CarlTheWebmaster

In a similar situation I have used multiple 'profiles' in edge to access separate office.com / office 365 accounts. I like this over using incognito/private because I can have separate saved logins and bookmarks in the two profiles.

Related to the new HD/SSD topic, most/many drives come with cloning software that makes the replacement simple; Usually I put the new drive in an enclosure, clone it, then swap. Enclosures are ~$20-40 so that beats the $150 copying service fee.

COSPILOT

Yep, I have one. Cloning the drive is easier than replacing a phone.

StuckInYYZ

It may be easier, but I find it's not a clean processes. Especially if you're diagnosing a "hard drive failure". My preference is to do a clean install and have a fresh system. You clear out old junk registry entries, you don't have any (or have less) legacy stuff lying around (unless you need to install from an old base and patch accordingly). My systems are always faster as a result.

HawaiiTrvlr

FYI, the $150 price included the cost of a new SSD (compatible with my laptop and preloaded with an operating system) and installation. I would be responsible for transferring of the files/documents/folders, etc.

Cat Man Do

I'll add that if they're charging 150 to swap a laptop drive, that should include cloning the existing drive to the new one. The physical swap on a laptop of that size is quite likely a matter of a few screws and a plastic panel for about 5-10 minutes of work.

rts123

Replacing a rotating hard drive with an SSD is the best bang for the buck upgrade for a laptop like yours.
I've done it plenty of times using Samsung SSDs. The Samsung Data Migration software makes it quick & painless. There should be no need to copy/recopy your files.

Having said that, if your budget allows for a new laptop you should at least take a look to see what you might want.
In my experience, many consumer-grade 17" laptops (not gaming laptops) of your vintage and older have crap components and sell simply because they have a 17" screen.
Current 17" models may be better, and there are tons of 15" - 16" options if that screen size works for you.
For a new laptop make sure it either comes with 16GB RAM or has an empty/available RAM slot to allow for a later upgrade. Laptops with 12GB rub me the wrong way, maybe I just like multiples of 8.

Loren Pechtel

Maybe for somebody used to working on that particular laptop. Even once I found out where the drive was hiding it was probably 20 minutes for the swap.

StuckInYYZ

For most modern laptops, any SSD should be on the "underside" of the mainboard and should only take about 10-15 minutes to swap out (should being the key word). Some systems had the SSD under the keyboard. Those were the pains in the behind and would require an hour or so to make sure all the cables were mapped and unplugged and then take out the mainboard, replace the drive and then reverse your steps.

YVR Cockroach

For a large laptop such as the OP's, the process should be even faster as space is less of an issue. Only caveat is some systems having the weird non-standard connectors (SFF-8784?) that was tried out a few years ago.

StuckInYYZ

Actually that's not necessarily true. HP would use standard interfaces as it's easier and cheaper to get replacements. That said, bigger usually means bigger battery. Things are still usually tight in terms of space.

Loren Pechtel

Mine was on the main board but quite a bit had to come apart to get to it. It's been long enough I don't recall the details.

YVR Cockroach

I guess I'm lucky that my motley collection of various devices from UMPCs (tiny Fujtsu - didn't end up shelling out for a 1.8" SSD) to standard laptops (Acers) with Lenovo Yoga and HP/Compaq convertible inbetween were easy enough to work on and most required only 1-2 min. with a screwdriver at most to remove the HDD, and/or change the RAM if possible.

boerne

If you are a little uncertain about swapping a hard drive, youtube is your friend to show you the way.