How to Increase Storage in an Old Laptop Using a HDD Caddy
The full build video for this upgrade — the steps below follow it in the same order.
What you need before starting
- SATA Drive: 2.5-inch SATA Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or Solid State Drive (SSD)
- HDD/SSD Caddy: Optical bay caddy (ensure correct thickness: 9.5 mm or 12.5 mm matching your DVD drive model)
- Included Accessories: Caddy mounting screws and mini screwdriver
- Tools: Precision Phillips screwdriver and a safety pin or paperclip
The full build video for this upgrade — the steps below follow it in the same order.
Remove the optical DVD drive
Locate the single retaining screw on the bottom of the laptop chassis near the optical drive icon. Unscrew it and carefully slide the optical DVD drive straight out of the laptop bay.
Remove the plastic front bezel from the DVD drive
Insert a safety pin or paperclip into the manual emergency eject hole on the DVD drive tray to pop it open slightly. On the back of the bezel, press down on the plastic retaining tabs using a small screwdriver and gently pry off the outer faceplate.
Install the SATA drive into the caddy
Check the sticker on your original DVD drive (e.g., HP GU90N) to confirm whether you need a 9.5 mm or 12.5 mm caddy. Insert your 2.5-inch SATA drive into the caddy socket, slide it forward to seat the SATA connector firmly, and secure it using the four side screws provided with the caddy.
Transfer the mounting bracket and bezel
Unscrew the small metal rear mounting hook from the old DVD drive and fasten it onto the back of the caddy using the same screws. Snap the plastic front bezel removed in Step 2 onto the front of the caddy so it matches the laptop's outer contour.
Insert the caddy into the laptop
Slide the assembled caddy into the laptop's optical drive bay until it sits flush against the edge. Reinsert the original chassis retaining screw into the bottom of the laptop to lock the caddy securely in place.
Boot up and verify the new storage
Power on the laptop, log into the operating system, and open File Explorer / Disk Management to confirm the new drive appears alongside your main boot drive.
If something does not work
Caddy doesn't slide in or sticks out: Check your original DVD drive specs—you may be using a 12.5 mm caddy in a 9.5 mm ultra-thin optical bay slot.
Secondary drive is not detected: Remove the caddy and make sure the SATA drive is pushed fully into the internal caddy connector before tightening the side screws.
Laptop fails to boot into Windows: Check your BIOS/UEFI boot priority settings to ensure the primary internal boot drive remains set as the first boot device.