Hard Drive DIY Replacement

[Light-Bringer]

I'm pretty much going to have to replace my Hard Drive. I really just need some guidance from someone more experienced than I, and can hopefully provide understanding. I've read the manuals and think I am on the right track.

To make a short story shorter, hard drive disk failed and I need to purchase a new one. My particular notebook is the "HP Notebook - 15-ay041wm (Touch) (ENERGY STAR)" , and just to clarify it is my understanding that I will need a specific type of hard drive.

I looked in the manual for my kind of notebook and see:

"HP Notebook PC models:
● 2-TB, 5400-rpm, hybrid 8 GB SSD, 9.5 mm"

and I also see

"HP Notebook PC and HP 250/256 G5 Notebook PC models:
● 1-TB, 5400-rpm, hybrid 8 GB SSD 731999-005
● 1-TB, 5400-rpm, 2.5-inch 778192-005
● 1-TB, 5400-rpm, 2.5-inch (for use in India) 676423-855
● 500-GB, 5400-rpm, 7-mm "

I know I have a 1TB model, so I've narrowed my search down, but I'm still a little confused. I read in another thread that I should use this opportunity to upgrade to a new Hard Drive, and I would like to, I just need the correct information so I purchase the right materials for the upgrade. Can I just buy any  hard drive that is 2.5in with 1TB and be relatively okay? I know I have 8GB of RAM so I don't want to compromise that for my work. What sort of tools will I need to buy to complete a repair?

Can anyone help me out here? It would be much appreciated. 

 

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Yes, I recommend that you replace the failed mechanical hard drive with a better performing 2.5" solid state drive.

If you need 1 TB of drive space, I recommend this one which has the best performance for the price in my opinion.

Amazon.com: Western Digital 1TB WD Blue 3D NAND Internal PC SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s, 2.5"/7mm, Up to 5...

If you hardly used 1 TB of space, you may want to look into the 500 GB model.

If you read chapters 4, 5 & 6 of the service manual, it has all of the procedures to remove the components to get to the hard drive and the size of the tools needed.

HP Notebook PC (Intel) * Models: 15-ay000 – 15-ay099 * Models: 15-ay100 – 15-ay199HP 250 G5 Notebook...

Here is a video that shows the full disassembly/reassembly of your notebook.

HP 250 G5 Full Disassembly and Reassembly - YouTube

After you replace the hard drive, using another PC running W7 64 bit or newer, you can use the HP cloud recovery tool to create a bootable USB recovery drive that will reinstall W10, the drivers and the software that originally came with your notebook on the new SSD.

Here is an info link for how to use that utility.  You will need a 32 GB USB flash drive to create the recovery media.

HP Consumer PCs - Using the HP Cloud Recovery Tool (Windows 10) | HP® Customer Support

[Light-Bringer]

I'm preparing to upgrade the laptop this weekend. Your advice has been so helpful and much appreciated! Thank you!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome. 

[Light-Bringer]

Quick question, I have a 30GB USB would that be enough or is that pushing it? When I go in to see how much it really has, it's around 29 GB. Also, am I going to need to pull Windows 10 from the hard drive when I do that, or can I pull it from the cloud? When I've done the "back up and restore" option in the past, it had an option to install Windows 10 with a USB or from the Cloud, and I always chose the cloud option. Granted, I've never had to do a harddrive swap before so this may be completely different.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

I think you have a 32 GB USB flash drive.

I do not believe that they make 30 GB flash drives.

They are made in multiples...8, 16, 32, 64, 128...and on a 32 GB drive, you would see around 29 GB of free space because of how the drive sizes are calculated.

I think the cloud method allows you to download the recovery directly from Microsoft, but that won't work on a new hard drive.

I think you have to be able to be in Windows in order to use that option.

[Light-Bringer]

Thank you again! Just making sure everything is right before the swap. I appreciate your help very much. 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.

Glad to be of assistance.

Please post back and let us know how the hard drive swap went.

[Light-Bringer]

Definitely will.

[Light-Bringer]

Update: So I've replaced my Hard Drive with the SSD, the video basically gave me a solid walkthrough on how to do that. 

Since I only have this one laptop, before I did the replacement, I actually downloaded the software on to my 32GB USB. After that was downloaded, I replaced the Hard Drive and then inserted the USB stick into the port once I booted the system up again. It took a little over 3 hours to complete. Super satisfied with everything, and the problem I have with my touchscreen not working has been resolved with this (which I am ECSTATIC about). 

Computer seems to be running a lot smoother, faster. I'm satisfied with the result. If anyone is in a similar position, this thread should be a solid blue print. All they would need to do is swap the Manual for their specific device. Overall, 10/10 and I feel a bit more computer savvy (lol). 

In the past I would've thought I needed to buy a brand new computer, which I contemplated at one point. That's $500+ bucks starting. The combined total of all I needed (SSD, 32GB USB, specific tools required) brings me to a little over $100. I'm sure that could be brought down with more frugal spending. 

Tl:dr Success all around!