Installing m.2 ssd without dedicated slot?

[kisaksen]

Hello, HP Forum!

I have this StarWars laptop that I'd like to make boot faster. I want to keep the 1Tb hard drive in it for storage and the optical drive too, so my thought was to add a small m.2 ssd or something similar to it. According to page 53 in the Maintenance and Service Guide ( http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04642845 ) there should be a slot for this, but I can't figure out where that would be. Either I have another model or I'm blind (or just stupid).

Anyway, is there another way to make this possible? I'm ready to do a hack install if I can just find a way, either by sharing (Y-splitting) the cable from the HDD, optical bay or even USB-daughterboard. What say you? Is this just a wild fantasy of mine or is there actually a way to accomplish this?

The model number for my motherboard should be 836093-601 (StarWars Special Edition hp pavilion 15,6" Full HD Led IPS, Intel Core i7-6500U running Win 10 64-bit).

Thank you in advance for your help! 😉

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

There is no M.2 slot. Some versions use a SATA M.2 in a caddy which fits in place of the hard drive and connects to the motherboard through the same zif cable attachment. 

There is no hack, no splitter or juryrig you can do to make it take an M.2 and a hard drive at the same time. 

If you want it to boot faster your best bet is a 2.5 inch SATA SSD which would be expensive but would achieve your goal of fast boot. 

[kisaksen]

Thank you Huffer, that was a fast reply!

I have to say I'm a bit sad to hear this, but that's life, I guess.  The 1Tb SSD alternative is not  something I'd like to do right away.. There's of course the hdd caddy option with a small ssd if I decide I don't need the optical drive with me at all times.

Thank you again for your help!