Can I add a SSD to a 15-ec1008na

[Smiley_Neil]

My daughter has an HP 15-ec1008na laptop and wants more space for games. Can I add an additional SSD hard drive to it? Or do I need to replace the existing storage?

If I can just add a SSD then what size am I looking for? Is it just a 2.5" SATA SSD? Or a specific type of SATA interface? Are there limits to the storage size or read speed? As long as I get the right specs I'm confident with replacing hardware in a laptop but don't know what physical size or specs (I've lost track of hard drive specs in recent years).

Thanks

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

I believe that your notebook has the hardware to add a 2.5" hard drive or 2.5" SSD.

Personally, I would go with replacing the 256 GB NVMe SSD with a 1 TB one, but that is up to you of course.

Open up the notebook first and make sure the hardware is all there to add a 2.5" drive.

I seem to recall that another forum member indicated there was a plastic 'dummy drive' where the 2.5" drive would go and the mounting brackets and HDD cable are also there.

Below is the link to your notebook's user guides page where you can find the maintenance and service guide.

HP Pavilion Gaming 15-ec1000 Laptop PC series - Setup and User Guides | HP® Support

[Smiley_Neil]

Thanks.

I don't want to go through the hassle of reinstalling Windows, drivers, software, settings, (etc.), so adding a 2.5" SSD seems easiest. I'll check if there's the plastic dummy drive in it and replace that with a proper one.

Do I need to consider anything else, other than just buying a 1TB 2.5" SATA SSD?

Cheers

Neil

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

If all of the parts are there, all you need to do is to buy the 2.5" drive.

Don't forget to initialize it after you install it using the disk management utility, or you will wonder why the drive doesn't show up in Windows Explorer.

Initialize new disks | Microsoft Learn

[Smiley_Neil]

Okay, thanks.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.

Glad to have been of assistance.

Please post back and let us know if the parts to add a 2.5" drive were indeed present, and how your SSD installation project went.

[Smiley_Neil]

Just installed the new SSD into the laptop, exactly as you suggested. A simple matter of removing the plastic dummy drive, installing the new 2.5" SATA SSD and initialising the drive. Trickiest thing was popping the back cover off the laptop once the screws were out. A Lego brick separator did the job.

Thanks again.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome, and thanks for letting us know how your notebook's 2.5" SSD installation project went.