HP ZBook 15 Storage Options Questions: mSata, m.2, ssd, hdd

[Bi1a1]

Hi,

I recently purchase the HP ZBook 15 off eBay and had a few questions about the storage options for this machine. i have contacted HP a few times on the phone however the response was honestly rubbish (they didn't understand what i meant by mSATA and M.2 I've also searched the internet for the last few days and couldn't find anything relating to this.

So here i go:
1) There are two slots next to the RAM One slot has 32 GB mSATA drive, can this be replaced by a 500 GB or 1000 GB mSATA SSD and work as independent boot drive?
2) The second slot next to it is empty and shorter than the slot with 32 GB mSATA Can this second slot be populated with M.2 SATA drive?
3) What is the maximum storage size that can be used in the second slot?
4) Can the drive be used as an independent bootable drive?
5) What are the dimensions does the M.2 drive need to be?
6) Can I use two drives in the two slots at the same time and use the mechanical drive so I have 3 independent storage drives? (i.e. not using Intel Smart Response Technology (iSRT) to speed up the mechanical drive.)

Image of the Laptop (found on google but it looks the same as mine)

Thanks in advance for any help:
Regards,
Bilal



PS. LAPTOP SPECS (incase needed):

Laptop product number: F0U63EA#ABU

CPU
Processor:Intel Core i7 (4700MQ) 2.4GHz 6MB (L3 Cache)
Chipset:Intel QM87

Memory
Memory (Maximum Per Slot):8192MB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
Memory Slot: 4

Storage
Hard Disk:750GB (1 x 750GB) 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive

Display
Display Resolution:1920 x 1080 Pixels ,
Screen:15.6in Diagonal LED-backlit Full HD UWVA Anti-Glare + PSR

Optical Drive
Optical Drive Type:Blu-ray/DVD±RW SuperMulti DL

Graphics Device
Graphics Device:nVidia Quadro K1100M GDDR5 (Dedicated 2048MB)

Input
Keyboard:Spill-resistant keyboard and drain
Fingerprint Reader:Yes

Sound
Sound Device: DTS Studio Sound HD audio
Integrated Microphone:Yes
Audio Features:Button for volume mute, functions keys for volume up and down
Speaker Type:Built in Stereo Speakers

Interfaces/Ports
Microphone In Port:1 x Stereo Microphone-In/Headphone-Out Combo
Docking Port:1 x Docking Connector
AC Power:1 x AC Power
VGA Port:1 x 15-pin D-Sub
USB Ports:2 x USB 3.0 • 1 x USB 3.0 Charging • 1 x USB 2.0
RJ-45 Ports:1 x RJ-45
DisplayPort:1 x DisplayPort
Thunderbolt Port(s):1 x Thunderbolt

Media Adaptor
Secure Digital:Supported
Smart Card Reader:Yes
ExpressCard Slots:1 x ExpressCard 54 Slot

Network (Wired)
Network Interface:Intel I218-LM Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000Mbps Integrated

Wireless Communications
Wireless System:Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235
RF Network Standard:802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth:Yes , Bluetooth 4.0
Mobile Broadband:WiFi only

Camera
Webcam:HD Webcam

System
Operating System:Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)

Electrical
Battery:Lithium-Ion (8 Cells)
Power Supply: 200W AC Power Adaptor

 

[DataMedic]

I would assume that you can put just about any size mSATA SSD in to replace the 32Gb one, and yes you should have no issue booting from it.

As for the slot to the left of it in the picture, it is an M.2 slot which also can be used for an SSD, and should also be able to boot independently. It's not a SATA port at all but actually uses two lanes of PCI Express (thus M.2) and is used for SSDs.

In the future I'd imaging that we'll start seeing M.4, M.8, etc.

 

[DataMedic]

If you look at this PDF from HP it explains the specs as far as max capacity is concerned: http/h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA5-4926ENW

Looks like the mSATA is limited to 512Gb and the M.2 to 256Gb

I'm pretty sure it's a 30mm long from the picture, but a ruler can verify that pretty quickly. The standard sizes are 80mm, 60mm, 42mm, and 30mm.

 

[Jocago]

Hi, I've got a ZBook 15 also and I use it with 3 storage disks, I've never tried to use the M.2 slot.

My system is configured in this way:
1. One of the storage is a sata 750gb 2,5" hard drive in place as the picture shows. I use as a backup and achive file storage.
2. Then I've got a sata 2,5" 250gb SSD as a secondary hard drive in the space of the dvd drive. I use it as an emergency O.S. in case of any problem, and also use it to store files in use.
3. Then I use the msata slot with a SSD 250gb as the main O.S.

All three disks can be used and detected at the same time. Until now I've got no problems.
I'm also curiouse about the possible M.2 slot usage for storage.

Well that's it.

José

 

[AsdoMX]

I share with you my experience. I own a zbook 15 (first GEN). Mine has one 7200RPM 500GB, neither the mSATA or M.2 was populated. I was unable to find a mSATA 256GB so i bougth a M.2 2242 (is the size that notebook supports) 256GB SATA (also exist M.2 PCIe).

I installed the M.2, put the disc on the bay to reinstall SO, turn on the computer and send me a message like "the system detects an unsupported WWAN card and was disabled" And the SO installer is unable "to see" the M.2 SSD. I enter the SO on the HDD and the HD manager don´t see the M.2 SSD either.

I contact HP support and they din´t get the difference betwen M.2 and mSATA. In the link's PDF that DataMedic mention says that the notebook can support 128 M.2 SSD. Anyone have sucesfully installed a 128GB M.2 SSD?

 

[adilaw]

After much research I found that it is not possible to install a SSD in the M.2 slot but you can add a msata drive in the msata slot. Seems to be a known issue with Z book. I only found this out after buying an Intel HP 120gb M.2 ssd! It does not seem possible to populate the M.2 slot and no plans to issue a BIOS update.

 

[Jocago]

After much research I found that it is not possible to install a SSD in the M.2 slot but you can add a msata drive in the msata slot. Seems to be a known issue with Z book. I only found this out after buying an Intel HP 120gb M.2 ssd! It does not seem possible to populate the M.2 slot and no plans to issue a BIOS update.

I think that it is possible to instal the M2 pcie ssd.
You may need to enable it from the bios, and if possible you also may need to update the bios to the last version.
I've order a M2 ssd for othe laptop and I will tried to see if it works, and I will tell about it.

 

[AsdoMX]

Hello Jocago. I tried with a M.2 SATA, i didn't find any M.2 Pcie on the 2242 outline. Now I'm working with a 256GB mSATA SSD with no problems. Please update when your M.2 arrives.

 

[ostiepok]

If you look at this PDF from HP it explains the specs as far as max capacity is concerned: http/h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA5-4926ENW

Looks like the mSATA is limited to 512Gb and the M.2 to 256Gb

I'm pretty sure it's a 30mm long from the picture, but a ruler can verify that pretty quickly. The standard sizes are 80mm, 60mm, 42mm, and 30mm.

Hello Jocago. I tried with a M.2 SATA, i didn't find any M.2 Pcie on the 2242 outline. Now I'm working with a 256GB mSATA SSD with no problems. Please update when your M.2 arrives.

Hallo DataMedic
Did yoy check if mSATA is 6 Gb or 3 GB SATA?
Thank you

 

[AsdoMX]

If you look at this PDF from HP it explains the specs as far as max capacity is concerned: http/h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA5-4926ENW

Looks like the mSATA is limited to 512Gb and the M.2 to 256Gb

I'm pretty sure it's a 30mm long from the picture, but a ruler can verify that pretty quickly. The standard sizes are 80mm, 60mm, 42mm, and 30mm.

Hello Jocago. I tried with a M.2 SATA, i didn't find any M.2 Pcie on the 2242 outline. Now I'm working with a 256GB mSATA SSD with no problems. Please update when your M.2 arrives.

Hallo DataMedic
Did yoy check if mSATA is 6 Gb or 3 GB SATA?
Thank you

The one that i'm using is a mSATA SATA III (6Gbps). The one that didn´t work is a M.2 SATA III (6Gbps). I still have it in a drawer of my desk.

 

[ostiepok]

If you look at this PDF from HP it explains the specs as far as max capacity is concerned: http/h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA5-4926ENW

Looks like the mSATA is limited to 512Gb and the M.2 to 256Gb

I'm pretty sure it's a 30mm long from the picture, but a ruler can verify that pretty quickly. The standard sizes are 80mm, 60mm, 42mm, and 30mm.

Hello Jocago. I tried with a M.2 SATA, i didn't find any M.2 Pcie on the 2242 outline. Now I'm working with a 256GB mSATA SSD with no problems. Please update when your M.2 arrives.

Hallo DataMedic
Did yoy check if mSATA is 6 Gb or 3 GB SATA?
Thank you

The one that i'm using is a mSATA SATA III (6Gbps). The one that didn´t work is a M.2 SATA III (6Gbps). I still have it in a drawer of my desk.

Thank you. Excuse, my question was not clear enough. I would like to know if internal Z Books mSATA interface is SATA III or SATA II. Did you check the read/write speed of your mSATA SSD? In case of Z Books SATA II the R/W speed is limited to cca 280 MB/s.
For explanation, the Z Books chipset has 4 SATA III only and cca 6 SATA II ports. I did not found which Z Books devices are connected to SATAIII and which to SATA II.