How To Remove Hard Drive From Laptop Safely So You Can Use it Again

Personal computers are where many of us store our most essential personal “things” (at least those that are digital in nature), such as family photographs. Computers, on the other hand, do not endure indefinitely, and if your computer fails, you will want to recover the hard drive so that you may use it with another computer. The following steps will walk you through the process of removing the hard disc. Laptops with hard drives that can be accessed simply via a cover on the bottom are available on the market. In this case, though, you must remove the keyboard in order to reach the hard drive, which is a somewhat more difficult process than it seems in the video.

Step 1: Tools Needed

Step 2: Safety Considerations

Warning: Do not operate on your laptop while it is connected to a power source, or you may be electrocuted. Before doing any work on your laptop, be sure that the power cable is disconnected and that the battery has been taken from it. It is also a good idea to hold down the power button for a couple of seconds after removing the battery to ensure that there is no longer any energy in the laptop.

If you’re concerned about the security of your hard drive, it’s important to remember that magnets have the ability to destroy information stored electronically on hard drives. This is correct; but, the magnets used to do this must be rather strong. However, I would not be very concerned if a refrigerator magnet were to come into touch with your laptop by mistake (better safe than sorry).

Step 3: Remove All Power Sources

Make certain that the laptop is disconnected and that the battery has been removed. Simply move both tabs (blue arrows) to the exterior of the computer and pull the battery away from the computer to do this (red arrow). After the battery has been removed, press and hold the power button for three seconds to discharge any remaining charge from the system.

Step 4: Remove Screws

Following your confirmation that all power has been removed from the laptop, you may begin removing it from the computer case. Remove the screws that have been indicated in red to begin. The screws that are circled in blue should not be removed at this time since they are the ones that hold the hard drive in place. Once the screws indicated in red have been removed, you may remove the cover that has been drawn around them in red.

Step 5: Remove More Screws

Remove the screws circled in red.

Step 6: Remove CD/DVD Reader

Remove the CD/DVD (outlined in yellow) reader by simply pulling the entire unit out.

Step 7: Remove the Keyboard

Remove the keyboard by depressing the four tabs at the top of the keyboard (which are highlighted in red) and lifting the keyboard up from its resting position. For the tabs, you will need to use a jeweler’s screwdriver, which is available at any hardware store. Using one tab at a time, beginning at one of the corners, and lifting up on that section of the keyboard is the quickest and most effective method.

The tabs are not really a part of the keyboard; rather, they are a component of the surrounding casing, and they extend out onto the keyboard, which helps to hold the keyboard in place when typing.

Once the keyboard has been released, do not attempt to lift it with force! Take a look at the following phase.

Step 8: Remove Keyboard Cable

Lifting up on the keyboard to disclose the keyboard cable will be revealed after the keyboard has been liberated from all four tabs (outlined in black). The wire is quite thin, so proceed with caution and do not attempt to rip it out (unless you do not want to reuse the keyboard). To remove the cable, lift up on the black connection tab (which has been highlighted in red).

Step 9: Remove Strips

In order to obtain access to the hard drive, you will need to remove the plate seen above. To begin, disconnect the strips that have been marked with red arrows (see the next step.)

Step 10: Remove Strips (Continued)

Lifting up on the black connection tabs (highlighted in red) in the same manner as you did while removing the keyboard cord will loosen the strips.

Step 11: Remove More Screws

After that, remove the screws that were holding the plate in place (circled in red.) Then just pull the dish off the table and place it away.

Step 12: Locate Hard Drive

We’re almost finished! The hard disc is shown by a red arrow on the screen. To remove it from the laptop, you must first undo the screws that hold it in place (see the next step.)

Step 13: Remove Hard Drive Screws

It is now necessary to remove the screws that have been circled in blue (the ones that were left in place in step #4). Once the hard disc has been removed, it will be possible to remove it.

Step 14: Pull Out Hard Drive

Once you’ve done that, just slide the hard drive in the direction of the red arrow and pull it out. You’ll be done in a flash!

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