Acer Aspire One ZG5 Hard Drive Replacement
Introduction
Go to step 1Use this guide to replace the hard drive in the Acer Aspire One ZG5. After removing the motherboard, the hard drive is easy to replace.
What you need
Fix Kits
These kits contain all the parts and tools needed to complete this guide.
Parts
Tools
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Gently loosen the two Phillips #0 screws in the small panel that covers the wireless card.
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Gently lift up the left side of the wireless card and slide the card out of its socket.
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Close the display and turn the ZG5 over so that the battery compartment faces away from you.
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Disconnect the two antenna cables from the right side of the wireless card.
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Gently lift the I/O board up from the right side of the case.
there are 2 silver screws that need to be removed in this step your picture shows them still installed (one is located neer audio plug, the other is located neer keyboard plug) in step 27 (next step) they have been removed without mention
I have added 1 gb of memory to my ZG5 thanks to this helpful guide. Total cost, including a spudger and a new mini screwdriver, to tackle the 00 Philips, GBP 17.57
I fear I haven't put the trackpad connector back properly, but device works great with a wireless mouse. Very many thanks.
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Disconnect the I/O board from the motherboard.
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Remove the two 4.7 mm Phillips #0 screws that hold down the hard drive.
La notebook trae el disco duro en la parte de atrás? Por dónde va el ventilador?
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
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Team
Cal Poly, Team 7-49, Amido Fall 2010 Member of Cal Poly, Team 7-49, Amido Fall 2010
CPSU-AMIDO-F10S7G49
5 Members
27 Guides authored
14 Comments
Excellent guide. This "student" should be promoted to "instructor" right away. Many thanks.
This guide helped a lot with refurbishing my old ZG5. It now has a case that is not cracked, 1.5 GB memory, and a 240GB SSD. I get to put off Windows 10 for a while longer.
Thanks a lot! i already upgrade memory from 1 to 1.5 on my acer. But i have a question, does the aoa 150 works faster with a ssd disk? i want to try with one of 240 gb. Anyone try it?
Not the easiest upgrade I've ever done (perhaps the most difficult, actually), but I got it done. Removing the keyboard was the trickiest step for me. Be patient. If you can work one of the corner releases, you can put a flat-blade screwdriver under the corner of the keyboard and work on the other releases (starting at the far corner, then the centre).
The other tricky problem I had was getting the little ribbon cable for the trackpad properly reconnected after completing the project. (I thought the keyboard cable would be the tricky part, but it turns out to be pretty easy.) Be patient and you'll be fine. You may want to test (with a mouse handy) before you reinsert the keyboard.
Thanks very much for this howto!
I had one of these little beasts that my son gave away about 6 years ago. The person he gave it to returned it to him a month later because it would not turn on. It was a case of the boot sector problem that plagues the ZG5. I performed the repair described on the Acer web site and it has been running fine ever since. After installing Linux Mint (dual boot), it was finally given away again last summer. Now it seems it is coming back to me. This might be the time to upgrade it with an SSD. Thanks for this tutorial. I will probably be making use of it over the next few weeks.
Chuck Pilger - 02/23/2017
Ok I'm ready to take the plunge and install an ssd. Which version of Win 10 works well? Or, how about win7, which I always liked? Pete Lunde 07/13/2017
I tried both Windows 7 and 10. I'd say to upgrade the memory to max (1.5GB) before trying to run ANY version of Windows. Also, while 7 ran nicely enough with that upgrade, I think Linux works even better. Windows 10 (32-bit, of course) runs, but it was way too slow to be comfortable for me to use. Of course, Windows 10 has more built-in protections against malware, so there are trade-offs to consider. If you don't *need* to run any Windows-only apps, though, at least try Linux on a Live USB and see how you like it.
I used this guide to upgrade the hard drive, upgrade the memory (from 1GB to 1.5GB), and replace a busted internal WiFi card (upgrading from 802.11g to 802.11n in the process!). It can be done, but I will say that removing the keyboard is harder than it should be. In doing so, I broke one of the clips that holds it in. It still works great, but the keyboard now bounces a little. Be careful with that step!
Overall, considering that the ease of replacing these three parts once opened, it's a shame that Acer made it so HARD to open (safely).
I installed Windows 7 when I upgraded it, and it ran fine (but a bit pokey). I upgraded to Windows 10, and it worked, but it was even slower. After I migrated away from using apps on this machine that required Windows, I installed Linux Mint exclusively (had it dual-booting before), and it works better than it did with either Windows 7 or 10. (Note: To insure Linux compatibility, I used an Intel-branded WiFi card, which I checked for compatibility beforehand).
I would like to replace the HDD with an SDD. Are there any specific SDDs that would work best for the MB Connection?
Scott, I assume you mean SSD, which stands for Solid-State Drive, and not SDD (whatever that stands for).
Many thanks for this guide. I was able to replace the disk without any problem
Its 2024, following your excellent instructions I have just successfully replaced my aging hdd with a new ssd. Many Thanks
I've got LMDE 32bit running on my Aspire One for Amatuer Radio use. Following the guide to upgrade both the memory and the original 120G HD with a SSD. This is a fantastic guide to disassembly. I'm the original owner and it's got 16 year old dust that needed cleaning out as well. Thank You!
