If you are looking for how to upgrade laptop to SSD by yourself, then you are on the right page. I will be taking you through a simple tutorial that will help you upgrade your laptop to SSD.
If what you seek is how to upgrade your laptop’s SSD size, then you should check a previous article I wrote about that; “How to upgrade your laptop SSD Size“.
This article aims at helping you replace your HDD with an SSD. That is the main purpose of the content on this page. You can use the table of content below to navigate the page. Click on any of the topics to jump to the particular article.
HDD Vs SSD
Knowing the difference between HDD and SSD makes you understand why it is even important to upgrade your laptop to SSD.
HDD stands for Hard Disk Drive. It is a type of storage device used in earlier computers. The structure of this storage medium allows storage on metallic discs known as platters. A magnetic Read and Write head inside the HDD allows storing and retrieving of data from the platters.
SSD stands for Solid State Drive. This type of storage device uses flash memory technology to store data safely and makes it readily available when needed.
If you are comparing HDDs to SSDs, SSDs are way better compared to HDDs. There are many reasons why SSDs are better than HDDs.
- The period until when HDDs are no longer usable is shorter than that of SSDs. You can read the previous article about How long HDDs can last to know more.
- HDDs stop working when they fall. That is because the magnetic head will crush into the platters when it falls. SSDs on the other hand can fall several times but will still work.
- HDDs demand more power to operate compared to SSDs. This is because the platters need some serious spinning before the head can read from or write to them.
- SSDs load faster than HDDs because they use flash memory technology to load the files.
These are some of the major reasons why switching to SSD is very important.
Are SSDs expensive?
SSDs are quite expensive compared to HDDs. But if you look at the advantages, it is worth the price. Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) currently are selling way cheaper than Solid State Drives (SSDs).
If you want an SSD, you can get some for as cheap as $10 on AliExpress. You can get from 60GB to 1TB of SSD from the shop link above.
Another thing you must know before purchasing your SSD is to know which type of SSD you need. There are four different types of SSDs and you must know which one your system uses.
Take a quick look at the types of SSDs to know which one your system uses and buy the same thing when making your purchase.
How to upgrade your laptop to SSD
By now, I will assume you have already purchased your SSD. If you have, then simply follow the steps below to upgrade your laptop to SSD.
- Backup your data
Backup your data from the HDD that is in your laptop onto an external storage or cloud storage.
- Create a bootable Pendrive or Recovery disc
You will have to do a new install right after replacing your HDD with an SSD. The bootable Pendrive or Recovery disc comes in handy. If you go with a recovery disc, then you must make sure your laptop has a CD-ROM Drive.
- Remove your HDD
Shut down your laptop, and check from your manufacturer’s website how to remove the HDD from your laptop. All laptops have different ways of removing their Hard Drives so follow your manufacturer’s manual.
- Insert your SSD
Reverse the process of removing the HDD except insert the SSD instead of the HDD. Make sure you put the SSD exactly where the HDD was before you removed it.
- Reinstall OS
If you turn on your laptop, you will get an “Operating System Not Found” error. It is completely normal. Insert your recovery disc or bootable pen drive and install the operating system. You can follow eduhintz.com’s tutorial about How to install Windows on a laptop to reinstall your OS.
If you are done installing your Operating System, simply restore your backup and your laptop is as fresh as new. You have successfully upgraded your laptop to SSD.