Is it possible to upgrade hard drive in this model?

[Mitucha]

Hello,

I own a Pavilion 15-n070sw (no longer under warranty) and was wondering about upgrading my hdd drive to ssd. However I noticed some users reporting compatibility problems between this model and ssd drive (+ there is no option to set AHCI mode in BIOS settings..). Since I don't want to invest money in a drive I won't be able to use, I wanted to double check here - will this model support a ssd drive?

Many thanks in advance for clearing that up for me!

M

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Yes it absolutely will accept an SSD. There is no need to mess with the BIOS as the only setting for storage controller is ahci. You could not set it to anything else if you wanted to. Windows 7 and higher will simply enable TRIM and NCQ which is what you need for SSD optimization. A lot of tutorials out there come from an earlier era when it was more difficult to get an SSD working. Here is the Service Manual:

Manual

Pages 63-70 are the "how to" for removing the top cover and replacing the hard drive with a SATA 2.5 inch SSD. I can recommend a Samsung 850 Evo as the best consumer SSD, but many others are good and you can shop for a deal. 

The trick to this is planning in advance how you will reinstall Windows clean or clone or install from a Windows system image backup. All are viable options but have their own procedures and pitfalls. We can help with that. 

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

[Mitucha]

Thanks a lot! I'm leaning towards clear-install option on ssd drive and using my old hdd for external storage or putting it in a dvd rw bay. But I don't feel comfortable dissassembling everything myself since this model doesn't have an easy acces to hdd. I'll be sure to turn for help here with installing windows.

But first I'll be going shoping for ssd drive since it's safe to upgrade.  Thanks again!