How to Replace/Upgrade the HDD of a Laptop with an SSD

Updated by Linda on February 17, 2022 to Disk/Partition Clone | User Guide

Preparations Before Replacing a Laptop's HDD with an SSD

Upgrading your laptop's hard drive to an SSD is relatively straightforward. Before you get started, let's go over what you'll need.

♦ The right tools.

If your laptop has an easily accessible hard drive bay underneath a removable panel on the bottom, this will be simple. If your laptop doesn't have easy access, you'll need a special tool kit with things like a precision screwdriver, suction cup, spudger, and tweezers.

♦ Solid-state drive.

First, figure out which interface your laptop supports (typically SATA or PCIe) and what form factor will fit (usually 2.5 inches or the slimmer M.2). Then it's a trade-off between price, performance, and size.

♦ A superfast disk-cloning app.

You may ask why we need a disk cloning software. Before you replace the old hard drive with a new one, it's better to back up your system or clone disk, as data loss can happen anytime.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Upgrade Your Laptop's HDD to an SSD

Connect the SSD to your laptop

Physically connect the SSD. Slide the SSD into its enclosure, or plug it into your USB-to-SATA adapter, then connect the USB cable to your laptop.

2. Clone a Hard Drive

To simplify the process of cloning a laptop hard drive, you can save time and effort by downloading this 100% secure disk cloning software - AOMEI Backupper Disk Clone tool:

Note: This software is fully compatible with all Windows operating systems, which means you can install it on any Windows PC or laptop to create a disk image. Now, follow the steps below:

Advance Notice:

• Sector-by-sector copy requires the target disk to be the same size or larger than the source disk. Uncheck this option if you want to clone a larger hard drive to a smaller one. • All data on the target disk will be completely erased. Proceed with caution.

Step 1: To start copying/cloning an entire disk to another, select the disk in Disk Mode and click Next.

Step 2: Select another disk as the target disk.

A warning appears, telling you that you will lose your data. Confirm the warning by clicking OK, and then click Next.

Step 3: Check the disk layout of your two drives. You can choose to “Auto adjust the size of target disk,” “Keep the same as source disk,” or “Edit disk layout” to manage the layout of the destination disk.

• "Auto-adjust disk" will make some changes to the default layout of the target disk so that it can be in the best state. • "Copy as source disk" will not change anything on the target disk and the layout will be the same as the source disk. • "Edit disk layout" allows you to manually adjust/move the partition layout on this target disk.

Check the box for "Choose this option if your target is an SSD" to optimize performance for your SSD.

Click “Proceed” to execute the task officially.

Video Tutorial - Cloning HDD to SSD

3. Upgrading the Laptop's HDD to an SSD

>>> Turn off the computer and remove the back cover.

Shut down your laptop, unplug the power cord and any connected cables, including the SSD. Then remove the screws from the back panel and take it off to access the drive.

Use a tool to secure the hard drive to the laptop. You'll need to remove these screws before you can take the hard drive out.

Lift the old drive up at a 30° or 45° angle and pull it out. Install the SSD and put the rear cover back on.

4. Boot from SSD

Now for the moment of truth: fire up your laptop. If it boots up normally, and you see all your programs and settings just as you left them (only much faster), you're home free.