• Home
• Technical Articles
• HP Desktop computers

Hewlett-Packard and HP Compaq Desktop computers: How to Remove a Hard Drive

To extract the hard drive from HP Compaq Mac desktop computer:

• Always shut down the computer before opening it to avoid damaging its internal components.
• Unplug the power cord and external cables from the computer.

The only tool required for this procedure is a Phillips screwdriver. While some models may look slightly different from the one shown in the illustrations, the steps for all models are the same.

The process of removing a failed hard drive from a desktop computer varies slightly depending on the type of the HP/Compaq computer model you have.
While some computers may look slightly different from the one shown in the illustrations, the steps to be taken for all cases are the same.

We provide the hard drive removal instructions for the computers with the following computer cases:

WARNING: Make sure the computer is disconnected from power before starting.

Removing the failed Hard Drive:

1. Remove the right side panel [1].

2. Remove the front panel [2].

3. Detach the power and data cables from the rear of the drive [3].

WARNING: If your computer has SATA hard drive, the connectors must be squeezed to disconnect them.

4. Remove the two screws that secure the hard drive to the computer [4].

5. Pull the hard drive out of the front of the computer [5].

Done!