Whether you’re trying to replace a broken hard drive or upgrade to a solid state drive (SSD), the first thing you need to do is find out whether your laptop is upgradeable. Most laptops that have mechanical hard drives provide a way for you to remove the bottom or open a door to access the hard drives. However, some systems are sealed shut and make it impossible to replace their drives. There are three main ways to find out whether your laptop’s hard drive is upgradable: Anthony will have to check both the new and the old computer to make sure that their drives are both accessible and that they use the same type of drive, most likely a 2.5-inch SATA hard drive. If the broken laptop takes a 2.5-inch SATA drive and the working laptop does not, Anthony should consider buying a replacement drive. You can buy a 1TB Seagate notebook hard drive for just $49 or a speedy 250GB SSD for only $99. Even if the two laptops use the same type of hard drive and both have accessible drive bays, Anthony will still have to install the operating system and all relevant drivers onto the computer that needs to be fixed. Unless the two laptops are the same make, model and configuration, simply moving the hard drive without reinstalling the OS will result in a computer that can’t boot up. If the broken laptop ran Windows, Anthony will need to get the correct install disc (or USB drive) that matches the Windows product key that shipped with the laptop. Most laptops don’t come with a Windows disc or a restore disc, but, fortunately, Microsoft provides a way to download a Windows 7 (opens in new tab), Windows 8.1 (opens in new tab) or Windows 10 installer (opens in new tab). To download a new Windows installer from Microsoft, you just need to enter the appropriate product key. This is often printed on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop or on booklet that came with the laptop when you bought it. Microsoft provides instructions on the download page that show you how to write the installer onto a USB flash drive or DVD-R. Image Credit: Shutterstock
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