Upgrade questions laptops — SSD / RAM / Linux compatibility

[Alvin300]

Hello everyone,
I have two HP laptops and I would appreciate your help clarifying the upgrade possibilities (storage, RAM) and also checking Linux compatibility for one of them.
Since I am not very good at english, especially in technical settings, I decided to generate the following questions with AI. I'm very sorry for this choice, but I hope everything is understandable; otherwise, don't hesitate to ask me for more information or clarification.
Here are the details:

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1) For the HP 15‑bs036nl (8 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD with only ~90 GB free, Intel i5)
I plan to install a version of Linux Mint on it to give it a second life, because the HDD is quite full and I expect the PC to run more efficiently under Linux.

My questions are:

• Is there an extra internal slot for an SSD (for example an M.2 slot) in addition to the existing 2.5″ HDD bay?

  • If yes: what type of SSD is compatible (form-factor, interface: M.2 SATA, M.2 NVMe, length 2280, etc.)?

  • If no: which SSD is compatible in the current HDD slot (i.e., replacing the 2.5″ HDD)? Is a 2.5″ SATA SSD acceptable, or are there any special adapter/cable/connector issues?

• Regarding RAM: how many RAM slots does this exact model have, and what type/speed of RAM is compatible? Is it worth upgrading RAM for Linux and general responsiveness?

• If possible: any known caveats for this model (BIOS whitelist, thermal/power limit, disassembly difficulties) to keep in mind before buying parts and installing.

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2) For the HP 15‑e3000 (4X378AV) (or 15s-eq3028nl) (currently SSD 512 GB with ~200 GB free, 16 GB RAM, CPU ~2.0 GHz, GPU ~496 MB)
Here I’m not planning to install Linux, but I’d like to know the upgrade potential for improved general performance.

My questions:

• Does this model have an extra internal slot for an SSD (or is the storage soldered)? If an extra slot exists, what type of SSD is supported (M.2 SATA, M.2 NVMe)?

• If no extra slot: what storage form factor/interface is used for the internal drive and what upgrade options are compatible (for instance replacing the internal SSD with a larger/faster one)?

• For RAM: how many RAM slots does this specific model have, are they user-accessible, soldered or replaceable? What type/speed of RAM is supported and is it possible/useful to go beyond 16 GB?

• Any model-specific warnings (BIOS restrictions, compatibility issues) before ordering parts.

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General / summary request:

• Could someone confirm with part numbers or service manual pages the exact internal layout for both models (slots, drive bays, memory modules)?

• If you have examples of compatible SSD/RAM parts for each model (for example: “2.5″ SATA SSD model X” or “M.2 NVMe model Y”, “DDR4-3200 8 GB SODIMM model Z”), that would be very helpful.

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Thank you all!

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

For the 15‑bs036nl it has a M.2 slot that supports M.2 2280 SATA SSDs, not NVMe.

The service manual indicates that 2 x 8 GB of DDR4-2133 MHz memory is supported.

HP 15 Laptop PC (Intel)HP 15g Laptop PCHP 15q Laptop PC Maintenance and Service Guide

You can install faster memory like DDR4-2400 CL17, DDR4-2666 CL19 or DDR4-3200 CL22 memory.

It will all run at 2133 MHz which is as fast as the notebook's processor can run the memory at.

You can refer to this related discussion where the notebook may support up to 64 GB of memory which to me would be overkill.

Re: memory type - HP Support Community - 9526018

There is no BIOS whitelist.

You may want to ask about Linux support on a Linux forum because the notebook is not supported by HP for Linux and you would have to see if drivers are available for devices such as the Wi-Fi and whatnot.

Regarding the 15s-eq3028nl:

There is only support for one M.2 2280 NVMe SSD and no options to add a 2.5" drive.

The notebook has two memory slots, and no service manual is available.

I was able to find this service video online:

🛠️ How to open HP 15s (15s-eq3000) - disassembly and upgrade options

This link indicates the notebook can support up to 2 x 32 GB of DDR4-3200 CL22 memory which is probably more realistic.

HP 15 (15s-eq3000) - Specs, Tests, and Prices | LaptopMedia.com