Envy 700-230QE upgrade HDD to SSD

[HSBDon]

I want to upgrade my HDD to a SSD by cloning the HDD to the SSD.

What SSD should I buy?  I would like to use the Western Digital 2TB WD_Black SN750 NVMe Internal Gaming SSD, but it seems my computer will not support NVMe.  So, is my best bet to got with a good SATA III drive?

Really appreciate any help you can offer!  Thanks in advance!

Oh, and while I'm no beginner, I hope to not get into a technical mess.  Looking for a straightforward upgrade.

[Photoray002 · Accepted solution]

Hello @HSBDon 

You can use a 2.5 inch Sata SSD in place of an old HDD. It will connect the same with a Sata cable and sata power connector.

Not sure if your machine has Sata power connectors or conventional molex, but there are adapters for that if needed.

You will also need a bracket to mount the 2.5 inch drive in the 3.5 inch bay.

Something like this should work. https://www.amazon.com/Mounting-Bracket-SNANSHI-Adapter-Holder/dp/B0183FSG68/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&key...

Your manual for replacing drives page 2... http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02871896

Is this what you needed to know?

[HSBDon]

Yes, that is pretty much what I thought.  

I have software to clone the HDD to the SSD, and I'm hoping it goes smoothly.

Thanks much!

[Photoray002]

You are very welcome.  🙂

[HSBDon]

One more if you don't mind.

Do you know if I can install the SSD as a second drive, then clone the HDD to it, then set up to boot from the SSD?

Would seem to simplify the whole process, it extra SATA and power connectors are there.

Thanks again.

[Photoray002]

You could clone it to the new SSD yes. Keeping them all on there when you boot afterward might be an issue. You can switch sata ports afterward, then clean the old drive so you can use it as a data drive. Some guys use a USB to Sata adapter also. Ive used them and they are handy.

Depending on what software you use, you may or may not want to realign the cloned drive.

I use Aomei free version for home use... https://www.ubackup.com/clone/clone-hard-drive-to-ssd-4348.html

Article on partition alignment... https://www.ubackup.com/features/partition-alignment.html

[Photoray002]

But cloning might  also split the 2TB SSD into a smaller partition if your old drive was smaller.

I really recommend doing a clean install  instead. I assume you are on windows 10?

[HSBDon]

I'd really like to clone if at all possible.  I have a good bit of software that would be quite difficult or almost impossible to reinstall.  The current drive is a 2TB drive and has C:, D:, and F: logical drives.  I'd plan to clone onto a 2TB SSD, hoping to keep things as they are.  If I can keep the original HDD internally, I'll just wipe it and use it as backup or extra storage.

Thanks so much for all the excellent information and advice.  I do appreciate it !!

[Photoray002]

If you end up with a C drive that has the same smaller partition as the old drive, you can use tools to add the unallocated space to the C drive. It probably wont be as easy as doing it in the disk manager. Aomei will allow you to clone and manually adjust partition space. But if you cant, here is how to do it with other Aomei software... https://www.diskpart.com/articles/move-unallocated-space-to-c-drive-windows-10-4125.html