How to Remove a Hard Drive From a Laptop Computer

This is a general video on how to remove the hard drive from a laptop computer. These steps may be a bit, and in some cases totally different, than what you have to do to get your hard drive out. But the general idea is the same, so if you follow these steps, you will be able to replace your hard drive.

Next, shut down the laptop and remove all power sources from it. This includes the Wall plug, and the battery.

After this, it is time to disassemble the laptop to get to the hard drive. This can include several different methods. The easiest method is the one shown in the video where the hard drive can be found under the covers on the bottom of the laptop. Unfortunately, not all laptops are made like this. The next "class" is about as easy as the covers, where the laptop is in a slide out tray on the side of the laptop. Basically there will be 2-4 screws that you will have to remove, and then a tray will slide out from the side that has the hard drive in it. This is common on a few laptops, like Thinkpad/Lenovo T40, T42, etc, and some Dells like the XPS M1530 and XPS M1330. The next "class" would be having to remove the whole bottom to get to the hard drive. A good example of this is the 2011 Macbook Pros, where you have to take out 6 screws, and then the entire bottom comes out. Another version is where you'll have to take all the screws out of the bottom, then take the keyboard out, then remove screws from under the keyboard, and then separate the laptop into 2 halves. This is the worst version to deal with, and can be seen on quite a few Acer models, older HP's, and many Netbooks.

So once you know how you need to get to the hard drive, you can proceed with taking it apart. Make sure you have a system for keeping track of which screws go where. One method I use is taking a video of the disassembly process that I can rewatch to put it back together. Another method is to draw a rough picture of the laptop and put double sided tape over it. Then whenever you take a screw out, stick it on the picture where it goes.

So now you can start taking out the screws. Make sure to apply a decent amount of direct downward force, but not enough to break the plastic. If you try to apply pressure at an angle, or don't use enough pressure, then you are much more likely to strip the screw and will create huge problems for yourself.

Some screws need to be taken out of the laptop entirely, while other screws stay embedded in the plastic. So if a screw seems stuck, don't get out the needlenose and rail on it. Usually the trick is that if it's difficult to get out, it's supposed to stay in.

After you have take out the screws needed to get to the hard drive (you may have to repeat this step and the last multiple times if you laptop has layers to go through) pull on the plastic covering gently to remove it. Some of the plastic coverings will have clips that need to be gently removed, so apply a little force to stuck areas to test if there are clips, but generally if the plastic is not coming apart easily, it's either not meant to come apart, or you forgot to take out a screw.

[Shytzedaka]

Small tip: You can Put Laptop hard disks in Normal desktop computers. it will still work :P

[AndyMorrisArt]

thanks man. I'm planning on using my old laptop hdd as an external drive

[scattycat]

FTW: shouting and verbally abusing the device helps.

[spottedstar]

Thank you! This really helped. When I tried doing it by myself, I got the lid off and was like, "Okay, that things the hard drive, but how the heck do I get it out?"

[phyllisgehman]

Thank you so much for the thorough explanation, the great audio, and the great camera work. Your video answered all of my questions. It needs no room for improvement. Thanks.

[nagyesszep]

Thanks a lot for this video, I was looking for the word "caddy" and whether it is safe to remove the hdd from it. Very useful video!

[NordicAnimation]

I have a slider thing under my laptop that removes the bottom instead of screws, so I had it much easier ;D

[Spotman]

You have a great voice for tutorials. Thank you very much.

[WhimsyWendy]

Thanks for showing what a regular hard drive (hard disk) looks like.  This was helpful.

[davidlingaard]

Thank you boy for the explanation, can a laptop startup without the HDD?

[TheIndigoinfusion]

Thanks, I was struggling to take my old hard drive out and didn't even know what a hard drive looked like before seeing this video, so thanks for your help

[glenharrison]

Thankyou intresting I have my lap top in the Lap top shop getting a new hard drive so I know how it looks like now when it's being worked on thanks for showing how

[arthurwatts]

Those of us with Acer laptops basically have to remove the entire bottom of the laptop to get to the HDD - way to go, Acer ;)

[anton]

Thanks, this was very helpful. How can I get Windows and all my software on to the newly replaced hard drive?

[alxporrini]

Thank god for this video. I have to replace my Lenovo laptop’s hard drive because the hard drive broke. So I bought a new hard drive. The new hard drive doesn’t have a booting system because it’s bran new. So I got to down load it. Thanks again.

[rosskilpatrick]

Thanks heaps followed your instructions and got it out.

[jasonlisonbee]

Is the screw head size the same for all of models? IOW will I need to buy multiple screw drivers or a kit to ensure I get the correct size or just one screwdriver? What size(s)?

[contecrayononpaper]

This seems like a metaphor for something. So much does.

[sunya]

What kind of screwdriver are you using Sir?

[TheTombot]

I've noticed some hard drives have a thin metal sheet covering them as well. What is this sheet called and is it necessary if your laptop had one to begin with (I'm talking about a Lenovo ThinkPad and the metal sheet is lost).