Installing SSD to NP9170..How To

I decided to write up a small tutorial on how to install a SSD drive in the primary hard drive bay and move the default drive to the second bay. Clevo really makes the a snap to do. On mine I had a optical drive installed if you do not it will be pretty much the same.

On the back of the laptop are the drive bays.

After taking off the cover you now see the main drive bay.


Pull this out by lifting the plastic cover.


After removing take out the 2 screws on either side.

Dont loose them! They are little!

Now we need to remove the optical drive. Remove this screw.


Then just slide the optical drive out. set it aside.

Now we remove the second drive bay caddy. We do this by removing these three(3) screws.


After we remove those screws lift up and remove the drive caddy.

Now you can place the default hard drive in the 2nd drive caddy and place the SSD in the primary and your good to go with the software side.


Hope this helps.

 

You make it look so easy! Nice write up

 

when installing ssd, should I remove the battery first?

 

Should remove the battery before doing any work, ever

 

Sorry for the dumb and maybe redundant question but when you remove the second drive caddy do you just slot in the hard drive and that's it? Is there anything additional needed as far as hardware or wiring that needs to be done for the secondary?

 

Yes the drive caddy will allign to the SATA port and you just slide it in. Of course if you put the drive in upside down it wont work...but you can see the slots and the proper allignment very easy.

 

Gonna have to do this as soon as mine gets delivered, thanks for the visual guide. Did not know you'd have to remove the optical drive, but it's just some more screws all told.

+1 rep

 

So does this mean that we will no longer have an optical drive or that some Clevo's just have an empty drive bay??

 

The second hard drive bay is under the optical drive so you have to remove it to get to the port. You can put it back in once you install the second HDD.

 

I lost the 4 screws that came with the computer, do you need them to install the secondary drive?

 

You're definitely going to want to secure the drive when installing it. You may be able to get by with not since it'll also be held secure with the ODD but as soon as it starts moving around I can see a lot of potential trouble. Try finding a similar screw in the system and test to see if it is the right size for those holes. If it is, take it into a electronics/hardware store and see if they can match them up for you.

 

Are the screws for the primary drive identical?

 

Sorry for deviating from the last question (no idea about the screws), but this thread came up in search and I thought it best to use it rather than opening a new one.

I'm thinking about buying a P170EM and install a Samsung 830 SSD on my own. Now, I'm quite clear on how to do the whole thing, but I do have some tangential questions for whoever's willing to help.

- Is it ok if I install an OS on BOTH drives (meaning the new SSD and the regular HDD that comes with the machine)? Yes, secondary will be for storage but I'd like to keep an old copy of Win7 in there just for good measure (with a new Win8 on the SSD). My experience and common sense tell me I should be ok, but I read topics with people advising to wipe the HDD when installing a new SSD. If I understand correctly, the two bays are equal, so I presume I'll just set one as the main drive in the bios to look for an OS at boot and that should be it. Is that right?
(I will of course remove the HDD when installing the SSD and the OS on it)

- I've seen many videos and tutorials and I still don't know for sure if the Samsung 830 needs some sort of plastic accessory to fit in the laptop. Some people have it, some don't. Do I need it? Should it be in the laptop or come with the SSD?

- On that subject, I noticed the 830 comes in two editions. One only includes the Magician software, the other has accessories and Norton Ghost. Is the complete edition worth the purchase?

Thanks, guys.

 

You'll have to install the ssd first, then load windows through the optical drive. after that you can put the hdd in the second bay. it should be fine that windows in on there; windows will still boot from the primary bay (the ssd.) If you have the 830 series 128gb ssd, it doesn't fit the main bay without a spacer. The ssd is 7 mm, while the stock hdd is 9.5mm. You can call Samsung and ask if they have an extra spacer they can send you, but it could take a while. It's fine to fashion your own spacer to make the ssd fit, whether it's made of rubber, velcro padding, or even just folded up paper. You just need to make sure the ssd won't move around while in the bay. hope this helps.

 

Can't get over the fact that this is so nice, you should ask a moderator to make it sticky!

 

Regarding the spacer, I use a 2 mm thick DIY acrylic plate. It looks almost the same as the one Samsung provided.