I now have a M.2 SATA SSD available for experimentation, mounted on a Sintech ST-NG8784 adapter circuit board that lets me plug a M.2 SSD into a SSF-8784 connector. This unusual slim connector is used by a HP Pavilion Split X2 (13-r010dx) tablet/laptop convertible computer, which foiled an earlier attempt at SSD upgrade. This time I am better prepared.

Here's the "Before" picture, with the stock SFF-8784 hard drive in the center. From the factory the interior of this device had a lot more tape and foil, including foil completely wrapping the hard drive. They've all been pulled off in earlier adventures.

In addition to disconnecting the AC adapter, the connector at the center of the image (with black wires, not white ribbon cable) is for the battery and should be disconnected before working on this machine.

Four screws held the drive in place using some metal brackets, which were in turn mounted to the drive via some screws on the side. Removing them were trivial, but that exposed the next problem: the PCB could match bottom mounting holes, but we need horizontal ones, so there's no good way to fasten the drive.

I decided not to worry about proper fastening for the moment, because I had no idea if the computer would even accept this drive with adapter. Some temporary painter's tape is enough to make sure the board doesn't flop around while I experiment.