Adding a second HDD to ENVY 14 by replacing Slot Loading Optical drive

Hi, Got my envy a week or so ago and I am wondering if anyone in here has added a second hard drive to their Envy 14?

I got the 160GB SSD and I was looking to replace the slot loading optical drive with a 500GB Momentus XT using this Optical Bay HDD Caddy.

Would this Caddy work in the ENVY 14? What should I watch out for? What could be affected here other than Battery life? How much would battery life be affected?

I would rather use and external DVD/CD drive than an external eSATA drive. That is why I want to switch.

Please advise.

 

I've seen this thing work in the Alienware M15x with no problems at all. I to wonder if the dimensions of that Optical Bay HD Caddy will work. I don't see why it wouldn't I would need to measure how tall the actual optical drive is. I bet it would work though.

 

I know a odd caddy works for the envy14 'cause someone found one that worked. I don't know which caddy works though since the post is lost somewhere in the first or second owners lounge.

 

After some searching, it looks like Ninja2000 and Gertch in the UK thread were able to do it. I PMd both hoping on of them would come here and post their advice and details about their transplant!

Gertch even mentioned he took pictures of the whole thing. But he has not posted yet.

I would love to add my 500GB Momentus XT as my second drive.

 

well I know the maintenance manual has a guide to disassemble the dvd drive.

but well..apparently it wasn't 100% accurate (they had to do things a little bit differently)

 

Sorry, I didnt receive a PM from you.

Yes, Gertch and I have both done it. Its very straight forward if you follow the service manual.
You will need to buy a 9.5mm ODD Sata caddy. I only had a 12.5mm caddy so had to mod it to fit.

Be careful when you remove the ODD as HP stupidly stick the cable to the top of the drive.

 

Can you expand on that? What wasn't accurate?

 

Thanks! Not sure why the PM didnt go through..

 

Have responded to crg's pm and have posted a bit of a tutorial in the UK thread, along with some of my photos (and a link to the original, larger sized photos):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/499592-envy-14-uk-thread-19.html#post6695204

Any questions just let me know.

 

probably the cord being taped to the top of the drive or something.

 

Yes, the manual instructs you to remove the optical drive by disconnecting it's cable from the mainboard end, but we need that connector to remain in place for the new HDD. For our purposes its necessary to disconnect it from the drive end, which the manual doesn't explain.

It's quite simple though, and my tutorial post covers that.

 

A couple of quick questions regarding this. Does the optical drive connect to a SATA2 connection? Does that area get enough cooling for a spinning HDD? Exactly which caddy is needed for this mod on the Envy 14? I assume a standard one won't work ased on the slot loading set-up on this unit. Also, does opening the notebook void the warranty? I see no warranty seals on it.

Many thanks.

 

Same question from my part concerning the brand of the caddy. I've my envy arriving this week together with the SSD but I'm still doubtful on the type of caddy to buy because of the Envy's slot-in drive.

PS Can't seem to send PMs to anyone probably because I'm still new to the forum.

 

I ordered a cheap caddy off ebay - should have it in a few days, it looks like it will fit. Also ordered an OCZ Vertex 2e 120GB. I'll report back in a few days when (if) fitted.

 

Did you buy this one:
9.5mm Serial ATA Optical Bay Hard Drive Adapter/caddy - eBay (item 280505863288 end time Dec-08-10 01:34:43 PST)

 

No - this one:
NEW SATA 2nd HDD caddy for 9.5mm Universal CD/DVD-ROM - eBay (item 140412101084 end time Nov-25-10 18:24:55 PST)

It appears to be shorter in design, so should fit in place of a slot loading drive. I've had the SSD delivered and should have the caddy soon, so I'll let you know if it fits as soon as I try it out.

 

Aren't you worried that about color mismatch? It seems that the one you're buying is black and the Envy chassis is silver.

I've received this link from the newmodeus:
Optical Bay HDD Caddy to replace Slot-Loading Optical,9.5,SATA [OBHD9-SATA-SATA-NF] - $42.00 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

 

Not sure how colour matters with it being a slot loading drive - ie. You aren't going to see it anyway.

 

you guys get those ebay caddy's to work?

just curious if there were sizing issues with them having "faceplates" vs the newmodeus one without...

-=c

 

Yes. Bought it from newmodeus (I contacted them for the exact model for the Envy and they were much helpful) and followed the instructions from a member on this forum. However, while happy with the results, I must say that my laptop is not the same. The keyboard plate, after the mod, doesn't hold properly on the left inferior corner. I can press it down and then you have a flat surface but if you press it again, like when holding the laptop open with your 2 hands, then it just pops out. Not visible by any means but irritating nevertheless (equivalent to a dead pixel, I guess).

Also, during the mod, I found it extremely difficult to put back the cable connecting the touch pad to the motherboard. Lack of slack and tight space meant take it took me 1 week to do it ( ok, several tries each day but very difficult). This is something that is not stressed enough in the guide posted in this forum. Anyway, I don't see how you can bypass its removal but you should be aware that it's going to be a b1tch to put it back on.

 

i bought the ebay caddy a while back and gave it to the computer master to modify/install. he had to trim a lot as i understand, and even after that, the hdd itself (my stock 500gb envy hdd is at this slot now) touched the plastic cover and hence the cover (the one where the keyboard is) elevated about 0.3 mm near the shift key. but he blamed it on the hdd height, not the caddy adapter itself, so i dunno. 'ts a pity he didn't take pics. btw i have a nice dim blueish light through the slot now))))))
still it cost me $18 in ukraine for this work, so i'm glad i spared some $$.

 

There is actually a small flap in the battery compartment that you can lift to access the connector to the touch pad.

 

+1

Great tip....

-=c

 

I bought this caddy:
NEW SATA 2nd HDD caddy for 9.5mm Universal CD/DVD-ROM on eBay (end time 26-Dec-10 02:24:55 GMT)

I had to remove the the bezel and couldn't fit one of the brackets, but it fitted and works fine.

However, I can't get it to boot automatically from the HDD that replaces the optical drive. Wanted to fit my SSD in there, but at the moment I've got the old HDD there instead. Any info would be great.

 

I'm going to give this a try next week. I ordered a caddy, so once it is here, I think I may take the plunge.

Did anyone notice a heat increase or battery life reduction worth mentioning?

 

I bought the caddy from newmodeus, but haven't tried installing it yet. Good thing too, I got a corrupt BIOS during an attempt at applying the latest BIOS update and the system wouldn't boot. Had to send it in for service and haven't received it back.

I'll see if I can get up the guts to give it a shot.

I'm curious to hear about potential heat increases or battery life decreases as well.

 

No heat increase at all, in fact stone cold where the extra hdd is.

 

I added the second HDD to the optical area using the Newmodeus caddy. It has worked pretty well.

I have a slight increase in heat, as temps on the TZ00 and TZ02 are around 104-111. It was much higher, as Windows 7 had SuperFetch on, though I shut it off, since I do not put any programs/applications on the regular HDD, just files.

EDIT: Actually it is about the same as it was before with SuperFetch off. The graphics temp might be higher though. Not sure why that would have changed though. I don't have a reading saved from the previous configuration.

Also I haven't done a battery test with the new HDD. It shouldn't make a huge difference, as I don't use the regular HDD that often (no programs or system files, just video and a few other thins).

 

We should make an official thread for this, with step by step pics and tips on adding the second HDD.

This is pretty good, but I heard there are a few tricky steps: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/499592-envy-14-uk-thread-55.html#post6695204

And i`ve read this caddy fits perfect, though a tad more expensive then ebay: 2nd hard drive or SSD Caddy for HP Envy 14 [OBHD9-SATA-SATA-NF] - $42.00 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

 

Hmm, another member said that the caddy wasn't a perfect fit and still caused his case to bulge. I have one of the cheap ebay ones and was planning on getting the newmodeus caddy's but now I'm unsure.

And has anyone installed an SSD in place of the optical drive, and left the factory drive where it is. Is there any issues with proper booting off the SSD? I'm also considering just double sided taping the SSD down and forget about even using a caddy whatsoever. No moving parts and 1w draw should mean I don't have to worry about heat right?

 

I just got a cheap one off ebay and ripped the plastic bit off the end and it fitted perfectly. Here:
NEW SATA 2nd HDD caddy for 9.5mm Universal CD/DVD-ROM on eBay (end time 24-Feb-11 02:24:55 GMT)

I fitted the SSD in place of the original drive and the spinning HDD in place of the optical drive as there does not appear to be any way to boot from the drive in the optical's position.

 

That looks very similar to the one I bought off of ebay. Did you have a problem with mounting the metal brackets from the optical drive onto the caddy? The holes on the caddy were too small to accept the screws used to mount the brackets. I just taped them on with some painter's tape, but I don't know if that's a good solution

 

Just ordered my New Modeus caddy! Pretty excited about doing this, I really love how easy it is to open up the Envy casing, so much easier than any other HP I've ever owned. It's going to be annoying to have to swap the optical back in when I send the unit in for warranty repair (which is inevitable).

Does anyone know if it's possible to throw the Envy optical into an enclosure? I know it's generally possible but this is a slot loading drive without a bezel so I wonder if there will be any issues.

Also, there's a 5% coupon for newmodeus, it only saves you a couple of bucks, but money is money: FB072808

 

just wondering, how hard is it exactly to remove the optical drive. i dont use it at all. might as well cut the weight off. how much lighter would it be? 4oz lighter?

 

can or has anybody tried to use the space for extra battery? replacing the optical drive with battery instead?

 

Another battery doesn't seem efficient. The envy has the slice available...mine gets around 9 hours with the slice battery. I'm not sure how much of a battery one could really fit in the cd drive's spot. Also the battery would either have to be added to the primary battery's connections or connected to the slim battery's connection which i think would be a pain in the a$$. I think the best move would be to relocate the slow 500gb hd to the optical's spot and put an ssd in it's place. Make the laptop 4-5 times faster and more energy effecient....that seems like a better option to me. If you need more battery time, get a slice battery. It'll double your time.

 

i have two standard batteries, which is much better than using a slice, adds weight and bulkness. i dont use the slot load at all, im thinking about just removing it to cut back on weight. what do you think?

 

I have 2 standards too but i find it's a pain to have to either plug in or shutdown to swap batteries especially when i'm in the middle of rendering video...much easier to click on the slice than to start all over again as it's only another pound or so in weight. You won't lose any weight by removing the optical...it's barely noticable in my hand right now. It's about the weight of my 240gb ssd drive. I think you're better off just leaving it in there if weight is the only concern. I'm not sure you'll feel a difference.

 

Here is my experience if it helps. Used one of the ebay ones and placed my 500gb factory drive into it while using an SSD as my boot drive. Upon closing up I noticed that the casing was bulged in the area over the caddy. Took it apart and snapped the front trim piece off and now it sits in perfect. I also decided to put my SSD in the caddy and factory drive back in it's original slot because I figured less heat and no rotation. That was a bad move since I was unable to get the laptop to boot with the SSD. I tried every single combination inside the bios to no avail. However if you go through the boot menu, you can select the SSD and it'll boot, but it won't do it automatically. It'll just hang. So if anyone is considering putting a boot drive in the optical slot. DONT! At least the 2nd and 3rd time taking the envy apart, it went much quicker.

 

I left the bracket nearest the screen off as it didn't fit. Was still securely mounted though.

 

the optical drive weighs almost nothing...
so going thru the process with the sole purpose of lightening the laptop seems useless.
the envy is pretty heavy anyway - not sure you'll notice.

i pulled my optical out and put the OEM HD in the caddy.
got a new SSD and put it up front - set it to the boot drive and installed Win7 from usb.

i wasn't able to install windows to the SSD until i removed the 2GB SD card that came with the laptop during the install process.

very odd but searching online showed this to be a common issue.

 

Got my second HDD installed. Very easy install, except the trackpad connector was a pain to plug back in, even from under the battery.

Picked up an external cable so I can still plug my optical into the usb port if needed.

 

What cable did you use? A SATA to USB? Will that prodvide enough power? A link to a cable you've had and verified works would be appreciated.

 

SATA (slimSATA) to USB Cable , connect optical drive externally [slimSATA-USB-C07] - $29.95 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

Worked perfect, im sure i could have found one cheaper on ebay or something if I searched around. Its USB, but actually its optical drive to eSATA, but it comes with a little eSATA to USB adapter, works perfect in and USB, has enough power for the drive. I could have just got the eSATA cable but with USB I can use it on my older comp's also.

 

I appreciate this advice a LOT since I was about to do the same thing! Just one question, is the mechanical hard drive safe in the caddy? I understand that HP mounted the original one on shock absorbers, does the caddy provide some sort of fall protection? Also, where are the accelerometers and will the hard drive head still be parked (when it's in free fall ) in the same manner as before?

 

I was wondering what kind of caddy to use, will any 9.5 mm caddy work

 

There are links to ones that work in this thread, search.

 

Does anyone know if this caddy will work? It says it works with the macbook which also has a slot loaded optical so I am assuming it would work on the envy.

The only thing I'm really worried about is vibrations. I know its no biggie but for some reason I love how my envy doesn't make any noise or vibration when I'm using it (whether it'd be on a desk or watching movies in bed). So I'm wondering if the HDD would add a lot of noise/vibration and if there is anything I could use to 'dampen' it?

I suppose it doesn't really matter because I'll just be using it for movies, photo storage and backup so I guess it shouldn't be spinning a lot.

 

That one should work. I bought this one:

NEW SATA 2nd HDD Hard Drive Caddy 9.5mm Universal DV22 - eBay (item 300558840432 end time Aug-16-11 19:14:07 PDT)

Its from the US so you get it a bit quicker. I have no noticeable noise or vibrations that weren't there with one drive in the front. I also got the slimsata cable and rubber enclosure for my ODD from newmodeus.com just incase I ever need it.

 

Did the operation yesterday. Took me a few hours altogether and was pretty easy. Great thing to have two drives.