How do I replace the hard drive on a Toshiba Satellite p15-s479?
How do I replace the hard drive on a Toshiba Satellite p15-s479?
The hard drive is located under the CD/DVD drive. Before you start taking apart the laptop, remove the battery and unplug the AC power.
1. You have to remove the CD/DVD drive. Turn the laptop over. Remove one screw right above the dive and slide the drive out of the laptop.
2. When the CD/DVD drive is removed, you’ll see a metal plate. The metal plate is secured by 4 screws. Remove them and lift up the plate from the bay. The hard drive is located right under the plate.
3. After you remove the plate, you’ll see the hard drive. The hard drive also secured by 4 screws. Remove the screws, slide the hard dire to disconnect it from the connector on the moterboard and lift it up.
4. You have to transfer the brackets from the old hard drive to a new hard drive. Also, if there is a foil shielding around the old hard drive, you’ll have to transfer it to a new hard drive too.
Here’s a disassembly guide with pictures: Toshiba Satellite P10/P15 laptops. How to remove the hard drive.
August 10th, 2006 at 10:26 pm
Hi,
I have a Toshiba Satellite A35-S150 laptop. I need to change its hard disk as it can not access the hard disk during boot up or with service disk. I need some pointers how to go about changing the hard disk. TIA,
/Paul
August 10th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
Paul,
Removing the hard drive from Toshiba Satellite A35 laptop would be very similar to Satellite P15 instructions. The only difference – there is no metal plate as described in the step 2 above. Otherwise you can use the same instructions.
September 16th, 2006 at 10:57 am
1. You have to remove the CD/DVD drive. Turn the laptop over. Remove one screw right above the dive and slide the drive out of the laptop.
I’m finding this hard to do. I can’t get the dvd rom to slide out after taking the two screws. I need further help. Thank you very much!
September 17th, 2006 at 9:57 pm
Jovi,
What is your laptop model?
November 3rd, 2006 at 11:55 am
My dvd multi drive on my Toshbia P15-S479 isn’t working anymore. I was trying to copy a cd and when it asked me to insert a blank disc, the drive didn’t want to open. I restarted my computer and now the drive isnt being recognized. Sometimes if I try to open the drive, you can hear a motor or something trying to eject the tray but still nothing happens. So I am left with no other choice to replace the drive.
I am assuming the model number of the drive is on the drive but how do I get the DVD Multi drive out?
I need disassembly guide please.
Thanks.
November 3rd, 2006 at 5:20 pm
Paul,
I just added a link for a Satellite P10/P15 laptop hard drive removal guide at the end of the main post. Step 2 shows how to pull the DVD drive from the laptop. Before you buy a new DVD drive, try reseating the drive. Just pull it from the laptop and put it back. It’s possible that the connector got oxidized and you can fix it by reseating the drive.
If you decide to replace the drive, you should be able to find the part number on the drive. Or you can give me the model number for your laptop (it’s on the label with the serial number) and I’ll find the DVD drive part number for you. After that you should be able to find a new drive by the part number.
November 7th, 2006 at 10:17 am
Laptop Freak,
I reseated the drive exactly like you said and presto, it works again. Thanks.
Your disassembly guide was very useful and your knowledge on laptops is right on.
No wonder why they call you “Laptop Freak”!
Paul II
December 14th, 2006 at 10:41 am
Hi,
I have a Toshiba Satellite 2595XDVD that cannot boot up, so I tried to reformat the HDD and reinstall Windows2000, but it says that it cannot detect the HDD and cannot reformat and reinstall W2000. I tried the original W98 service CD from Toshiba, same results: cannot reformat and reinstall W98. I also use the original Toshiba floppy boot disk. It can go to C: prompt, but when I enter “dir”, it says that it cannot detect c drive or something like that. I suspect that it may be HDD failure (not sure though). I want to replace my HDD, but I do NOT know the model/part number of my HDD (where to buy one), and I do NOT know how to locate/replace the HDD in my laptop. I love my laptop even though it was outdated. Can you tell me the model/part number of my HDD and teach me how to locate/replace the HDD of Satellite 2595XDVD?
Thank you,
Lee
December 14th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
How do I replace the hard drive on a Toshiba Portege 3490ct? I can’t seem to find the hard drive and the disassembly guide website do not have one for the 3490ct.
December 15th, 2006 at 4:11 pm
Lee,
You can easily access the hard drive from the bottom of the laptop, it’s located on the left side from the battery. You’ll have to remove one screw and remove the hard drive cover in order to access the drive. Toshiba Satellite 2595XDVD was equipped with a 6.4GB hard drive. Here are part numbers that you can use to find a replacement: Toshiba hard drive P000271180, IBM hard drive P000272010 and P000312190. Google by the part number and find the best deal on this drives, you can use either of them.
December 15th, 2006 at 5:56 pm
Hi,
Thank you VERY MUCH for your instruction and part numbers!!!
Last question I promise: What is the largest HDD capacity Toshiba Satellite 2595XDVD can be used?
I plan to continue to use my laptop and need a larger storage. Some websites claim that this laptop can use up to 120G HDD, but some websites claim that it can use up to only 8G HDD.
Thank you,
Lee
December 16th, 2006 at 9:27 am
Lee,
I don’t know. This laptop is old and originally was supplied with a 6.4GB hard drive. Toshiba doesn’t provide any information on upgrading the hard drive in this model, they list only 6.4GB. Is it possible that the BIOS will recognize a larger drive? Yes, it is. But the only way to find out is testing the laptop with a larger drive.
I doubt that it will accept 120GB drive.
If you have another laptop with a larger hard drive (over 20GB), remove the drive and install it into the Satellite 2595XDVD computer. Enter the BIOS setup and see if the drive is recognized correctly.
December 16th, 2006 at 10:42 am
Hi,
Again, thank you for taking your time to help with my old laptop! It is my first computer I have ever owned, and it was bought by my mom as my graudation gift many years ago, so I love it even until now.
Yes, I agree with others that your instruction is very accurate. Following your instruction, I can take out my old HDD.
I hope there are more people like you to help others. Keep up with the good work.
Thank you!
Lee
December 19th, 2006 at 6:52 am
Can you tell me how to replace the hard drive in a Sony Vaio VGN-A140P laptop? Thanks alot for any help, Rick
December 20th, 2006 at 5:38 pm
I have a Toshiba Qosmio G10 (I think this may be a Canada only version) 2 hard drives c: is 60GB and d: is 40GB. I want to upgrade the D: drive and see many options. Is Toshiba 100GB 2.5 in drive likely to be compatable, or any others? Some drives are SATA but is this computer using a standard ATA? In other words, how do I choose a drive that will be compatible?
December 20th, 2006 at 8:45 pm
Bernie,
I don’t think that you’ll have any problem if you upgrade to a Toshiba 100GB hard drive. Toshiba doesn’t provide any information on upgrading hard drives in this model, but I think you should be fine. Toshiba Qosmio G15 compatible with ATA (not SATA) hard drives, I believe the same would be for Qosmio G10. It’s very easy to check. Remove the hard drive and take a look at the connector. If it has 2 rows of pins (44 pins total), then it’s an ATA drive.
January 4th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
HOW DO I REMOVE MY HARD DRIVE OUT OF A TOSHIBA SATELLITE 1605CDS/4.3 PART NO PS160U-18886, I BELIEVE I SEE IT UNDERNEATH THE KEYBOARD, I HAVE ALL THE SCREWS OUT, IN FACT THE FRONT PART OF THE KEYBOARD IS RAISED SO I CAN SEE THE HARD DRIVE(I BELIEVE) TOWARDS THE BACK OF THE UNIT(BY LCD SCREEN) PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN
January 4th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
DCAL SERVICES,
) but here’s my suggestion. It looks like the hard drive is actually located under the keyboard, so you’ll have to lift up the keyboard in order to access the hard drive. First, remove the keyboard securing strip, the plastic piece that located between the keyboard and it covers hinges, I believe it also has the power button on it. I don’t know if the keyboard strip is secured by screws on the bottom of the laptop, so just remove all screws located under the strip on the bottom of the laptop. After that lift up the strip with a sharp object, you can use a flathead screwdriver. Second, remove four screws securing the keyboard (located under the strip), lift up the keyboard and flip it over on the palmrest. I think that’s would be enough to access the hard drive.
I’ve never worked on this model (I think it’s older then I am
January 6th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
I have been looking around for a larger HD for a Gateway Solo 2300 / 233mmx / Pentium II – Many Ebay sellers are selling 30 up to 80gb Hard Drives specifically for the 2300. But the gateway site says the ’supported’ limit is 10gb. They also say, “drives larger than 6gb might not be recognized correctly”
So I’m wondering how the sellers are selling something that gateway does not support. I’m going to try the hard drive. I also have a copy of maxblast that I got with my maxtor hd. It says it will work as long as I have at least 1 maxtor hd in my system. I’m trying it all in my desktop first. Not sure how it’s going to work since my laptop only has the 1 / 30gb hd that I bought from a vendor thinking it would work OK.
January 7th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Thank you for your instructions on how to remove the hard drive. It enabled me to recover data from a system and saved the day. Blessing on Your Head…
January 8th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Could you tell me where the hard drives are in the Toshiba Qosmio G10 with duel harddrives. Thanks.
January 9th, 2007 at 12:37 am
Tomas,
You should be able to access both hard drives from the bottom of the laptop if you remove the cover located in the corner. The hard drive cover is large and very hard to miss.
January 22nd, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Hi,
I have a Toshiba Satellite p15s479 and I have a problem with the DC jack. I know that I need to replace it or fix the soldering, but I can’t figure out how to get the plastic covers off to see the jack. I’ve got the motherboard and fans out, but I’m stuck now. Little help?
Thanks,
Charlie
January 23rd, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Charlie,
You cannot replace the jack through the fan bay, it’s necessary to open up the laptop and remove the motherboard. Here are some disassembly examples.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:56 pm
Thanks fir the response, but the examples don’t show how to get into my particular model (p15-s479). I have gotten to the jack, but it looks okay.
January 28th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Anyone know the purpose of the shielding foil surrounding my hardrive? I replaced my drive in a P25-S509 (toshiba) and the drive had this shielding. I put in a new Hitachi drive, 7200 RPM and left off the shielding. It’s runninng great but are there problems down the road without the foil shielding?
January 28th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Rodney,
I think you will not get any problems using the hard drive without the shielding. I wasn’t able to find any information about this shielding and have no idea why Toshiba wrapped the hard drive. You can transfer the shielding to your new hard drive, it’s not difficult.
January 30th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
I have a Toshiba Qosmio G10. The temperature activated fan is making a lot of noise. How would I clean it? Regards, Warren
January 31st, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Hey RODNEY, about the foil wrap… i don’t know for sure how it works for HDs, but it is used on many electronic devices to isolate them from eletrical noise or magnetic fields. HDs are magnetic drives, and they could use some of that protection, that might be the answer to your question.
February 13th, 2007 at 11:37 am
how do I replace the hard drive on a Toshiba Sat. 2065 cds
April 3rd, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Help. I recently replaced my hd on a p15 but now when I go into to boot with windows it stalls on the “Setup is Starting Windows” thing. From reading around on the windows support site it states that shit could be a problem with the IDE controller or something? I’ve tried 2 different copies of windows but it just won’t get past that same screen. Can anyone help me out please?
May 23rd, 2007 at 9:18 am
hello,
i have a Toshiba Satellite p15-s479 notebook.
i’ve looked online to find out what the maximum hard drive capacity is, but didnt find any solid answer. and from reading this forum, looks like everyone thinks 120GIG is the max.
i found a really good deal on a SATA 160GIG drive 5400rpm but not sure if this will work with my notebook. im not even sure if i need a SATA or OEM drive.
my current hard drive is acting really strange. it overheats causing the notebook to shut itself off.
thank you!
June 16th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
How do I locate and extract the hard-drive on Toshiba Satellite laptop 2410 ?
July 25th, 2007 at 5:16 am
I have a P15-S479 Toshiba that I have to replace the HD. Thanks to your diagram I don’t think i will have a problem doing that at all but my question is when I went to Best buy to purchase an HD they ask me for like the type or model number. Saying it could be a SL or SA and i had no clue. any suggestions on what i should pick up exactly? I want something rather inexpensive because my son is just using it for games and watching the media edition stuff
October 12th, 2007 at 5:00 am
Here are a couple of posts that I posted to Hardforum.com. Someone replied whith this site for help.
So here goes…
Hi all,
I am trying to upgrade my Toshiba Satellite P15 Laptop hard drive with a Hitachi Travelstar 160GB hard drive.
When I put the new drive in and plug the power cable in, the power indicator light is on but, when I push the power button to turn on the laptop, all the lights turn on just for a second and then turn off again and there’s nothing. No lights, no boot, no beeps, nothing as if the computer is completely turned off and unplugged. I can’t even push the power button again to turn the lights on for a brief second without unplugging and plugging the power cord in again.
I made sure HD is connected properly and reseated it many times… tried the old drive and everything works fine again. Hmm
So I am thinking the hard drive is bad. Okay… so I returned the new drive for a replacement. Identical drive with the same result… nothing!!!!!
Two bad hard drives??? I don’t think so.
Please help…..
Tom
am upgrading my Toshiba Satellite P15 Laptop hard drive with a Hitachi Travelstar 160GB PATA hard drive. The pin-outs are identical to the HD that is in there. There is a aluminum sticker over the old HD so I cant say if it is a IDE or PATA but like I said the pin-outs are the same. I don’t know if there is a difference in the pin-outs of a IDE and PATA drive but a SATA uses a different connector, that I know for sure.
When I put the new drive in and plug the power cable in, the power indicator light is on but, when I push the power button to turn on the laptop, all the lights turn on just for a second and then turn off again and there’s nothing. No lights, no boot, no beeps, nothing as if the computer is completely turned off and unplugged. I can’t even push the power button again to turn the lights on for a brief second without unplugging and plugging the power cord in again.
My intent is to replace the primary HD and this laptop does not support two HD’s as far as I know anyway. No OS was installed.
I should just be able to install the HD and then install my OS with my optical drive like I have so many times on my desktop.
Yes, I removed the battery first
Tom
October 12th, 2007 at 7:41 am
Tom Frazier,
Not sure if it’s going to help, but…
Check the BIOS version installed on your laptop and update it to the latest one.
I just checked the BIOS change history for a Satellite P15 notebook and version 1.90 has this fix:
Not sure exactly what it means, but it’s related to the hard drive.
Updated the BIOS, it might help.
October 28th, 2007 at 6:45 am
Hello
Can anyone tell me how to remove the pin adapter from a hard drive in a Satellite A110-275? The platic adapter that covers the IDE pins.
I have done this many times with various laptops but I have not been able to find a way with the new typ of adapter that Toshiba use. It is on very tight and made of very very brittle plastic. Any attempt to ease it off seems to start to break the plasic.
Grateful of any suggestions
Thanks
January 2nd, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Can you advise what dvd burners i could replace my matshita uj811 on my Toshiba p-15 s479? Thanks
March 9th, 2008 at 6:07 am
hi,
i have a toshiba satellite P10-831, is fujitsu hard drive compatible with my laptop???
thanks for giving time to answer.
ligaya(joy)
March 10th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
ligaya manago,
If this is an IDE hard drive then yes, it should be compatible with your laptop. Toshiba uses many different hard drives in their laptops: Toshiba, Hitachi, IBM, Fujitsu, etc…
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:29 am
Hi there my Toshiba laptop has two hard drives I would like to upgrade the one without the OS on it but I do have some other software which I do not want to loose, is it a case of just copying everything from the drive to an external HD, replacing the old HD and then taking everything from the external to the new HD?? Or will there be problems with file locations etc or could it be that easy?? I would be extremly thankful to anyone who can answer me, cheers folks
April 27th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Will H,
That’s a good question and to be honest I don’t have the answer. I’ve never been in a situation like that before. It definitely will not work for the primary hard drive (with the OS) but I’m not sure about the secondary one.
I guess you’ll have to use hard drive ghosting software, make an image from the old secondary hard drive and then write this image to the new secondary hard drive.
May 18th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Hi
Hoping you can assist with this one, as it has me stumped. I just acquired a Satellite 2545XCDT. It is about 8 years old, but it is maxed out with ram and cpu so would make a nice little small Linux machine. However, I would like to replace the tiny 4.3 gig hard drive. For the life of me, I can not figure out how to find it.
There are no port covers for one on the bottom. I tried to remove all the screws on the bottom, and that did nothing. I have removed the keyboard, and I can see a cdrom drive under a shield as well as the cpu, but I can’t figure out how to remove the shield. I presume that the hard drive is underneath there. If it is, it should be an easy swap for the 20 gig 5400 rpm one that I want to replace it with.
Can you help me with this one?
Thanks:)
TJ
May 20th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Hi there. I have a Satellite A135-S4677 currently w/ a 80Gb drive, but because I’m a photographer/designer, I need more storage. I’d like to upgrade to a 250GB hardrive and but I’m the type that needs step-by-step instruction. I see you have instructions for other laptops, but are any of those similar to my laptop? Before I commit to surgery on my laptop, can you help me? I’m upgrading my memory, but that should be a cinch.
Thanks.
Monica
August 9th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Hiya
I want to pull the HDD from my Satellite 2535CDS, and I can’t find it! (Had the whole thing apart in a vain attempt to replace motherboard). Can’t find a diagram or manual. Not one of those machines with a nice hatch to open to get the HDD out. Looked like it might be attached to the floppy? But couldn’t see how to disassemble that, either. Any help appreciated.
Dennis
August 18th, 2008 at 5:37 am
In response to Dennis’ 2535CDS:
As you are looking at the front of the laptop you will note the floppy drive in the lower left corner. The hard drive resides around the left hand side and slightly above the floppy drive.
As you are looking at the left side front corner, there is a small plastic panel with a screw holding it in place from the bottom, after removing that screw, the panel can be gently pried out and then you should see the screw holding the hard drive cage/chassis in place. Unscrew that screw, pull gently & voila!
Hope this helps.
Joe
October 17th, 2008 at 2:35 am
I have a similar situation to Lee (dec 16, 2006 or something) … My laptop would not boot up, and while trying my restore cd it reaches symantec ghost, but instead of saying C:/ it says Q:/ drive, and that it is an invalid destination drive… and i have no choice but to click okay, which resets it.
Anyways, i was Curious as to wether you could provide the proper model for my laptop: (Toshiba satellite a25-S207) and what is the maximum capacity i could upgrade the HDD to… (RAM also…)
And, after installing the proper hard drive (assuming we find the right one) how would i go about installing another copy of Windows XP on it? Since the HDD (hopefully you help me find) will be certified by toshiba, will i be able to put the restore disk in, and have a fresh copy installed?
I got frustrated when it kept saying check cable (error) when i tried to boot the laptop up.. so i took it apart, and found the HDD, and removed it, and voila, found the ram… so i wanted to upgrade that also… so basically i think i know how to physically install it…
(original problem was.. media test failure, check cable)
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Hello…
I have a Toshiba Satelite A40.Model Number PSA40C-09CXV. The hard drive needs to be replaced.I have no problems replacing it but just wondering do I need a specific hard drive…identical to the one already in it?It has a 40gb Travelstar..but I was hoping to get something a little bigger.Any compatible suggestions would be great.
Thanks,Tanya
November 12th, 2008 at 8:29 am
i need to replace the hard drive on my p15-s479. i just don’t know what the size capacity limit on this particular laptop is. will a 160GIG drive work? just wanted to see if there was someone out there who has successfully installed a large hard drive on this model. version of bios installed on this laptop is 2.0 — and i am not sure there are any better updates for this 5 year old model.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
i have a toshiba satellite a135 im tryint to replace the driver but im not sure where its located i need help finding it
December 1st, 2008 at 5:51 pm
i have a Toshiba Satellite A135-S4427. my fan is starting to make noise when cold but than goes away. is it difficult to replace and where do i get a fan.
December 1st, 2008 at 8:11 pm
ira m trager,
In this model the cooling fan is located under the system board. You’ll have disassemble the laptop and remove the motherboard as it explained here. Only after that you can replace the fan.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Hi folks,
I’ve followed the steps here, thanks v much, but I’m having difficulty getting the foil off the old drive. Is the drive stuck in there? There seems to be a black sticky strip between the bottom of the drive and the drive caddy.
Thanks!
January 8th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Tony,
Yes, there is a sticky strip in there. Try to separate the foil form the drive with a piece of plastic, something soft (maybe a plastic knife?).
January 9th, 2009 at 5:42 am
thanks for the quick reply! should I put this stick strip on the new drive when putting it in?
January 9th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Argh, i changed it in and get a “disk read error”. I’ve put back the old one, and checked the new drive in the upgrade enclosure in case i damaged it in installing it and it’s fine. Any idea why the disk is not being read? I was pretty certain when I bought it that it is compatible with the laptop…
January 9th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
The upgrade kit i used inclued a 40gb hard drive with it, I tried that there and same story… it seems to have cloned it, but I get the same disk read error. The two new drives were WD and Hitachi.
March 25th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
How do replace a hard drive on a toshiba satellite r15 s829 tablet?
March 25th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Mel,
It’s easy. You’ll find instructions at http://www.irisvista.com/tech/
1. Remove the cover.
2. Disconnect the hard drive from the cable.
3. Transfer the foil to a new drive.
4. Install the drive into the laptop.
5. Run the recovery disc to install factory software.