any help would be appreciated! 

Thank you!

[Huffer]

Unfortunately the model number you give has to be off by a number or letter since it is not returning any "hits' in a search of available manuals. 

Fortunately for you, laptop hard drives are generic, industry standard. You need a 2.5 inch wide and 7mm or 9.5 mm thick SATA hard drive. They are sold on amazon.com and in bricks and mortar stores like Frys and Best Buy.

Are you in the US? Some laptops do have special requirements like 7 mm thick only or use a different class of drive called a solid state drive. And we actually need to discuss your needs and budget because what seems like a tragedy (the death of a hard drive) might be opportunity knocking at the door as you have the chance to install a solid state drive that will make your laptop perform like its on Steroids. 

More later. For now we need the correct model number. Click this link for help with that.

http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=emr_na-c00033108

[KeefKay]

Hi Huffer,

Thank you so much for your quick response and your thoroughness! No wonder I was having so much trouble finding the right hard drive... because my model number was wrong!! The correct model number is 15-f162dx.

Yes, I am in California. Definitely open to the idea of a SSD. First would like to compare prices of each one that I know for sure will be compatible with mine. 

Would it be safe to say that I can purchase any 2.5" wide and 7mm thick SATA Hard Drive? 

Also, silly question, but is SATA the same as SATA 2 or 3 in terms of compatibility? Or is my laptop only compatible with SATA 1? 

Thank you!

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

SATA is SATA...all interoperational, backward compatible, interchangeable. You will have a hard time finding anything on the market that is not SATA-III and your laptop system is SATA-III so a good match but even if you found a SATA-II drive it would work, just not optimally. For reference and illustration, a SATA-III disk will run fine on an old SATA-I motherboard. The speed will drop back to the speed of the slowest component in the pairing. 

From the Manual:

Supports 6.35 cm (2.5 in) hard drives in 9.5 mm (.37 in) and 7.0 mm (.28 in) thicknesses (all hard drives use the same bracket)

Here is the Manual:

Manual

Page 44 shows hard drive replacement. Not real easy. Not your exact model but pretty close and shows the work you have to do to get in there:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpmkHPE9od4

Your laptop came with a 750 gig 5400 rpm. You want at least a 7200 rpm hard drive or an SSD. 

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Performance-Mobile-Hard-Drive/dp/B01DOL05OC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484...

Post back for more information, other options or to discuss SSDs and software migration/reinstallation. 

If this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as SOlution" to help others find it.