Hello --  I have a 5-year old Aspire 5742-6858 laptop with a slow HDD and dead battery.  My friend tells me it is still useable if I buy a replacement battery and upgrade the HDD to SSD.  The latter is well-understood.  I would appreciate it if:
(1)  you could recommend the best/most compatible SSD brands (preferably 512GB) for this aspire model 5742-6858;  and
(2)  I have identified battdepot.com as a good source for buying the replacement battery.  However, its website lists many battery models just for the 5742 series.  The closest I could find is for the 5742-6838 (mine is 5742-6858).  I have posed the question of compatibility to Batt.depot.com but have so far not received any answer.  Would appreciate receiving some tips/comments/guidance on compatibility/suitability.
Thanking you in advance.