HP 17-y030cy laptop - What SDD to replace original HDD?

[rfk5575]

Want to upgrade my HP 17 laptop (17-y030cy, AMD A12, R7 graphics, 12GB RAM,2GB SATA 5400 HDD ).

What kind of SSD (1GB) is compatible to replace the original SATA 5400 HDD? Assume 2.5 inch SATA 3 SDD. What other SDD features are required? 7mm vs 9mm height?

Any help appreciated.

[iomare · Accepted solution]

Hi,

You can replace the 2.5"HDD with any 2.5" SATA3 SSD such as the 2.5" Samsung 860 Evo or similar.

Example:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Inch-Internal-MZ-76E1T0B-AM/dp/B078DPCY3T/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=860+evo...

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX500-500GB-NAND-Internal/dp/B0786QNS9B/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=mx500&qid...

On page 41 of the service manual, you can see the steps to replace the drive. (Thickness will not be a problem, as your notebook accept 7mm and 9.5mm Hard Drives.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05143572

You will need to reinstall the OS on the SSD for a performance boost.

Hope it helps,

David

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[rfk5575]

Thanks for your guidance! Much appreciated!

Plan to clone totally the HDD to the SDD via the USB 3 port. Use cloning utility to create a mirror image. Swap out the HDD with cloned SDD. Believe this should work correctly and transfer the Win10 digital license.  Decommission HDD to spare parts. In your opinion is this reasonable approach? Thanks!

[iomare]

You're welcome.

Sounds good. You can use the software which comes with the SSD to quite easily clone the old drive to the new SSD. So if you get the 2.5" SATA3 Samsung 860 Evo you can download and use Samsung migration software. For Crucial you can use Acronis software which comes bundled with the drive.

You could also perform a clean install of the OS if you want a fresh start. (no product key needed)

Here is a small guide:

Download media creation tool from Microsoft on PC (before replacing drive), run and create a bootable pendrive with the OS on it. (there is an explanation on the Microsoft web page on how to create the pendrive). Create the drive with Windows 10 Home 64-bit edition. Windows will automatically activate once installed and connected to the Internet.

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

If you choose this option you will need to use the pendrive to perform a clean install of Windows 10. You might need to disable fastboot and secure boot in BIOS (probably not). So, insert the pendrive in the PC and it should boot directly from the drive. If not, turn off the PC by holding the power button. Press the power button and immediately keep pressing ESC until the startup menu appears and then press F9 and choose the pendrive in the boot menu. Once it boots from pendrive follow the procedure to install Windows.

When finished installing allow Windows to completely update and find all or most drivers. You can follow this process by going into settings > Security and update > click on Verify for updates. You might need to reboot a couple of times.

 I recommend installing HP support assistant which will help keep your drivers up to date and much more. You can download the latest version from here.

https://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/hpsupportassistant/hpsupport.html

Once completely updated you can go into device manager and see if there are any missing drivers (there will be yellow exclamation mark next to the device). You can find these drivers and software on HP support page for your product.

Let me know if you need any further help,

David

[rfk5575]

Thanks, again, for your expert advice! I do feel assured of success with the tech guidance and tips you have provided. 👍

[iomare]

You're welcome.

Let me know if you need any further help during the upgrade.

All the best,

David

[rfk5575]

One more question before I start...

I re-read the conversation. You said that to gain a performance boost I should install a clean copy of the Win 10 OS on the new SSD. Is your experience that cloning the HDD to the SDD results in minimal or no performance improvement?

Thanks again!

Ron

[iomare]

Hi Ron.

I have cloned often without any problem and naturally there will be a great boost in performance.

Personally, I like performing a clean install once in a while and have the latest Windows on the machine without having updated from a previous version. It also gives me a chance to have a fresh start and only install the software I actually use.

But cloning is fine.

Regards,

David