I do almost everything interweb related on my phone, including playing poker. But I do own a Dell Inspiron laptop that is a couple of years old that always seemed to have a faulty hard drive. I seldom do anything on the laptop, but if the cure is $50 or less, then I would replace the hard drive. It it worth it? And can I get a hard drive with some recent version of Windows already installed on it for less than $50 for everything? Internal or external is fine with me if you have any suggestions. It is a price point decision for me since I seldom use the laptop anyway.

what's the laptop's model? Inspiron XXXX

Dell Inspiron 15-3567

I said it is a "couple" of years old, but saying "several" was probably more accurate. I use my phone for everything, therefore the laptop is extremely unimportant. But there are times when you want to see Brad Pitt's face on a larger screen.

I ask the model because I need to know which ssd format to recommend

Yes a SSD would be fine. I've seen some cheap ones, but they didn't seem to have much storage to even hold Windows. I'm looking for a cheap one with some version of Windows preinstalled on the SSD. I double checked to make sure I got the laptop model right

Dell Inspiron 15-3567

ugh it's one of those you have to fully disassemble to get to the guts, including taking out the optical disk caddy and keyboard
you might not want to attempt this yourself and instead take it to a boutique pc shop that offers service, idk what they charge
either way, you'll need one of these https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-BX500...445186&sr=8-12
and here's a video of what the disassembly looks like. once he opens and flips it over, the first thing he takes out is the hdd, that's where you need to get. might as well clean the insides while you're at it, this laptop's prob never getting opened again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkbP...nel=LaptopNuts

Yeah I watched that YouTube video yesterday and almost threw up in mouth at the disassembly steps. After seeing that I almost instead asked about an external drive instead.

Thanks for the help.

I mean, seeing as you don't use the laptop anyway and it's worth giving it a new life because it's not obsolete, if you're feeling adventurous one day, give it a crack. It's not all that difficult and if you're a bit careful there's nothing to break. You don't need fancy tools, a small screwdriver and a butter knife for prying open the clamps and be organized with your screws so you know which go where, they're prob 2 or 3 different sizes.

Then Windows you get for free from Microsoft's website, by googling "Windows Media Creation Tool" and following the simple steps. You need an 8gb+ usb drive and the software will make it so that you can install Windows from that usb drive on your new ssd. The key is saved on your laptop's motherboard, no need to buy the software again.