How to choose an obstacle hard disk upgrade?

What is the most scientific way to upgrade the hard drive in an old laptop? Is it about planning or just buying, and is it a good choice or not? In fact, upgrading a laptop's hard drive can be a bit tricky. Today, I'll share a detailed guide on how to upgrade your laptop's hard drive effectively.

Check the Interface of Your Old Hard Drive

Upgrading a notebook isn't as simple as just buying a new drive. There are various types of hard drive interfaces today, such as SATA, mSATA, and M.2 (SATA/NVMe). Choosing the wrong one could even make installation difficult.

Let me show you some images to help you distinguish between different interface types:

SATA interface

mSATA

M.2 2242/2260/2280

Among these, SATA supports both solid-state and mechanical hard drives, while the others are mainly for SSDs. Now, let's look at the options available for upgrading your laptop.

Replace with a 2.5-inch SATA SSD

If your laptop only has a 2.5-inch SATA slot, replacing it with a solid-state drive is straightforward. You don’t need to worry too much about interface speed. However, note that many newer laptops use ultra-thin 7mm hard drives. Make sure the SSD you choose fits your laptop’s thickness. If your laptop uses a 9mm drive, you might need a spacer, which is usually included with the SSD.

If you remove the mechanical hard drive, you can repurpose it as an external drive using a hard drive enclosure. Most enclosures are designed for 9mm drives, but they often come with spacers or soft padding, so no worries there.

Use mSATA/M.2 + 2.5-inch Mechanical Hard Drive

This is the most cost-effective option if you want to keep your original mechanical hard drive for storage. Buy a small to medium-sized SSD for faster performance, and keep the mechanical drive for large files. This setup gives you both speed and storage. The downside is increased power consumption, which may slightly reduce battery life when using the laptop on battery power.

If your laptop has an mSATA port, note that this interface is mostly replaced by M.2 now. Industrial devices still use it, but brand-name mSATA SSDs are limited in selection. Avoid unknown brands, as their quality can be questionable.

M.2 SSDs come in two types: NVMe and SATA. NVMe is significantly faster than SATA. When purchasing, make sure to specify which type you want. If unsure, provide your laptop model to the seller, and they can help you find the right one.

How to Upgrade If Your Laptop Only Has One Interface?

If your laptop is an ultra-thin model with only an M.2 interface, like an Ultrabook, you have limited options. In this case, the best choice is to replace the existing M.2 SSD with a larger-capacity one.