Pavilion 15 ab128na upgrading hard drive

[Sam_morris1]

Hi,

I'm thinking of purchasing a Pavilion 15 ab128na laptop and wanted to know about its upgrading capabilities.

It ships with a 256GB M.2 SSD drive but this maybe a bit small. Is there room for an additional HDD drive (like the pavilion gaming notebook)? So I would have, for example, the 256GB M.2 SSD drive and a 1TB HDD.

Or does the model only allow for 1 hard drive, so I would have to replace the SSD it comes with with a larger capacity SSD?

Many Thanks in advance

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Here is the Service Manual:

Manual

This Manual says Star Wars Edition and the 15-ab128na shares the same internals with that model. 

The problem will be that if your laptop ships with just the M.2 mSSD I do not believe they will include the mounting kit for a 2.5 inch hard drive. You would have to acquire that part in the secondary market somehow.

Hard Drive Hardware Kit (brackets and connector) 809296-001

http://www.ebay.com/itm/809296-001-Hp-15-AB027CL-Hard-Drive-Caddy-Kit-Grade-A-/171992018156?hash=ite...

Also, accessing the hard drive bay is a bit of a chore and will put the warranty in jeopardy. 

But to directly answer your question the laptop is designed to have both an M.2 and 2.5 inch SATA drive at the same time. 

You could also install a hard drive as pure storage using the DVD drive slot with an adapter. Obviously you lose the optical drive but I find myself using mine very rarely these days, anyway. Using that bay will not impact the warranty. 

Let us know if you need any more help. 

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

[Sam_morris1]

Thank you very much this answers my question perfectly! I think I will consider replacing the optical drive with storage, it seems like an easier process and not voiding the warranty at the same time is a bonus!

[beegmouse]

Hello, Do you have a reccomended reseller for this part in the UK?

it ships by ebay from the US, but the shipping is more than the part.