Upgrading my HP OMEN 15 (2017) to a M.2 SSD

[riceng16]

I recently got a error code that stated that my hardrive was failing and so I decided to get a upgrade from my 1TB hard drive to a M. 2 SSD (Crucial MX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA M.2 Type 2280SS Internal SSD - CT1000MX500SSD4). I'm not sure if this is compatible to my laptop however and was wondering if someone could give me a few pointers to see if this is a possibility.  I had entered my product number ( X7R18AV) into the search bar and got (HP OMEN 15-ax200 CTO Laptop PC) as a result so I assumed that this is my laptop, if anyone can help verify this it would be appreciated. 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

According to chapter 1 of the service manual, you can upgrade to the even better performing M.2 NVMe drive.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05357609

https://www.crucial.com/ssd/p1/ct1000p1ssd8/ct13043633

[old_geekster]

@riceng16, welcome to the forum.

Here is the Maintenance and Service Guide for the laptop:  http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05357609

On Page 41is a list of compatible M.2, SSD's and instructions for uninstalling it and reinstalling it.  Also, here are the M.2, SSD's that are recommended by Crucial for your laptop:  https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-for/hp---compaq/hp-omen-15t-ax200-cto

You can scroll down towards the bottom of the page and you will see that they recommend the one you mention in your post.

Unfortunately, HP doesn't provide specifications for their Configure To Order (CTO) computers.  Therefore, I don't know if your computer came with a HDD or a M.2 SSD.  If it came with a HDD, you can leave it installed as storage.  Here is a HP Knowledge Base article that will help with the conversion from a HDD to SSD:  https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Knowledge-Base/Upgrading-Desktop-or-Laptop-to-a-SSD/ta-p/73048...

You will install the M.2, SSD into the socket and install the cloning software on the HDD.

Please click the Thumbs up + button if I have helped you and click Accept as Solution if your problem is solved.

[riceng16]

Is it possible to upgrade my SSD myself or do I have to ask a technician to do it? 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

That would all depend on how comfortable you would be doing it after reading chapter 5 of the service manual.

If you go with a NVMe drive, you would have to clean install W10 using the media creation tool or use the HP cloud recovery tool to reinstall W10.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

I would not try to clone a mechanical hard drive's files onto a NVMe drive because they use a different boot structure.

Here is an info link for the cloud recovery tool...

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06162205