Installing a new ssd in a laptop. What to do with an old hard drive. Installing a new disk in a regular personal computer

On budget computers, even with a good processor and other components, manufacturers sacrifice for the sake of economy hard speed disk, relying on volume.

Replacing the HDD in a laptop with an SSD will speed up the computer and, if desired, you can get additional storage if you purchase a special adapter.

What you need to know

Before making a replacement, you can worry about transferring the system. If you are planning to install a new OS, you can skip this point. Just transfer important files to a cloud service or flash drive.
If you want to change the drive while preserving the system, then the new memory storage must be large enough to accommodate all the necessary information.
If you have new laptop With valid by guarantee, then after opening the laptop yourself, you will lose it.

How to save a copy of Windows

When replacing an old HDD with a new SSD in a laptop, many users think about how to transfer the system to a new drive. For this purpose they were developed special programs from laptop manufacturers.

Some of them:

Acer provides the utility " Acer eRecovery Management";
at Sony – “VAIO Recovery Center”;
The Samsung company has “ Samsung Recovery Solution 5";
Toshiba satellite – “Recovery Disc Creator”;
HP Recovery Manager;
Lenovo solution center;
U Asus program"Backtracker";
MSI Recovery Manager;

Over time, the list may grow. You can find and download new versions of programs from official websites.

You can also use universal ones: Macrium Reflect Free, Macrium Reflect. They are supported on all Windows operating systems.

For each program there is detailed instructions on the developers’ website, but basically all the functionality is the same: you launch the program, choose what and where to copy, wait until the process is completed. After replacing the disk, you will see the desktop as it was.

Let's start replacing the hard drive

Below we will look at an example of replacement hard drive on an SSD in an Asus laptop. If your laptop is from another manufacturer, it’s okay; the principle is always the same for most models.

Before you begin disassembling your laptop, be sure to turn it off and remove the battery. And when working, try not to touch the components on the motherboard with a screwdriver or your hands; even the slightest scratch can damage it.

Let's start work:

If you decide to install a new system after replacement, then use Windows 7 and higher; Windows xp and Vista are not designed to work on an SSD drive and you may experience a drop in write speed. Also, versions 10 and 8 of the system are most optimized for running on a solid-state drive.
Otherwise, after you have installed the SSD, installing the OS will be no different from normal.

What to do with an old hard drive

1) HDD drive can be installed as additional data storage instead of a DVD drive. They have long lost popularity and are practically not used.

To do this, you will need a special adapter that is inserted into the drive position. When choosing, pay attention to its height and width, since the dimensions disk drive depends on the thickness of the laptop itself. Also, the width of the adapter can also be different. The discrepancy between the dimensions will not hurt work hard disk, but if you are a perfectionist, then this drawback will get on your nerves.

Connecting a hard drive instead of a drive is not difficult; usually, instructions come with the adapter and necessary tools. This method of use will be optimal for replacing the hard drive without reinstalling the system.

2) Or, you can buy an external case with a USB adapter and use HDD as a portable storage device.

Detailed video lesson

Both on YouTube and I was asked the question: is it possible to replace a regular HDD drive with a modern, significantly more productive SSD drive? Of course you can, but why? Not in the sense that for some reason I am an opponent of new technologies, but it seems to me that a stereotype of thinking has already formed: throw away the hard drive, install it in its place solid state drive, and grace will come. So it is, but everything is a little more interesting. Installing an SSD in a laptop can be done in several ways. Let's figure it out. Let's look at interfaces hard drives laptops, their options and capabilities.

HDD vs SSD

Describe the benefits solid state drives There is no point in using ordinary hard drives. The advantages and disadvantages of each are well known to anyone who distinguishes the note C from the note F, or, in the arrangement to computer topics, processor socket from the disk connection interface. I want to talk about something a little different. In order not to be unfounded, let’s take as an example a couple of modern SSD drives related to different classes, from budget to top-end productivity devices. Well, for the company - an ordinary hard drive, just for comparison.

I’ll make a reservation right away that I will choose SSD drives with a capacity of 256 GB, because I think that on this moment this is the optimal volume both in terms of money and sufficient space for installation operating system, necessary programs. I'll take a hard drive with a capacity of 1 TB. For our discussion, disk capacity is not important. I will immediately give some characteristics of each model, in particular, the peak read/write speed. The remaining parameters are not of interest to us at the moment.

Type	HDD	SSD
Model	HGST Travelstar 7K1000	SanDisk Plus	Samsung 850 EVO	PNY EP7011
Capacity, GB	1000	240	250	240
	120	530	540	525
	120	440	520	490
Estimated cost.	4600	3940	6700	14500

Have you noticed a pattern among all solid-state drives? The maximum read/write speed is almost the same for all. Despite the fact that prices differ several times. Of course, other disk parameters, such as the controllers used, the type of installed flash memory, random read/write speed on blocks of different sizes, etc. will vary. Why is that?

The answer lies in the interface used to connect the drive, be it a hard drive or an SSD for a laptop or desktop computer. We will talk about interfaces further.

SATA, mSATA, M.2

Modern laptops, like desktop computers, at least have one, but more often, several SATA connectors for connection. You can also find an mSATA connector, or M.2. How do they differ, what can they offer in terms of speed and ease of use? A little theory.

I’ll warn you right away that we will be using approximate figures that give a correct idea of the interface’s capabilities, but do not complicate the calculations. For simplicity, we will count 1000 bytes in a kilobyte.

SATA

This interface replaced the PATA, which has already become a thing of history. Now there is already a third version of this interface. Let us briefly mention the characteristics of each version:

SATA 1. Specification introduced in 2003. The bus frequency on which the controller operated was 1.5 GHz. This allowed us to achieve a throughput of 1.5 Gbit/s, or approximately 150 MB/s.
SATA 2. The bus frequency was doubled to 3 GHz, which doubled the bandwidth to 3 Gbit/s, or 300 MB/s.
SATA 3. The controller bus frequency increased again and reached 6 GHz. Bandwidth– 6 Gbit/s, approximately 550-600 MB/s.

The question may arise: if there are 8 bits in a byte, then the throughput should be higher than indicated, because if you divide 6 Gbit by 8, you get 750 MB/s. The fact is that when transmitting data, the “8b/10b” coding system is used, in which each byte of data is accompanied by two bits of service information.

Considering that SATA 3 is actively replacing older versions, it is the most interesting one. If you look closely at the given throughput characteristics, you will notice one interesting thing: It is approximately equal to the reading speed of SSD drives. Or rather, it should be said the other way around - modern SSD drives have reached the ceiling of the capabilities of the SATA 3 interface during sequential read operations.

Concerning regular hard disks, then there are actually a lot of SATA 2 versions for them. No hard drive is able to reach its data transfer limit. What can we say about SATA 3. The advisability of its use lies only in reading/writing to the hard drive buffer. Mechanics still do not allow achieving such transmission speeds.

mSATA

This is a kind of modification of regular SATA for use in laptops and other similar devices. It allows you to connect a compact SSD drive. Fundamentally no different from the same SATA 3, using the same controller with the same characteristics. Its presence in the laptop allows you to connect an additional solid-state drive paired with a regular hard drive or a 2.5-inch solid-state drive that replaces it. Installing an SSD in a laptop of this form factor will still provide a noticeable gain in speed, and can be a very useful procedure for not the most modern computers.

M.2

Let’s look at this interface for connecting drives in a little more detail. It replaced mSATA, has a different connector, and serves the same purpose - connecting compact SSD drives. By the way, not only them, this interface is suitable for installing expansion cards, for example, Wi-fi modules, Bluetooth adapters etc. Now we are interested in connecting disks.

And it’s interesting because even though drives are connected to it, it differs significantly from SATA. And not just the connector. The beauty is that in addition to the SATA controller, it also uses a more powerful one in terms of speed characteristics PCI-Express bus. This bus has also reached the third version, which allows the M.2 interface to use 4 PCI-Express bus lanes.

If we translate this into numbers, then:

PCI Express 2.0 with two lanes (PCI-E 2.0 x2) provides throughput of 8 Gbps, or approximately 800 MB/s.
PCI Express 3.0 with four lanes (PCI-E 3.0 x4) gives 32 Gbps, which corresponds to approximately 3.2 GB/s.

As you can see, there is a significant difference compared to SATA. True, a reservation should be made. The connected drive can use either the SATA interface or one of the PCI-Express options. In addition, it is important that the manufacturer motherboard ensured that the requirements of the specifications of this interface were met.

Model	Plextor PX-256M7VG	Kingston HyperX Predator
Capacity, GB	256	240
Interface	SATA 3	PCI-E x4
Max. sequential read speed, MB/s	560	1290
Max. sequential write speed, MB/s	530	600
Estimated cost.	6100	11100

Let's explain the table. The drive from Plextor uses the SATA interface, which imposes its own limitations on the speed of exchange between the drive and the controller. Opportunities are fully utilized. Kingston runs on a different bus, PCI-E, which significantly affects performance. Unfortunately, the price too, but that’s another topic.

Continuing the conversation about the M.2 interface, we cannot help but mention the differences in the connectors of this interface, which consist in the options for the location of the keys, i.e., cutouts. The connector format comes in the following types:

Key type	B key (M.2 Socket2)	M key (M.2 Socket3)
Scheme
Key location	Contacts 12-19	Contacts 59-66
Supported Interfaces	PCIe ×2, SATA, USB 3.0, Audio, PCM, IUM, SSIC and I2C	PCIe ×4 and SATA

Accordingly, SSD drives also have several types of connectors:

Key type	B key	M key	M&B key
Scheme
Key location	Contacts 12-19	Contacts 59-66	Contacts 12-19 and 59-66
Supported Interfaces	PCIe ×2, SATA	PCIe x4, SATA	PCIe ×2, PCIe ×4, SATA

As you can see, SSD drives are produced not only with B or M, but also with a universal M&B key, which allows you to install such a drive in any slot with a B or M key.

It immediately becomes clear why the M.2 connector is better than SATA, to which we are all already accustomed. The name of the latter speaks for itself - there is only one disk connection interface, SATA, and there are no options. At the same time, M.2, having all the characteristics of this interface, is capable of working on another bus, i.e. PCI-Express, and this, as they say, is completely different money. Or rather, completely different speeds.

It should be said that the M.2 connector is very versatile and is used to connect a wide variety of devices. The device type is determined by the location of the key, which prevents installation of an unsupported device in a given slot. For example, M.2 with key E (pins 24–31), like key A (pins 8–15) is used for Wi-fi connections and Bluetooth adapters, a number of other devices, but is not intended for connecting SSD drives.

Moreover, the specification reserves keys that are not currently used, but may be in demand in the future. Key F is planned for use with future memory interfaces, and keys C, D, G, etc. are also provided.

Finishing with the markings, let’s mention this: the specification of the connector on the motherboard often contains numbers, for example, “supports devices 2242, 2260, 2280.” There is nothing wrong with this marking. It's simple. These are the dimensions of the drive for which there is a fastener, i.e. a platform into which a screw is screwed to secure the drive. It turns out that if support for 2280 drives is declared, this means that their dimensions should be 22 mm wide and 80 mm long.

Selecting and installing an SSD in a laptop

What to look for when choosing solid state drive M.2 format?

Firstly, on the type of key, although most models are offered with a universal M&B.

Secondly, the interface used by the disk. If this is SATA 3, then the exchange speed of approximately 550 MB/s is the ceiling. If PCI Express is used, then it is more interesting, but also more expensive.

Questions about which controller is better, what memory is used, whether there is support for TRIM commands and other characteristics of specific drives are a topic for another discussion.

Conclusion

Let's summarize. Laptops, due to their compactness, large selection They do not provide disk system upgrades. Could always be replaced installed disk with a more capacious, productive one, or even replace it with a solid-state one, losing in capacity, but significantly gaining in speed.

The presence of an M.2 connector in the laptop is a pleasant bonus that gives interesting opportunity change the configuration and, most importantly, significantly increase the speed of exchange with drives. Several options are possible.

Option 1

Do not touch the hard drive, especially if it has a capacity of 1 TB or even higher, but install an M.2 (or mSATA) SSD drive as the system drive. What do we get? After transferring the system to this disk, we have a fast bootable media With full set programs that are critical to the performance of disk operations. It could be graphics packages, and video editing programs, and even “heavy” games. The hard drive remains as a file dump and for installing programs that do not require high exchange speed with the drive. Thus, at the same time we protect SSD resource disk.

What are the disadvantages of this option? Oddly enough, increased power consumption. This is relevant for those who often work autonomously, without connecting to the network. It would seem that SSD consumes a lot? A little, but that's another matter. The hard drive doesn’t go anywhere, and still “eats” the battery. Replacing it with a solid-state one slightly increases battery life. But it reduces the usable capacity of the disks.

In my opinion - the most optimal solution. Installing an SSD in a laptop is done as an addition to hard drive also an SSD. That's exactly what I did.

Option 2

Use the smallest one SSD volume for caching disk operations. A budget solution, a kind of half-measure, but the computer will work faster.

Has the right to exist.

Option 3

Install an M.2 SSD, but do not make it a system one, but use it to run programs that require high disk performance.

M.2, perhaps, to some extent, is also a transitional stage in anticipation of the next generation of storage interface. Well, for now... For now, you should use what you have, use the M.2 connector for SSD installation a drive that is quite capable of overtaking the coolest 2.5-inch drive that can be installed instead of a traditional hard drive. The interface allows this!

SSD drive– a non-volatile, secure solid-state device for permanent data storage, built on the basis of flash modules. Consists of a memory controller, volatile DRAM memory chips and ICs non-volatile memory NAND flash.

Positive and negative sides

The advantages of using solid-state storage media are undeniable: there are improved performance indicators, increased shock resistance, vibration resistance, and low power consumption. Such devices contain no moving mechanical parts, therefore they do not heat up, are not afraid of shocks and even falls. They are suitable for use in harsh operating conditions under which a HDD would simply not be able to operate.

But today, mass use of SSDs is hindered high price and relatively small memory capacity. The capacity of HDD drives has already reached more than a terabyte, and such volumes are still unimaginable for solid-state drives. An equally significant drawback is limited number of rewrites(no more than 10,000 times). Hard drives are successfully overwritten up to 1,000,000 times.

What to look for when choosing an SSD?

Capacity. The operating system with installed applications already takes up about 35 GB. On a tight budget, a 64 GB drive may be sufficient if available. external hard disk, resource-intensive programs are not installed, for example for video and photo editing.

Interface. IN modern laptops To connect an optical drive and hard drives, the SATA interface is usually used. The throughput of SATA is 150 MB/s, SATA II 300 MB/s, SATA III 600 MB/s. In a laptop, the read speed of an average HDD is about 70 MB/s, and an SSD is 500 MB/s. Consequently, a solid-state drive combined with SATA gives a speed increase of only two times, and with SATA III seven times. Thus, maximum speed data exchange will be limited SATA type interface. Does it make sense to install an expensive SSD and be limited to the old interface?

Form factor. As a rule, laptops have HDDs with a width of 2.5 inches, less often 1.8. There are specially designed thin drives for tablets and ultrabooks, such as the 3.6mm thick M5M from Plextor.

Installation

The drive can be installed in a laptop in three ways:

1. In a separate compartment. There are laptops that have space for installing multiple hard drives. This is the simplest and best option: the SSD drive on which the operating system and programs are installed provides fast start and silent operation, and the HDD drive is used exclusively for data storage.

2. Instead of standard hard disk. The high cost does not allow installing large-capacity solid-state drives. Here the laptop owner needs to decide what is more important to him - maintaining a large amount of data storage or getting greater speed.

3. Instead of an optical drive. Many users, to save additional disk space, install instead of a standard hard drive SSD drive, and a hard drive instead of a practically unused CD/DVD-RW optical drive. It is worth noting that this option is valid for installing a solid-state drive with SATA interface. Otherwise, a low-speed port will negate all the advantages of an SSD. Also, the cooling situation in the optical drive bay is worse. This fact is unimportant for an SSD, but may be critical for an HDD.

To install a hard drive or SSD into the bay DVD drive you will need a special OptiBay adapter. The thickness of the OptiBay container for MacBook is 9.4 mm, for others – 12.5 mm. Today, metal and plastic containers are produced. Metal models have more weight, but are resistant to vibrations and are recommended for HDD drives. As for OptiBay, you can pay attention to Espada products, which represent universal products suitable for most laptops.

After installing the solid-state drive, you need to reconfigure the built-in settings in the BIOS SATA controller- choose AHCI mode . The fact is that the SSD controller will be able to receive the command TRIM only in this mode. TRIM is initially supported in Microsoft Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7, MacOS and Linux. For the rest, you will have to use third-party utilities.

Where to put CD/DVD-RW?

Extracted optical drive using a special container you can easily turn into an external drive. While regular external containers are designed to accommodate only a DVD drive or hard drive, multifunctional external containers provide additional features. They allow you to simultaneously install an optical drive and another HDD drive, have several USB ports and a built-in card reader.

Who to trust with installation

Unlike personal computers, upgrading laptops is more complex process. This is explained by the fact that the components are placed in the housing more tightly and compactly, which complicates the modernization process. Some laptop models require complete disassembly just to remove the hard drive. Easier and safer install the SSD drive at an authorized service center. The cost of work is 500 - 1000 rubles.

Greetings to all readers and visitors who came to this page!

I'll start from the beginning :). When I bought myself a laptop Asus K56CM (about four months ago), which was already broken a few days ago (you can read the previous post, here), then immediately installed Vertex 4 128 GB instead of the hard drive, which, of course, was installed in the laptop.

I was so excited to install this SSD drive and see how it would work that I forgot to take a few photos of the process. HDD replacement on SSD. Moments of joy and all that :) What kind of instructions are there without photos?

In some article or in a comment, I promised to write instructions for installing a solid-state drive in a laptop. But I was still too lazy to specifically disassemble the laptop in order to take photos for the article. Well, you understand me :).

And then my laptop got “a little” sick and before handing it over to service center, I decided to remove my SSD drive from it and install back the hard drive that was originally installed in the laptop. This is what I did and during the replacement process I took several photos, which will serve as illustrations for this article. The quality is not very good, but everything you need is visible.

How to install an SSD drive in a laptop?

Everything is very simple. Let's get started.

We will need: the laptop itself (nowhere without him :)), SSD drive and screwdriver (or something else that can be used to carefully unscrew the screws).

If we have all this, then we can start. But don’t rush to unscrew the laptop lid. One needs to be taken apart very important detail.

If you no longer have a warranty on your laptop, or you don’t need it, then you can safely skip a few paragraphs of text and spin up the laptop. But if you are interested in this question, then you need to first find out whether you will lose the warranty on your laptop if you install an SSD drive yourself.

Loss of warranty if you replace the drive yourself

There are several nuances here. And it all depends on the laptop manufacturer and most likely even on the model. There are simply models in which, to replace the drive, you need to completely unscrew the entire bottom part of the laptop. And in others (very often) you only need to unscrew one part on the bottom cover and you will immediately gain access to the hard drive and can change it to an SSD.

For example, on my Asus K56CM there is no need to remove all bottom panel, only part. You will see this in the next photo. But that's not the point.

If you start looking for information about loss of warranty on the Internet, then most likely you will only see different opinions, which will confuse you even more.

The best and most proven way is to simply call support from the manufacturer of your laptop. If you don’t know where to get the number, then just type in Google something like this: “Asus Ukraine contacts”. Look at the support number and call.

I spoke with a representative Asus and asked him about the warranty. He answered me that Replacing the drive does not void the warranty for the entire laptop. They just don't offer a warranty on the new drive. (and I think the same goes for the old one, although I could be wrong).

If you have another laptop, even Asus, then it’s better to call and check specifically for the model.

We continue with the installation

We unscrew the screws on the roof under which the hard drive is hidden and open it.

We see installed hard the disk we need to remove. We unscrew the screws.

When you unscrew the screws, lift the left side a little (if you look at the photo above) hard drive plate and gently pull it to the left. The hard drive will be disconnected from the contacts and will be in your hands.

Happened? Great! Now, in this plate, in the same way as the hard drive was installed, we install the SSD drive and screw it in with screws.

We take our solid state drive, which is already fixed in the mount, and install it in the laptop. We install it in the same way as we removed the HDD.

First, place the SSD with one side into the contacts at a slight angle and move it until it is completely connected and lies in the desired place. Secure it with screws.

All is ready! The SSD drive is installed and ready for use. You can try turning on the laptop.

If everything starts up normally, then you can start Windows installation. There are several features there. I wrote about this in a separate article.

Best wishes!

Also on the site:

Installing an SSD drive in a laptop instead of a hard drive [using the example of an Asus K56CM laptop and SSD Vertex 4] updated: February 17, 2014 by: admin

Read step-by-step guide on how to select and install a hard drive on your PC. And also, the features of transferring the operating system from one hard drive to another (new). A modern personal computer is complex electronic device, which includes a set of various components that ensure its fast and reliable operation. The main criteria of a computer are its performance and speed, response time and system loading speed, information processing speed.

For these purposes, a personal computer requires a certain space for installing the operating system, a place to store information used to solve internal system problems, and free space for installing and storing various applications and programs that will be installed directly by the user for his own needs.

Usually, no matter how much space on the hard drive there is initially, during operation it steadily decreases and fills up various applications and user files. Therefore, quite often there is not enough free space on the hard drive and you always want to increase it. The presence of large free disk space allows the system to use it to increase the performance of the personal computer as a whole. That's why upgrading your hard drive is one of the easiest ways to improve the performance of your personal computer, whether you just want to add additional storage or want to increase system speed by installing an SSD "SSD". In this guide, we will try to describe the procedure for selecting and installing a new disk on your personal computer.

Content:

Step One: Selecting a New Drive

Choosing a drive that fits your budget and can perform the tasks you expect is the first step. That's enough these days Difficult choice between a traditional hard drive "HDD" and solid state drive "SSD". Everyone must decide this for themselves, based on their needs and capabilities.

Should you use a regular hard drive, or "SSD", or is it better to use both?

Before purchasing a specific disk or drive, each user must answer one question: “What interests me first: increasing the speed or the amount of available memory?”.

Modern SSD drives perform remarkably well and are worthy of an upgrade in almost any system. Switching from a regular hard drive to a storage drive "SSD" increases loading speed and system performance on your personal computer several times. You will start working much faster, application loading speed and large files increases and seriously decreases the time required to load most modern games. However, the main problem is that the price of sufficiently large drives "SSD"(terabyte and above) is prohibitively large and significantly exceeds the cost of analogues among standard hard drives.

As an alternative to a solid state drive "SSD" protruding standard hard drive "HDD". Regular hard disks are slower, but in return they offer huge free space for storing information relatively cheaply, especially compared to a drive "SSD". You can easily find hard drives with a capacity of four terabytes - this is enough to satisfy any needs (except perhaps the most demanding media storage, for which special servers or arrays), for no more than $100 dollars.

You can also combine the benefits of SSDs together "SSD" and regular hard drives "HDD". If your personal computer allows you to use more than one drive (and the vast majority of them do), then you can install your operating system on the main drive "SSD" For quick access to programs and main files, and use a traditional hard drive large capacity for storing files. The drive does it "SSD" especially attractive if you already have a regular hard drive in your computer. In this case, you can easily reinstall or move the operating system to the drive "SSD" and store all information on the remaining hard drive "HDD".

If you decide not to spend money, or you are limited to connecting only one drive in your laptop, for example, then you can spend a significant amount of money and purchase a multi-terabyte drive. "SSD". But for most users, using an SSD "SSD" small capacity combined with a large capacity hard drive is an excellent compromise.

What physical disk size should I choose?

"HDD" usually come in two sizes: "2.5"(Small Form Factor - "SFF") And "3.5"(Large Form Factor - "LFF"). "3.5-inch" disks, also known as "full size" or "desktop disks", these are disks oriented mainly for use in desktop computers. Almost every desktop personal computer has room for at least one (and sometimes more) "3.5-inch" disks. A possible exception to this list are super small form factor computers, which can only use "2.5-inch" disks.

"2.5-inch" drives are traditionally designed for laptops, but are also great for desktop personal computers. Some desktop computers have built-in mounting points for "2.5-inch" disks. If you do not have such mounting points, then you will need a special mounting bracket, which you can purchase additionally. Please note that such brackets are usually marked as "SSD mounting brackets". This is because all SSDs in the traditional hard drive form have "2.5-inch" size.

And, continuing the conversation about storage devices "SSD", there is one more form factor to discuss: this is the standard "M.2", which is used to implement high-performance solid-state drives used in compact devices (tablets, ultrabooks). These drives are actually more like a memory stick than a standard hard drive. Instead of connecting to the motherboard via cable "SATA", just like regular disks do, standard disks "M.2" connected to a dedicated slot. If you are interested in such disks, then you first need to determine whether your personal computer supports their installation.

There is one more feature of laptops. As laptops have become smaller and sleeker in shape, they have also become more difficult to upgrade. Most laptops that aren't super tiny still use "2.5-inch" drives, but they may or may not provide access to that drive bay to the average user. Bulkier laptops and several business class laptop models such as « Lenovo ThinkPad» or « Dell Latitude» , provide easy access to the drive bay. Other laptop models may require more complex, time-consuming work to access the drive bay, or may not have access at all, especially if they have upgraded to an expensive standard "M.2". If your laptop or computer is still under warranty, any replacement will void the warranty, and you need to keep this in mind before you decide to make any changes to your computer's configuration.

What connection should I use?

All modern "3.5-inch" And "2.5-inch" disks use "SATA connection" for power supply and data transmission.

If you are installing the drive on a standard personal computer, then power cable "SATA"- This is a fifteen-pin cable that runs from your computer's power source. If your personal computer only offers older four-pin cables "Molex", you can buy special inexpensive adapters, who do their job wonderfully.

Data cable "SATA" requires your motherboard to support "SATA connection"(this applies to everyone modern computers), and can be provided in several different configurations. Some cables have a straight connector at one end and "L-shaped" connector at the other end. "L-shaped" The connector makes it easy to install into slots that are located fairly close to other computer components. Some cables "SATA" have straight connectors on both sides (for example, as shown in the figure below), or, conversely, have "L-shaped" connectors on both ends. When you purchase a hard drive, you receive cables along with it. But if you have limited disk space, be aware that there are various configurations cables that you can use.

If you are installing a drive in a laptop that allows the user to directly access the corresponding compartment, then the entire installation procedure is quite simple. You can usually plug the drive directly into a slot that already has power and data connections—there are simply no cables to connect it to.

A few more words about "SATA" disks. Latest version standard "SATA" is the version "SATA 3.3", and the discs and cables are backwards compatible with older versions. For regular personal computers, you need to make sure that the drive you buy works as well as or faster than the connection your motherboard supports. Most connections "SATA" for motherboards over the last five years support at least version "3.0". The same goes for the cable. "SATA" which you are buying. Laptops don't use SATA cables, so just make sure the drive you're upgrading to is using the same version "SATA" or newer than the drive you are replacing.

How much disk storage do I need?

Everything is quite simple: based on the availability of tasks required for disks and the capabilities of your budget. Drives with more storage capacity are correspondingly more expensive than drives with smaller capacity, regardless of the type of drive you are considering (Solid State Drives "SSD" or regular hard drives "HDD"). You need to find a middle ground that meets your disk requirements and your financial capabilities. Then you can decide what size disks you will use.

How fast should my drive be?

As in previous paragraph, the default response is: "As fast as you can afford". However, if you are upgrading from a regular HDD to an SSD "SSD", you will be pleasantly surprised by the significant increase in speed, no matter what. Therefore, it will not be important for you to choose the fastest drive "SSD", since the loading speed compared to a conventional hard drive will be significantly increased. In this case, the desire to get a drive will be much more important "SSD", having more memory than obtaining even greater speed, which is for different models drive "SSD" doesn't vary that much.

If you buy a conventional drive, then its speed is expressed in "RPM"– number of spindle revolutions per minute. The most common disk speeds are: "5400 rpm"– this is a typical speed for low-cost drives (especially in form factors "2.5"), and drives with rotation speed "7200 rpm". Some high-performance hard drives are available at speeds "10,000 rpm", but in most cases they are simply replaced by faster drives "SSD".

There is also another option here, in case your choice is limited only to a regular hard drive. So called, "Hybrid" drives that combine a large standard hard drive and a small flash memory cache. It won't make your hard drive faster than your drive. "SSD", but file caching can significantly improve performance if you access the same programs and files over and over again. But such a drive may cost slightly more than a standard hard drive.

Step Two: Decide whether to migrate your operating system or perform a clean install again

You bought new disk and are ready to install it. Next step– Decide whether you want to migrate your operating system to a new drive or just do a clean install and start working with the new operating system. Each method has its pros and cons.

Operating system migration

Complete transfer of your operating system (and all your personal data and installed applications) means no need to worry about reinstallation "Windows", customizing it to your own preferences, and reinstallation each of your applications. The downside is that it is a rather slow and tedious process.

If you're moving from one drive to another (as opposed to simply installing an additional drive on your computer), you'll probably want to move your operating system to the new drive instead of installing it again. The bad news is that it is a slow and tedious process. The good news is that doing this is not that difficult. Most new drives come with tools to do this. And if you didn’t receive the disk free tool, that is, there are other ways to transfer the operating system to a new disk, which you can easily find on the Internet.

If you are using a laptop, then you need to use "USB adapter" "SATA" so that you can connect both drives at the same time. You can install a new drive, perform the transfer, and then decide whether to keep old disk How extra bed to store information or delete it.

Performing a clean installation

There are also benefits to performing a clean install of your operating system on a new drive. The main advantage is the fact that you can start over. Your new operating system will not freeze or slow down, but will work without any glitches or errors that could arise after multiple installations and uninstallations various programs and applications. You can configure the system the way you want and install only those programs and applications that you need at the moment.

At the same time, this is also a disadvantage, since you will have to go through the entire installation of the operating system and additional programs from the very beginning. To be fair, it must be said that this process occurs faster than full transfer system to a new disk. Performance clean install means you'll only reinstall the apps and games you want. You should also make sure you have everything installation files those applications that you plan to install again. You will need to find them along with all the necessary license information to re-register and activate.

Step Three: Install a New Drive

The steps to install (or replace) a hard drive are slightly different depending on whether you are installing the drive on a laptop or a regular personal computer.

Installing a new drive in a laptop

Different laptop models have different ways access to the drive bay, if this method is provided by the laptop manufacturer. In some cases, the compartment is quite easy to access. Some business class laptop models allow you to replace the drive by unscrewing just one screw, others may require complete removal bottom of the laptop or even removing the keyboard. You can usually find the exact instructions by searching online for your manufacturer and specific model laptop.

For example, consider the option of replacing a disk in a laptop "ThinkPad T450". The replacement process is quite typical for similar models that allow you to upgrade your hard drive.

To access the drive, you must remove the battery and then remove eight different screws on the bottom of the laptop. This will release the bottom cover of the case and allow you to remove it from the computer. Next, in one of the corners of the laptop you will see a hard drive. Remove the last screw holding the hard drive in place. Then gently pull the disc and move it slightly to the side to release it from the built-in "SATA connections", and remove the disk from the laptop case. Insert the new hard drive into the free space, carefully connecting it to the built-in "SATA connection", being careful not to damage it, and secure the new hard drive into the computer case with the retaining screw. Reinstall the housing cover, secure it with screws and return it to its place. battery. This completes the procedure for replacing the hard drive in a laptop.

Again, the entire hard drive replacement process will vary greatly depending on what kind of laptop you have. If you need step-by-step instruction for your specific laptop model, then you can use wide possibilities Internet and find it either on the manufacturer’s website, or use the advice of other users who already have experience with such replacements.

Installing a new disk in a regular personal computer

This process is a little more complicated than on a laptop, but good news is that disk access is usually much easier than on most laptops.

You will need a standard Phillips screwdriver and cable "SATA". If you are completely replacing one drive with another, then you can use old cable "SATA", which is already installed. Your power supply may have an open connection "SATA power supply"– Multiple connectors are often available. But if there is no free connector, then you will need an adapter cable. If you assembled your computer yourself, then the necessary screws for securing the hard drive must be initially installed in the case computer unit. If not, check the kit of spare parts that came with the case.

Turn off the device from the electrical network, disconnect all external devices and power cables, and then move the computer case to the work area. We recommend using an empty, flat, free space (such as a table) that has ample access from all sides, and preferably without a carpet underneath. If you know the configuration of the internal parts of your computer well, then place the case at any accessible angle that is convenient for you, or you can simply leave it vertically. To access the inside of your computer, you will have to remove one or more of the chassis panels.

Remove the access panel cover, which is located on the left side of the computer case when you are looking at your computer from the front. Most designs require you to remove two or three screws from the back, then pull the cover along the body and remove the panel from its retaining hinges. Some personal computers require you to remove the cover from the entire case, not just the access panel. If you are not sure what to do, look online for instructions for your case model. This shouldn't be too difficult and you can easily find it.

Take a minute to get your bearings and look at the configuration of your computer's internals. You should see the motherboard with a boxed power supply either on the top or bottom of the case, and your computer's drive or drives installed in the front of the case. Data cable "SATA" must be connected from the motherboard to the drive, and the power cable "SATA" must connect the drive and power supply.

Note: If you do not see a large "3.5-inch" or less "2.5-inch disk", then it can be installed in another location. In new designs, the disk is often located behind the motherboard, so you will need to open the opposite panel to access it.

If you decide not to leave your old disk in the computer as additional disk to store data, then it's time to take it out. You can leave the cables with which your drive was connected to the motherboard and power source and connect them to the new drive after installing it.

First, disconnect the data and power cables from the back of the old drive. There is nothing complicated about this: just pull them out from where they are attached to the disk. Some cables have a small latch mechanism that you will have to squeeze first to release them.

The drive is fixed to a special shelf using screws. The screws come in a variety of sizes and lengths (some of which include silicone spacers for sound deadening) and can be mounted on the bottom of the drive or on the side, depending on your case design. It doesn't matter, just use a screwdriver to unscrew the drive mounting screws and set them aside so you don't lose them. Now take out your disk and carefully put it away. Be careful with it so that, if necessary, you can use it again here or in another device.

Repeat the entire process in reverse order, install a new drive to replace the old one and secure it firmly with screws in the appropriate places. Now connect the cables to the new drive. Each cable fits only to its connector with the corresponding side, so you can’t go wrong when connecting.

If you are adding a new hard drive and the old drive is still in place, the procedure is a little more complicated. You will need to install the hard drive on a shelf (choose any suitable shelf from the available set) and secure it with mounting screws in the appropriate places, and then connect the drive with additional cables.

Connect one end of the data cable "SATA" to the back of the new hard drive and the other end to the motherboard. Motherboard slots are typically located on the side toward the front of the computer in a cluster that has two to six slots. It doesn't really matter which connector you use, although you can daisy chain it to the nearest connector to keep the computer unit's internal organization organized.

Now connect the power "SATA" from the power supply to the new drive. If you already have a drive installed, check the power cable from it because they usually have multiple plugs allowing them to be used for multiple drives. If your power supply has no free power connectors "SATA"