I was thinking about replacing the old HDD from the notebook with a SSD since it is beginning to fail and was wondering if...

If you just bought or received this device, you need to hold down the power button for about 4 seconds before it is able to turn on. The battery may also be completely discharged and would need about 24 hours of charging to determine whether or not the battery you have is still viable. For any other questions I can refer you to the troubleshooting page.