Adding an M2 drive to my HP Pavilion 15-au018wm

[Titoman]

Want more speed and space so I want to add an M2S SSD 512 GB. The manual says:

1. Turn off the computer.

 2. Disconnect the power from the computer by unplugging the power cord from the computer.

3. Disconnect all external devices from the computer.

4. Remove the base enclosure (see Base enclosure on page 29), and then remove the following components: a. Battery (see Battery on page 31). b. Optical drive (see Optical drive on page 27). c. Hard drive (see Hard drive on page 32).

5. Remove the SSD... 

Problem is that there is no M+B socket for an M2 drive (2280)  to be seen under the HDD...

Chatted with CR using HP support assistant and I asked for a diagram; no answer on why the manual is incomplete 😞

He then mentioned something about calling HP Smart Friends... for $$... and of course that by  doing this I'd void the warranty because it is not a "user-replaceble part". Oh, well , fine after 25 years in IT, hundreds of laptops and PCs, I may take the chance 😉

He confirmed that it is doable as I saw under the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology:

So - does any one know where is the internal port located?

TIA!

[REO51ST]

@Titoman

You can have the SSD or SATA drive but not both.

If you want the SSD you will need a daughter board to connect it.

HP Pavilion 15-au000 Notebook PC series - FRU Remove/Replace Videos

https://h20574.www2.hp.com/results.htm?SID=10862158&MEID=8BC6A844-F67A-49EE-B31C-F599C8D7DFED

Click on Hard disk drive assembly  and Solid state drive.

REO

[banhien]

@Titoman

You did not read the manual properly. Page #3 says the series has 4 options

Supports all 7mm/9.5mm, SATA 2.5" HDDs
Supports M.2 SATA Storage
Accelerometer / HDD protection support

Single HDD conƭgurations
500GB (5400) 7.2mm
1TB (5400) 9.5mm
2TB (5400) 9.5mm

SSHD conƭgurations
1TB 5400RPM 9.5mm SSHD w/8GB NAND

M.2 SATA-3 SSD
M.2 SATA conƭgurations (Value)
128GB
256GB

HDD+SSD conƭgurations
1TB (5400) 9.5mm HDD + 128GB M.2 SATA-3 SSD (Value)

Your machine is under option 1 with single HDD therefore it does not have M.2 2280 slot. Now you can have an adapter to install M.2 SSD as mentioned from @REO51ST  or swap it for a 2.5" SSD.

Regards.

[Titoman]

@ Provost OK - saw the videos thanx. Then why the there is one more internal port listed by Intel Rapid Storage Manager besides the HDD and DVD?? 

Can I get a daughter (aka  connector) board that connects both the  HDD AND the M2 drive to the mobo through the ZIF cable?

[Titoman]

Thanks! I may also use an adapter in the DVD slot... see below  argh! I guess I want my cake and eat it too

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N036QBF/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2T7NAYK1TW06S