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Article ID : 00157929 / Last Modified : 12/07/2018

Can I upgrade my notebook with an SSD?

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Solid State Drives provide a significant advantage in actual and perceived system speed, but have a higher price and typically lower storage capacity than regular hard disk drives. This article describes available upgrade options.
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Please note:
  • The best way to obtain a VAIO notebook with an SSD is to purchase a model that comes with the SSD capacity you require.
  • After market modifications may not be possible at all in some cases and may be less economical than purchasing a new notebook and selling the previous one.
  • Sony does not guarantee compatibility or operation of modified products.
  • Damage to the product due to attempted modifications is not covered by the warranty.
  • Make sure to create recovery media before replacing the system drive.
The available upgrade options depend on the original configuration of your VAIO notebook:
  • My VAIO was produced with an HDD
    Most* of the VAIO notebooks produced since 2006 come with an 2.5" SATA hard disk drive and can be upgraded with retail SSDs using this form factor. A good way to determine this very quickly is to check if your VAIO notebook has a door on the bottom through which the hard drive bay can be accessed. If it does, the physical replacement is a simple procedure.
    *Some ultra mobile models (e.g. TX/TZ) are using a different form factor and/or interface and cannot be upgraded in this way. 
  • My VAIO was produced with an SSD
    To avoid unnecessary weight and allow more compact design, solid state drives used in VAIO production do not use the 2.5" HDD form factor or normal SATA connectors. Therefore the preinstalled drive cannot simply be replaced by a retail drive.
    • If other variants of your VAIO model are offered with mechanical hard disk drives, there is enough room to install a retail SSD. You will have to buy VAIO specific parts (connector and/or mounting brackets) to connect and install the drive. Please contact Sony Support.
    • If other variants of your VAIO model are exclusively offered SSD based, there will be no room for a retail SSD. Unless the greatest foreseen capacity SSD is already installed, it is possible to have an authorized repair partner replace the SSD with a greater capacity version.
      Due to the cost for parts, labour and logistics, it is likely to be more economical to replace the entire notebook with a model with the desired SSD capacity.