Difficulty
Moderate
Steps
9
Time Required
15 minutes
Sections
1
- Hard Drive
- 9 steps
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Introduction
What you need
Step 1
Hard Drive
- Gather tools and materials
- Flip over laptop, and remove battery as a safety precaution
Gather tools and materials
Flip over laptop, and remove battery as a safety precaution
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Step 2
- If you look at the bottom of the laptop, you will notice that there is a panel that is removable
- Unscrew the screws that hold the panel in place
- Unscrew the screws until they are loose. They will not come out of the panel
- After loosening all the screws, lift the panel up from the main chassis
- You may need to use a flathead screwdriver to lift the panel
If you look at the bottom of the laptop, you will notice that there is a panel that is removable
Unscrew the screws that hold the panel in place
Unscrew the screws until they are loose. They will not come out of the panel
After loosening all the screws, lift the panel up from the main chassis
You may need to use a flathead screwdriver to lift the panel
Step 3
- Now we have access to the internals of the laptop, pretty neat
- If the battery is away from you, the hard drive should be closer towards you on the left
- Start by removing the screws holding the caddy into the chassis
- These screws have a more rounded top, and are longer
- Once loosened, you can remove with your fingers or tweezers, and then set them aside
Now we have access to the internals of the laptop, pretty neat
If the battery is away from you, the hard drive should be closer towards you on the left
Start by removing the screws holding the caddy into the chassis
These screws have a more rounded top, and are longer
Once loosened, you can remove with your fingers or tweezers, and then set them aside
Step 4
- Now we remove the screws holding the drive to the caddy
- These screws are have a flatter head, and are shorter
- These are standard drive screws that are used to mount any hard drive to a mounting device, such as brackets to put it in a desktop computer
- The manufacturer likes to put these in very tightly, and it may take some effort to remove. I suggest using a screwdriver with a bigger handle, not the one I am using
- Set these screws aside, apart from the screws we removed in the last step
Now we remove the screws holding the drive to the caddy
These screws are have a flatter head, and are shorter
These are standard drive screws that are used to mount any hard drive to a mounting device, such as brackets to put it in a desktop computer
The manufacturer likes to put these in very tightly, and it may take some effort to remove. I suggest using a screwdriver with a bigger handle, not the one I am using
Set these screws aside, apart from the screws we removed in the last step
Step 5
- Now that the screws are removed, the caddy can be removed from the chassis and drive
- Pull the black tab on the right side of the caddy, and pull up
- It might take some wiggling but it should come out
Now that the screws are removed, the caddy can be removed from the chassis and drive
Pull the black tab on the right side of the caddy, and pull up
It might take some wiggling but it should come out
Step 6
- Now that the caddy is removed, we can lift the drive out of it’s place
- It should lift out easily, but it will still be attached with a cable
- Set it aside on top of the optical drive (the metal surface)
Now that the caddy is removed, we can lift the drive out of it’s place
It should lift out easily, but it will still be attached with a cable
Set it aside on top of the optical drive (the metal surface)
Step 7
- Now that the drive is removed, we have to remove the cable connecting it to the motherboard
- It may be hard to do at first, but there are some groves that you can use to hold on to
- Pull the connector from the drive gently
- Wiggling the connector a bit does help a little
Now that the drive is removed, we have to remove the cable connecting it to the motherboard
It may be hard to do at first, but there are some groves that you can use to hold on to
Pull the connector from the drive gently
Wiggling the connector a bit does help a little
Step 8
- If you found it difficult to remove the drive or the cable connecting the drive to the motherboard, you can remove the whole cable at once
- If you look to the right of the drive, you will see another tab, this one is black, but I’ve also seen blue ones
- Pull this tab gently in order to remove the cable
- Again, wiggling also helps
If you found it difficult to remove the drive or the cable connecting the drive to the motherboard, you can remove the whole cable at once
If you look to the right of the drive, you will see another tab, this one is black, but I’ve also seen blue ones
Pull this tab gently in order to remove the cable
Again, wiggling also helps
Step 9
- If you removed the drive using steps 1-7 then what you have should be left in picture 1
- If you had trouble removing the drive, and you went through to step 8, then the parts remaining will be in picture 2
- The drive should have a SATA interface, so you should be able to mount it into another computer using 2.5" to 3.5" converter brackets and a SATA cable
If you removed the drive using steps 1-7 then what you have should be left in picture 1
If you had trouble removing the drive, and you went through to step 8, then the parts remaining will be in picture 2
The drive should have a SATA interface, so you should be able to mount it into another computer using 2.5" to 3.5" converter brackets and a SATA cable
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
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Eric Bentley
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