How To Install a New Hard Drive On a Laptop? (5 Easy Steps Unlocked)

Installing a new hard drive on your laptop can be a great way to increase its storage capacity, speed up performance, or replace a faulty drive. While it may seem like a daunting task, with the right tools and instructions, you can easily install a new hard drive on your laptop.

Before you begin the installation process, make sure to backup all of your important data to an external drive or cloud storage. You will also need to purchase a compatible hard drive for your laptop, which you can do by consulting your laptop’s manual or manufacturer’s website.

To install the new hard drive, you will need to first turn off your laptop and unplug it from any power sources. Then, locate the panel on the bottom of your laptop that covers the hard drive compartment. Remove the screws that secure the panel and carefully lift it off to expose the old hard drive. Disconnect the cables attached to the hard drive and remove it from the compartment. Insert the new hard drive into the compartment and reattach any cables. Replace the panel and screws, then turn on your laptop and follow the prompts to format and set up the new hard drive.

HDD vs AHCI SATA SSD vs M.2 NVMe SSD

Here I have listed some differences between traditional hard drives, AHCI SATA SSD, and M.2 NVMe, which will help you make the right decision.

HDD	AHCI SATA SSD	M.2 NVMe SSD
Extremely slow at random data reading	Great at random data reading	Same speed as AHCI SATA SSD
Around 100-150 MBps of sequential data read	Around 500 MBps of sequential data read	Around 2500-3500 MBps sequential data read
Uses mechanical parts for storage	Uses electronic parts for storage	Same as AHCI SATA SSD
Not so reliable as an external drive	Very reliable for an external drive	Usually not available as an external drive
Available in as large as 12 TB capacity for consumers	Limited to around 2 TB for consumers	Same as AHCI SATA SSD
Suitable for storing bulky data	Suitable for use with an operating system	Suitable for use with applications with high I/O demands
Life expectancy is short	Depends on the amount of written data	Same as AHCI SATA SSD

I hope this will help you to select your hard drive, which one is best for me, and which suits your budget.

A most comfortable way of increasing your speed boost with (Solid State Drive) SSD or M.2. SSD looks like a traditional hard drive, but M.2 looks like RAM. It directly connects with your laptop motherboard, and it has a particular slot on the laptop board.

Note Before buying M.2 SATA, check your laptop, it has an available M.2 slot or Not.

5 Simple Steps For Installing a New Hard Drive

Backup Your data 

Before changing the hard drive, it is imperative to take a backup of your data. The hard drive is not valuable, but your data is precious, which you have collected over the years. Take the backup of everything that you wish to keep, including

• Documents
• Photo and Videos
• Music
• Games

Using New Hard Drive To Backup Data

Taking a backup of your data is an essential step in changing the laptop’s hard drive. Use your External Flash Drive or External Hard Drive for backing up your data. You can also use your new hard drive for backing up your data by following these steps

Step 1 Attach your new hard drive to your laptop by using SATA Data Cable.

Step 2 Copy your data to your attached hard drive.

You can use Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive or Mega to back up your data. You can access your data on any laptop or, after changing the laptop hard drive anywhere, install it in your new hard drive from Backup Drive.

Clone Your Hard Drive

Clone allows you to clone(copy) all your data. There is much third-party software that allows you to clone your hard drive, but EaseUS is best for the clone.

Remember, if your hard drive has a harmful file, scan your relevant data with antivirus and start with a fresh new hard drive.

Create a Recovery Of Operating System 

After backing up your data, you need to create a recovery disc of windows to reinstall your windows on a new hard drive. You can create a recovery of windows on a USB device.

Remove Existing Hard Drive

Shut down your laptop and unplug it from charging. Open your laptop back case. It depends on your laptop, sometimes it is placed by small screws, or there may be a sliding mechanism. Search your laptop model on the web for specific instructions.

After removing the back case safely, locate your hard drive, and remove it from the laptop. The hard drive will usually be held with a case and set of small screws. Remove it from the laptop by using a screwdriver.

Installing New Hard Drive 

Reverse these steps for placing a new hard drive in your laptop, which you have performed. Follow the documentation of the new hard drive. Place your new hard disk into its case. The old one is tight with a screw. Do the same with the new hard drive and place it on a laptop.

Place its back cover tight with a screw or with sliding locks. Your hard drive is ready to set up.

Note Make sure the hard drive and drive socket is clean.

Installing the New Operating System

After you have installed your hard drive on your laptop, install the operating system. For this, follow these steps:

Step 1: Attach your operating system recovery USB on your laptop or use a new windows USB.

Step 2: Turn On your laptop by the power button and press “Escape” (Esc).

Note Some laptops boot with F9 or F10 that’s why press Escape, and you will see boot options.

Step 3: The startup menu will appear to click on the boot menu. Choose a windows USB device.

Step 4: Follow the on-screen windows instruction, make a partition, and install windows on your new hard drive. Wait until the laptop windows installation finishes. Your laptop might be restarted before it’s finished. It will take up to one hour.

Note: If you forgot to make a partition for your laptop. Don’t worry. You can do it after installing windows.

Step 5: Now, windows have been installed on your laptop. You are ready to use your laptop with a new hard drive.

Example of Changing Hard Drive

We are changing the Dell Latitude E7470 drive. This model is old now, and it has screws for removing the back. Remove its back from the laptop. You can see its hard drive is in the left corner.

To pull the drive itself out, you need to remove its screw and replace it with a new one. Reverse this process.

This process depends on your laptop. Most laptops have the same process of doing this. But use a web browser for your laptop instruction. You may be finding an article or video about your laptop model if you are lucky.

Video Guide

Reinstall Your Backup Data

Now it’s time to back up your data where you have stored it. If you have used clone backup for your data, you might need some software for accessing your data, or if it is saved in google drive or Microsoft Onedrive, Don’t worry, open your backup drive in any web browser and install your data from the drive where you have stored.

Congratulations, you have changed your laptop hard drive and install your backup data.

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Conclusion

This information will help you choose the hard drive and install a new hard drive for your laptop. I recommend using M.2 or SSD if your budget allows it because it is secure when your laptop receives a jerk. It is always recommended to take care of your data when changing the hard drive with a new one.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)