storage

[olliecans58]

i got this laptop and the hard drive is getting full. I want to get a bigger hard drive and i don't want to buy a new OS is there a way for me to put in the new drive and somehow copy everything on my current hard drive to the new hard drive....?

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Yes, you can do that, and you don't need to buy a new OS either--even if you wanted to clean install Windows on the new drive.

The W10 product key is encrypted in your notebook's BIOS, so you don't need the key to reinstall Windows.

If you want to transfer the existing OS, etc. to a new drive, you can purchase a Sata to USB cable and use cloning software such as Macrium Reflect to transfer the existing drive configuration to the new drive.

Amazon.com: BENFEI SATA to USB Cable, USB 3.0 to SATA III Hard Driver Adapter Compatible for 2.5 inc...

Home Edition (macrium.com)

It used to be completely free but now you have to pay, but you can use it as 30-day trial software, clone the drive for free and then uninstall the software or decide if you want to buy it.

I used it to create system images for my PC's, but I still have the free version because I got it many years ago.

I think Macrium got bought out by some other company last year and now they want money to use the software...BOO!

The have a good forum and help to clone drives you can take advantage of.

But here is a video for how to clone a smaller drive capacity to a larger one.

It doesn't seem too complicated.  You just have to do some math.

How to clone a disk drive using Macrium reflect and resize the partition - YouTube

I recommend that you replace the mechanical hard drive with a better performing 2.5" solid state drive (SSD).

Below is the link to the service manual, where you can find the hard drive removal and replacement procedure.

HP 15 Notebook PC Maintenance and Service Guide

[olliecans58]

hey thank you very much

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.