If your laptop's hard drive has gone down for the count, or if you want
to swap it out in favor of something larger or faster (a solid-state drive can
perk up a laptop's performance considerably), I have good news for you:
Replacing a hard drive is usually a simple and straightforward procedure; and
if things get tricky, our walkthrough will help you do the job safely and
efficiently.
On some laptops, switching drives is as easy as undoing a latch, sliding
the drive caddy out, removing a couple of screws, swapping drives, and then
repeating the previous steps in reverse. But on other machines, the hard drive
is buried under the keyboard or motherboard, without an access panel. Dealing
with this type of design entails removing dozens of screws, the keyboard deck,
the keyboard, the motherboard, and many parts and connectors. Fortunately, the
latter scenario has become significantly rarer in recent years.
The best place to start when you want to upgrade or replace your hard drive
is with the user's guide for your laptop. If the disk-swapping procedure is
simple, the guide will tell you how to do it. In that case, you won't need any
further help, though some of the tips offered here may make the operation
easier and safer for you and the equipment.
If your user's guide doesn't cover the procedure, it may be a more
complicated task. Fortunately, you can find a teardown guide and/or video on
the Web for virtually every modern electronic device. A quick search for your
laptop model should yield something you can use. If not, searching for a
similar model may turn up helpful reference material.
If you want to replace your drive, you need to know whether your laptop
requires an older 44-pin ATA-style drive or a newer edge-connector SATA drive;
the former are found only in older laptops. You can still find ATA drives?as
well as some ATA SSDs?but you might be better off using a small SATA-to-ATA
bridge adapter. At this writing, no 2.5-inch, greater-than-2.2GB drives are
available for laptops, but if you're reading this down the road, you may also
encounter a small issue requiring a BIOS upgrade.
Gather
Your Tools.
To replace your hard drive, you'll need (at a minimum) a high-quality
small-head Phillips screwdriver; you may also need hex-head Torx drivers and
with recent Macs, a pentagonal driver. Ideally, you would use a good multitool
with a comfortable grip and swappable flat, Phillips, and Torx tips of
appropriate size for laptops, cell phones, and the like. Thin-handled jeweler's
screwdrivers are undesirable because they may not allow you to apply enough
force. If you don't have the right tools for the job, you can probably find
them on Amazon and eBay, or at your local hardware store or Radio Shack.
For some laptops, you may also need a spudger?a plastic or metal tool
that you can use to gently pry apart pressure-fit plastic parts. Older Mac
laptops are infamous for requiring spudgers, but many other laptops also call
for some gentle prying before they'll grant access to their guts. If your
spudging skills aren't well developed, stick with plastic versions; they wear
out more quickly, but they're less likely to scratch metal surfaces or cause
electrostatic damage. Spudgers are inexpensive, too, so you can grab an array
of thicknesses and shapes at little cost.
Thin-nose tweezers can be handy on occasion, too. If possible, use a pair
with angled tips, so you can see what you're gripping, without your hands
getting in the way. Angled thin-nose tweezers are great for gently prying open
latches and for pulling screws out of wells. Another practical item is a
multibay container where you can park screws and other small removable parts,
especially if your project involves removing many different parts. No one wants
to be stuck staring at a bunch of similar, yet different screws and trying to
sort them out post facto.
If you're not familiar with the numerous small connectors that laptops
may include, a magnifying glass can help you spot tiny catches that might break
if you attempted to pull a plug out of a connector with the latch still
attached, or might result in your accidentally pulling a receptacle free from a
circuit board. If possible, use a magnifying glass to watch for the following
factors that could damage your laptop.
Know
the Risks
Hidden fasteners: When you're disassembling a laptop or other
device, don't try to force things apart. In all likelihood, if you have to
exert more than modest force to remove or separate parts, a hidden screw or
fastener is holding up progress. You may need to remove another part or turn
the unit over to find what's holding things together. Many laptop manufacturers
hide important screws under rubber feet, labels, and panels for aesthetic
reasons; but you can seriously damage your laptop by attempting to wrench it
apart while some screws are still in place.
Some tiny connectors have latches that are difficult to spot. If a cable
doesn't coming out as easily as you think it should, take the time to look for
a latch.
Cables: Hidden cables are another common laptop hazard. All
parts of a laptop other than shields and miscellaneous plastic are connected
electrically, and if a socket isn't handling the job, a cable is. Ribbon cables
and wire cables run from the keyboard deck (the upper half housing the keyboard
and touchpad, among other things) to the motherboard, from daughter boards to
the motherboard, from the motherboard to the base, from the modem to the
motherboard, and so on. Other cables connect the touchpad, the finger swiper,
the status lights, the speakers and any other components embedded in the
keyboard deck.
Removing ribbon cables generally entails flipping up a tab at the back
of the slot where the cable terminates. Wire cable connectors usually terminate
in pressure-fit connectors that must be pried out. Sometimes you may have to
depress a small catch. A spudger handles this task very well.
When disassembling a laptop, it pays to be organized and to take notes.
For example, when I need to perform a complex breakdown that I've never done
before, I either video the disassembly procedure or take photos that show where
the screws and parts belong at each major step. This approach may seem
laborious, but it can be a tremendous help when you reassemble your laptop.
That said, don't go crazy: If all you have to worry about are four identical
screws, don't bother.
Hard
Drive Removal Tips and Tricks
Most hard drives are mounted on rails or metal frames with screws,
rubber grommets, or other shock-reducing technology. You'll need to reuse these
rails or frames when mounting your new drive, so take care not to lose them
during the swap. Usually, the screws from the old drive will fit the new one,
but different hard drive vendors may use screws with a different thread pitch.
Your replacement drive will have shipped with its own screws; if these aren't
long enough or are unsuitable for some other reason, you may need to visit your
local computer store.
On older ATA hard drives, an adapter may cover the connection pins. You
must remove this adapter for reuse with the new drive, but perform the
operation cautiously; if you don't grab the adapter in the middle and pull it
straight back, you may bend the connector pins. When this happens, you can try
to force them back into position, but straightening them isn't easy, and they
sometimes break off entirely.
If you can't get a firm enough grip to pull the adapter off, try to pry
it up gently with your tools?but do so in tiny increments, first on one side
and then the other, alternating until the adapter falls off.
Side-mounted hard drives: The easiest hard drives to replace are those
in laptops that use side-mounted, removable drive caddies or trays. Usually, a
latch or screw holds the drive in place, and typically that fastener is
accessible from the bottom of the laptop. Undo the latch, or remove the screw
or screws; slide out the tray; and replace the drive.
Under an access panel: Many laptop designers situate their hard
drives under a removable panel located on the bottom of the machine. Remove the
panel; detach any retaining clips, screws, or frames; and slide the drive out.
Usually, you'll have to pull backward to free the drive from its connector, and
then lift the drive up and out.
Under the keyboard or motherboard:
On laptops where the hard
drive is located in one of these places, your job is a lot tougher. Carefully
store the removed parts in a logical, organized manner, however, and you'll
find the task time-consuming but not impossible.
Though the particulars vary, the disassembly procedure should go
something like this:
1.
Flip the laptop over and remove the screws that hold the
keyboard deck in place. Remove the keyboard deck. This may require sliding a
spudger along the seam between the lower portion of the case and keyboard deck
to release snaps that may be holding the two together. Some modern units are
sealed, so don't assume that there's an easy way in. If you discover that your
laptop vendor used hot glue to hold things together, you might want to farm out
the chore?it's easy to mess things up with heat.
2.
Remove the keyboard and other components that hide the
hard drive or prevent you from dislodging the motherboard. This step may
involve taking out screws; peeling back tape; detaching components such as
modems and Wi-Fi modules; and detaching clamped ribbon cables, regular cables,
or antennas with pressure-fit connectors. You may also have to remove metal RF
shields. Be gentle and reread the section on hazards, above.
3.
If the hard drive is situated under the motherboard, you
can probably remove the latter after taking out a few more screws. However, the
ports integrated onto the motherboard protrude out the case, so you may have to
jockey the motherboard as you pull it out. Again, be alert for hidden cables.
Stop the disassembly process as soon as you have access to the hard
drive. I've seen drives that were taped in place, screwed down, or held in
position by fancy hardware. I've also encountered drives that lay loose after I
removed a shield or panel. None of these various circumstances pose a special
challenge; but carefully observe what's there, and above all don't force
things.
Once
you've successfully removed your old hard drive, simply reverse the procedure
to insert the new drive and reassemble the laptop.
If following the instructions is not enough, have a look at our YouTube video bellow for a step by step guide.
Enjoy your rehabilitated
laptop!
