Does the OS come installed on the SSD or HD?

[DanClayton]

Just order the HP-bc011na, it comes with an internal SSD and a 1TB HD. I have a spare 1TB SSD that I am thinking about upgarding the laptop's HD with. Does the laptop's OS come preinstalled on the SSD or the HD? Just so I know how easy it will be to install the 1TB SSD into the laptop?

[Huffer]

The OS will be on the SSD. It is an M.2 mSSD "gumstick" drive. The hard drive is a 2.5 inch SATA and I am going to guess your 1 TB SSD is also of the 2.5 inch SATA form factor. It is not going to be possible to have your 1 TB SSD and the 1 TB HDD in the laptop at the same time. 

Here is the Service Manual:

Manual

See p. 30 for a good diagram of what it looks like if you remove the back cover. The hard drive is in the upper right corner above the battery and the M.2 gumstick drive is to the left of the battery. 

The M.2 SSD is a SATA type so it is really no faster than a 2.5 inch SATA SSD, but your laptop would take a much faster PCIe aka NVME type M.2 disk. From your specs I see you have the 128 gig SSD which IS going to be a bit tight but it can be properly configured so your storage and some programs are installed over to the HDD. You could replace the 1 TB HDD with your SSD and it would speed up storage access to some extent but obviously you gain no storage space. You should be advised that opening it up to replace the hard drive is not supposed to be done by the end user and may jeopardize warranty coverage. 

Post back if you need any more help. 

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

[DanClayton]

Will the 1TB HD that comes with the laptop be blank then? As my plan is to just swap it with the blank SSD HD I have.

[GPU-2]

HI.

Normally they come in HDD, but if you are thinking of installing an SSD, it is much faster to install everything in it, it will be much faster when reading the data.

Description of the hard disk 1 TB SATA 7200 rpm
Hard Drive (2nd) 128 GB SSD M.2

Run this software to know which model is compatible with your computer, the crucial M2 sata speed is very good.

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/systemscanner

If your team is this we are correct : 15 bc011na

Bets Regards.

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Might have a few app installers or some documentation on it but you could remove it and still use the laptop just fine. You could get a SATA to USB adapter for a few bucks and just copy what is on the HDD onto the SSD if you think any of it is worth having. 

[DanClayton]

Thank you very much for the help! Happy holidays!

[Huffer]

Not a problem. Same to you.