Model number - 15-bs028ca

[montyshah]

Thanks again Paul. 
I have decided to go for the 2 TB 2.5'' SATA SSD and completely remove the existing HDD. 

I do not have much data on it as I intend to wipe the system clean and factory reset it. My only concern is the Lifetime Software for Office 365 that I have installed on my computer with one single user key. 

I think 2TB would solve the storage issue as well. Besides, the M.2 SSDs are expensive than the 2.5" SSDs. 

This should resolve the potential problems you mentioned regarding using more power and configuration issues as I would be using a single drive. I shall also extend the memory by additional 8GB to ensure better performance. 

If I end up cloning my hard drive, I will certainly follow your instructions on software use. 

Once again, this has been really helpful and informative. I will keep you posted on how this experiment unfolds. 

Thank you Sir!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.

Glad to have been of assistance.

If you have a lifetime Office 365 program, you may want to clone the drive.

I have Office 2013, 2016 and 2019, but I have the installation media and product keys, so it is not a problem for me to reinstall Office on a new drive.

If the software was preinstalled on your PC when you bought it, it usually does not come with the recovery media and there is no product key.

There is no way to reinstall the pre-installed software via download, etc.

[montyshah]

I actually bought the product key for one PC specific to this laptop. 

I still do have the key as backup to reinstall it when needed.  Although, I am not sure if that would work again on the same system or not after the drive is replaced. 

One last question - Does my model have two memory chip slots? So, when I buy 8gb, I am essentially just adding 8+8. Is that correct? I do not wish to upgrade but rather add to the existing 8gb. 

Want to make sure before I place the order for the chip.

Thanks again

[Paul_Tikkanen]

If you have the Office 365 product key and installation media, it will work fine.

Installing a new hard drive doesn't affect Microsoft products' product keys from working/activating.

The only time you run into problems would be if you replaced the motherboard.

The product specs for your notebook indicate that it has an Intel Core i5-7200U processor which means it has two memory slots.  The specs also indicate your notebook came configured with 1 x 8 GB of memory, which means that there is an empty memory slot available to install a second 8 GB memory chip.

HP Notebook - 15-bs028ca Product Specifications | HP® Customer Support

[montyshah]

Thank you Paul for your insightful feedback and support.

I hope this post helps novices like me to resolve similar issues. 

Thank you for your patience and truly appreciate your time.

Have yourself a wonderful day!

Take Care

Sincerely,

Monty

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome, Monty.

You enjoy the rest of your day too, and please let us know how your notebook hard drive and memory upgrade project went.

Cheers,

Paul