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HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement

What you need

  1. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement, Battery: step 1, image 1 of 1
    • Turn power off using the power button located in the top left corner of the keyboard. Press and hold the power button for 3 seconds until it turns off.

  2. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 2, image 1 of 2 HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 2, image 2 of 2
    • Close the laptop and flip it over so that the HP cover logo is on the underside of the laptop.

  3. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 3, image 1 of 2 HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 3, image 2 of 2
    • Locate the battery and the two switches that release the battery when they are unlocked.

  4. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 4, image 1 of 2 HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 4, image 2 of 2
    • Slide the left switch to the right so that the icon of a locked padlock is no longer visible and the icon of an unlocked padlock is now visible.

  5. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 5, image 1 of 3 HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 5, image 2 of 3 HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 5, image 3 of 3
    • With your left hand, slide the right switch to the left and hold it in place. This will unlock the battery and allow you to easily slide it out of its port.

    • While holding the switch in place, use your right hand to gently remove the battery from its port.

  6. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement, Palm Rest Disassembly: step 6, image 1 of 1
    • Remove the thirteen 7 mm PH1 Phillips head screws from the bottom of the laptop.

  7. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 7, image 1 of 1
    • Pry up and detach the keyboard. Starting at the top, slowly work the side and pull the keyboard away from you to unseat the bottom tabs.

  8. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 8, image 1 of 1
    • Remove the keyboard connection from the laptop by flipping up the black tab on the ZIF connector.

  9. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 9, image 1 of 2 HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 9, image 2 of 2
    • Remove the palm rest using the blue spudger tool.

  10. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 10, image 1 of 1
    • Remove the five 3 mm PH1 Phillips head screws underneath keyboard.

  11. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 11, image 1 of 1
    • Remove metal keyboard underlayment.

    • There is no way to separate the palm rest from the keyboard. They both are removed as an assembly.

  12. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement, Hard Drive: step 12, image 1 of 1
    • After removing the battery and palm rest, unscrew the two 3 mm PH1 Phillips head screws that hold the small tab that secures the connection of the USB port and headphone jack.

  13. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 13, image 1 of 2 HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 13, image 2 of 2
    • Pull the connected cord out of the previously lifted tab and remove from laptop.

  14. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 14, image 1 of 1
    • Lift up hard drive.

  15. HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 15, image 1 of 2 HP 15-f033wm Hard Drive Replacement: step 15, image 2 of 2
    • Remove the connection from the left of the hard drive connecting it to the rest of the laptop and remove the hard drive from the laptop.

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

10 other people completed this guide.

Benjamin Poirier

Member since: 10/17/17

491 Reputation

2 Guides authored

Team

6 Comments

Though similar, these directions do not work for me. I had 2 additional screws on the bottom and step 9 doesn't look like mine at as my metal section under the keyboard is attached to the palmrest and something else is holding the palmrest and the back of the system together by where the DVD drive is…

greywolfsojourner - Reply

Agreed. My model was the 15-f387wm. Regarding the DVD drive area. There are 3, very shallow, wide flat silver screws at the top after removing the dvd drive. You will need a very small phillips head to take them out without stripping. There were 4 silver screws and one black screw at the top left of the fan holding my keyboard tray down.

Also author skipped or did not have on his model the step to remove two ribbon cables at bottom and top left of keyboard tray before removing. Same thing as above flup up black catch before pulling ribbons out.

jlruss9777 -

Thank you for the guide!

I replaced the OEM mechanical hard drive with an SSD. Used Macrium Reflect free edition to clone the drive. The laptop works 10x better now. The CPU is still limited, but it does not take forever to boot up anymore. SSDs are cheap now, this a a worthwhile upgrade.

hoffmanadjusting - Reply

For the f233 model - there is one difference.

After you have removed the keyboard you will not be able to remove the handguard/plastic framing without this:

1. Slide the entire CD drive out, you can see where the frame mounts to the sata/connector block.

2. Once that is completed, there are 3 silver screws holding the frame for the CD drive insert to the top plastic. Pull those screws.

3. Remove the 4 (not 5) screws from the metal frame

4. Lift black tabs from 2 ribbon cables and slide out

4. Remove the plastic handguard and metal frame underneath as one entire unit.

Daniel Kilzi - Reply

Same for f387

jlruss9777 -

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