How can I remove the hard drive from an old HP laptop?

I’ve found it! It was under a cover, but it doesn’t say anywhere on it that it’s a drive. There was never any need to take the laptop apart. I’d never seen a laptop HDD before, so didn’t know what to look for.

For future reference, even many obscure laptops and other pieces of equipment have “how to take them apart” videos people have posted on the Internet.

Funny you ask, I just did this over the weekend.

In my case there were seven screws (two under the rubber no-slip pads on the bottom). Unscrew them, pry the bottom off.

There were three screws holding the plastic framework surround the hard drive. Unscrew them and pull the cables out.

Buy an enclosure for the hard drive on Ebay (with a USB cable) and you have extra external storage that is portabl.e

@elbanditoroso It’s an old DV4000. There’s little info on it. I did eventually see an article which showed where the drive is. I had actually had the cover off at one point, but didn’t realise it was the drive.

Ha, I have one of those! I should take out the HDD and recycle the rest. What a boat anchor! The first time I took it through the airport I was behind a 300 lb guy with a lightweight laptop at the TSA line. He was twice my weight but had a laptop half the weight of mine. I thought the 4:1 ratio was a hoot, and realized he had the right idea.

You could go online and find owners manual by using the model number.

First of all, take it apart. There are probably screws holding it together from the underside.
Locate the hard drive. It is probably held in place by at least four screws. Also, the hard drive plugs into the mother board via a plug. Disconnect the plug, remove the screws and you will have it.

Yep, add an adapter and you have a little portable drive. Plus it’s easier to store in your house (if you don’t want to hassle with wiping the data before getting rid of it).

@RocketGuy It’s a parallel IDE type connection. I’d have to buy an adapter, and I’m not sure it’s worth it for that. I might just take a hammer to it, or take it apart just… because.

Adapters are about $20, which is my limit for impulse buys. I have one. Still, I have an old hard drive that has obsolete data on it. I just stash it in the corner of my room. Not devoting any time to erase it or smash it.