How to Change a Toshiba Laptop Hard Drive

There are typically two reasons to change the hard drive in a laptop: the inability to access parts of the disk drive or other errors, and to upgrade. Changing the hard drive in a Toshiba laptop is very simple. A user should first read the documentation that came with the laptop to verify hard drive compatibility. The exact location of the hard drive compartment for the specific model will also be in the documentation.

Things You'll Need

• Phillips screwdriver

Instructions

1. Turn off the laptop and close the LCD screen.

2. Remove all peripheral devices including printer cables, USB connections and monitor cables.

3. Disconnect the power cable from the laptop.

4. Flip the laptop upside down. Be careful not to place the laptop on a surface which can scratch the top.

5. Remove the screw from the hard drive compartment. The hard drive compartment should be marked as the \"hard drive\" or \"HDD.\" The exact location of the hard drive compartment will be in the documentation that came with the laptop. Use the Phillips screwdriver to remove the screw (all Toshiba laptops utilize a Phillips screw to hold the hard drive compartment).

6. Pull the hard drive out of the hard drive compartment.

7. Add the new hard drive into the hard drive compartment. It will fit only one way. Do not try to force. Push the hard drive in firmly until the hard drive outer panel is flush with the laptop casing.

8. Screw the screw back into the hard drive compartment.

9. Flip the laptop back over to the upright position.

10. Reconnect all cables and peripherals.

11. Turn on the computer and verify that the hard drive is found. If the hard drive is new and has no information on it, then the computer should boot the \"C:\\\" prompt.

Resources

• Toshiba's website