Envy 4 hard drive failure

[Sahil13]

Hi Everyone,

I have a HP ENVY 4 1002-tx Ultrabook (Intel core i5, 32 gb ssd, Windows 7, out of warranty) which failed the Run-In Test and other HP diaognostic tests. The result - Hard disk smart check fails and gives out a long failure ID. I took a backup and reformatted the PC to its factory settings but the problem is still there. I have gone through the HP forum and reviewed some answers and assume that I have to change my Hard drive as the best possible solution (although it is till working but the HDD can stop working any moment). I would like to know:

1. Which HDD (hard disk drive) should I replace with as currently I have Hitachi 500 GB 5400 rpm? Should I go with the same brand or there are other good options. Also, this time I would like to go for 1 TB HDD

2. When I was looking for new HDD on web I found out there are HDD of different dimensions 1.8" or 2.5", cache size, SATA or PATA. Which one to look for this laptop?

3. Lastly is it easy to change the HDD on your own because it's an ultrabook or should I go to a repair shop

Thanks,

Sahil

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

The hard drive replacement is actually not that difficult. Remove the back cover and you gain access to all the internals. Even the motherboard is fairly easy to replace. Here is the manual:

Service Manual

See p. 37. The real issue you are going to run into is the 32 gig mSSD accelerator cache and the fact that storage is in RAID mode. Reloading an OS onto the new drive is a bit tricky and getting the "acceleration" working is also a little bit harder than a normal software installation. Do you have an HP recovery disk?

To answer the other question, you can use any 2.5 inch wide 7 mm thick SATA hard drive. This is a "superslim" configuration and is readily available but you have to be careful not to get the thicker 9.5 mm type. The 32 gig mSSD provides fast bootup and program access so you can get by without a solid state drive. I would get a 1 TB drive such as this one:

http://www.amazon.com/1TB-7200RPM-32MB-7MM-SATA/dp/B00IEY4KVY/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1461594199...

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

[Sahil13]

Thanks for your answer.

I don't have a separate recovery disk but I think it's preloaded in the SSD.

[Huffer]

No but if you can still boot the computer to Windows there is a recovery application that will let you make a recovery disk. 

[Sahil13]

I think i am going to replace myself as paying the labour charges are almost buying a new hard drive. Thanks for your guidance until now. I have ordered a new hard drive as the one you recommended and also my laptop can still boot I will make a recovery disk on my external hard drive.

I would like to know after replacing my hard drive, what are the next steps I should follow in order to do everything smoothly.