Every computer component has an average lifespan time. After the lifespan, these components begin to “crash”. Also, these components can “crash” at any time for any internal or external reasons.
It is also the same for a hard drive. Based on a recent study, “On average a hard drive can last 5 to 10 years depending on the user.”
According to an online backup company result “ after the use of the first 18 months, a hard drive works well 92% but over the time the number will be significantly reduced.
Besides many internal and external reasons like high temperature, humidity, and external shocks, you may need to replace the hard drive.
In this article, you will find all the details about the cost and cost factors related to replacing the hard drive for laptops and computers. It will help you to make a better decision.
How Much Does it Cost to Replace a Hard Drive in 2023?
The average cost to replace a laptop hard drive is around $150 to $220 including the labor cost to replace the hard drive in 2023. For only the hard drive you may need to cost $120 on average.
However, it does not include data moving costs from the old one to the new one. You may need to cost another $100 to move all the data. You can replace it yourself (DIY) and it will cost you only $120 for the hard drive.
Hard Drive Replacement Cost Summary
To replace the hard drive of your laptop of any brand like Hp, Dell, Lenovo, and Asus, you will find cost ideas in this table. The average prices are similar.
In this cost summary, we tried to include all the latest costs that you may need to consider before making a decision.
| Type of Cost | Price Range |
| Data Transfer Cost | $100 |
| Hard Drive Cost | $120 |
| 1 Terabyte SATA Hard Drive | $100-$120 |
| 500 Gigabyte SSD Cost | $180-$200 |
| Professional Cost | $20-$100 |
| Labor Cost | $20-$50 (per hour) |
3 Major Cost Factors That Influence The Hard Drive Replacement Cost in 2023
The cost of upgrading is affected by several cost factors. From there, the top 3 cost factors are breakdown.
1. The Capacity of Your Laptop
There are many hard drives of different memory sizes in the market like 500 gigabytes and 1 terabyte. Our cost survey finds that the more the memory space the more the hard drive price.
Every laptop has a defined memory size. For instance, if your laptop supports 1 terabyte you have to pay much compared to replacing a 500 gigabytes hard drive.
2. Service Location
The location also plays a big role in the cost of replacement. The price of the components can vary from place to place.
Some countries have a higher tax rate on computer components. On the other hand, some countries have a lower tax rate on computer components.
3. Professional Cost
Replacing a hard drive is an easy task. Besides, You can hire a professional to get the job done perfectly. If you want to transfer all the data from the old drive to the new drive, a professional may charge you an extra $100 for the service in recent years.
Most laptop repairs apply an hourly rate for the charge. But the average cost is similar. Some repair services will fix the simple repair or common one without charge.
How to Save Money from Hard Drive Replacement in 2023
The best way to save money is to replace it on your own. By doing it on your own, you can save on the repair cost. Besides, if you know how to transfer data from the old one to a new one, you can save up to $100 on data transfer costs. Also, you can buy the hard drive from any online shop.
Nowadays many online shops provide less expensive computer components compared to a physical shops. Later in the article, I tried to give the process to replace the drive on your own.
Hopefully, It will be helpful for you to save your valuable money. If you don’t have enough confidence, it is better to leave the job for the expert. DIY may be cost-effective but there are high risks perishing the laptop.
5 Features Users Should Consider While Buying a New Hard Drive
If you make up your mind to replace the HDDs, you should consider these 5 features while buying or choosing the new HDDs.
- Data storage capacity: You must consider the storage capacity of the HDDs. it is better to choose HDDs with a maximum storage capacity according to physical capacity. The updated laptops have a maximum capacity of 4TB for HDDs and 2TB for SSDs.
- Data transmission speed: Secondly you have to consider the transmission speed. You have to choose the HDDs with the best data transmission speed. It is determined by the RPM (round per minute). A 3.5-inch HDD has a higher RPM compared to a 2.5-inch HDD.
- Cache capacity of the HDD: Cache means the area of embedded memory that the HDD uses to transfer data. The cache can be of different sizes, from 8 MB to 128 MB. You have to choose the cache with the best possible size. It will transfer data faster.
- Retrieval time of the HDD: It means the time that an HDD takes for the user to read and write data from the HDD. You have considered it.
- Damage rate of the hard drive: There are many hard drives of many models from many companies. All are not the same. Some have more span time compared to others. You have to choose the one with a maximum life span time.
Related: How Much Does it Cost to Repair a Laptop Screen?
3 Signs That May Indicate Your Hard Drive Need to be Replace Immediately
After a certain life span, the hard drive can crash at any time. Besides, it can crash for many internal and external reasons. Some signs may indicate probable damage on your hard drive and help to protect your important data from being crashed.
#Sign 1: Continuously Have Corrupted Error Messages
If you continuously have “Corrupted” error messages when opening any file, and if it is not because of any virus, it may indicate the problem in the system and more specifically the problem in the hard drive.
#Sign 2: Bad Sector Error
The most common sign of a damaged hard drive is bad sector error. The bad sector is a damaged area in the hard drive where it isn’t able to maintain the integrity of the data.
The damaged area reduces the hard drive’s ability to save the data from damage. We often face this problem while accessing data from the hard drive.
#Sign 3: Strange Noises Like Clattering & Rattling From Hard Drive
From all the signs that mean you need to replace your hard drive, “strange noise” is the commonly recognized symptom by the user. If you hear “clattering” or “rattling” like a sound directly from the hard drive, it means that you need to immediately replace the hard drive.
Besides these 3 major symptoms: Continue hang, slow processing, and the blue screen may indicate that it is time to say goodbye to the old hard drive.
The DIY Process to Replace the HDD on Yourself at Home
DIY is the best way to save money on your replacement cost. It will help you to save labor costs, professional costs, and data transfer costs.
If you have enough time and patience to complete the task and enough confidence to do it, you will be able to replace the hard drive by following the step-by-step process.
Must Need These 5 Tools for DIY Working
With the only will you can’t accomplish the task. You also need some basic tools to complete the replacement of the HDD.
Here are the basic tools you need to complete the work:
- Small head screwdriver.
- A spudger.
- Thin nose tweezers.
- Hex head Torx drivers.
- Pentagonal driver.
Step-by-Step Process to Replace the Laptop Hard Drive like a Professional
Mostly every laptop is set up in the same way. So the overall replacement process is similar. Here are the steps down below:
- Backing Up Data: It is a significant step. You may have valuable data on the hard drive. If your hard drive gets damaged, you can replace it. But if your data get damaged, most of the time it is difficult to recover data. You can use any external drive to back up the data. Also, you can use any cloud backup service. Cloud backup service is safer. You can recover data at any time.
- Remove the Old Hard Drive: Removing the hard drive is very easy. Before starting make sure your laptop is switched off. Disconnect the data and power cables and carefully remove the hard drive. If you have any confusion, watch a video on google or other websites about this. There are many tutorial videos on google on replacing hard drives.
- Install the New Hard Drive: It is the reverse of step 2. Install the new one in the old one’s place and secure it. Then connect the data and power cables.
- Format the New Hard Drive: Once your laptop is ready to go again, format the new hard drive to make it ready to store data. Once you complete it, restore all the data from the backup and here we go. Your laptop is ready to use again.
Related: How Much Does it Cost to Replace a Motherboard on a Desktop?
Importance of Replacing Hard Disk Drives for 2023
Your hard drive is arguably the most vital component of your computer. This is where all the data is stored after the computer has been turned on. Hard disks also have a high capacity and are small with high-capacity storage which is used for random access in PCs.
It is very vital to know how much data you need on your computer in order to choose a hard disk drive or solid-state drive. We will now examine how crucial a hard drive is.
First off, the hard disk has an important role to play in how a system performs, probably more than most people realize. Hard disk speed is directly related to how fast data is retrieved and stored when a PC boots up and loads programs.
The second factor is Storage Capacity, which determines the amount of data that can be stored on a hard drive. A hard disk’s capacity is measured in GigaBytes, the larger the disk, the bigger its storage capacity.
Lastly, evaluate how long the hard disk will last and whether it will prevent data loss.
Top 3 Tips You Should Remember While Replacing Disk Drive
It’s important to follow a few steps carefully when you replace the hard disk by yourself. The tips we provide will make the process easier.
Here are a few tips you may find useful:
- While trying to uninstall the hard drive, don’t force any component. Because in the laptop every component is connected. So, if you force things, you may end up damaging other components.
- Do not place any magnets on the laptop. Strong magnetic power can cause damage to your laptop.
- Don’t remove any ribbon cables. If you remove the ribbon cables, it will add more complication to any component replacement.
Important Suggestions: Replace the hard drive can vary from model to model. For one model the hard drive may have a separate compartment, on the other may need to remove some other components to replace it.
So I highly suggest you if you don’t have enough experience, please leave the job for a professional.
Now I will Answer Some Commonly Asked Questions About (Hard Drive Replacement): FAQs
How much time does it take to replace a hard drive?
The professional usually takes two hours to replace the hard drive. If you are willing to do it on your own, make sure you have sufficient time on your hands and also you have enough patience to complete it.
How often does it need to replace a hard drive?
It depends on the quality of the hard drive and the type of use. Generally, on average, a hard drive has a life span of six years. After that, it can crash at any time. You need to change the drive before it completes the lifespan. Besides, it can crash at any time as a result of any internal and external damage.
Is it worth replacing the hard drive on an old laptop?
If you replace a spinning platter hard drive with a chip-based solid-state drive (SSD) it will be worth it. SSD makes your laptop faster and users feel comfortable using it.
Is it cheaper to replace a hard drive or buy a new computer?
Replacing a hard drive or any laptop components is in maximum time cheaper than buying a new laptop. To replace a hard drive may cost you on average $200 including the labor cost. But if you go to buy a new laptop, it will cost you much more than that.
Will I lose windows 10 if I change the hard drive?
No doubt, since the operating system and everything else is stored in a hard drive you will lose windows 10 if you replace it.
Do you need to reinstall windows after replacing the hard drive?
If you replace the old hard drive physically, you should reinstall the operating system on the replacement drive.
Can a computer work without a hard drive?
A computer cannot operate effectively without memory hardware. It can, however, function without one. It is possible to boot a computer over a network, from a USB drive, or even from a CD or DVD.
What happens if you swap hard drives?
Reinstalling the operating system will be necessary if you replaced the old hard drive with the new one. The data/files on the hard drive may be preserved if you are cautious to not reformat the hard drive while installing the OS.
“Final Cost Analysis” for Hard Drive Replacement 2022
We hope that our cost guide will assist you in reducing the cost of replacing the laptop’s hard drive. Feel free to share your experience with managing your laptop repair cost.
Thanks for reading this article. You can also find information about replacing laptop batteries or keyboards or replacing a fan. Stay safe and enjoy your day.
SSDs are pricier than the traditional HDD. But the higher price does come with a valid reason: SSDs offer significantly better performance than traditional hard disk drives. However, it does not mean that HDDs are not good storage options. Hard drives use technology that has been tested over time– meaning, they are tried and tested. If budget is one of your concerns, then an HDD has the edge over SSD.