Parts Locator Tool

Many sites that sell replacement parts for laptops offer a parts locator tool. You can simply enter your make and model of laptop and the tool with show you parts that are compatible with your specific model. In many cases, this may be all you need to find a fully-compatible part for your Acer laptop.

User Manual or Service Manual

Another option for finding a proper replacement part is to look in the User Manual that came with your laptop, or find a Service Manual online. Often, a search for your laptop’s make and model followed by the term “service manual” will help you locate a PDF version of the service manual. Usually one or both of these manuals will list part numbers for the various replaceable parts for your Acer laptop.

The Part Itself

Many replaceable parts have a part number printed on them directly. A laptop battery, for example, usually lists the part number on a sticker or label. This is usually a last resort option, however, as it requires disassembling the laptop to access internal parts, which might render the laptop unusable until the replacement part arrives. Try the other methods before resorting to disassembly whenever possible.

By following the methods above, you should be able to locate almost any part number you will need for your Acer laptop. Once you have the proper part, the service manual can help you with replacement instructions.

1. Before beginning any laptop repair, it is important that you power down the system and unplug all cables, including the power cable. Then remove the battery as well. This will protect you against the risk of electric shock and also protect your laptop from potential damage.

2. Open the laptop’s lid as far as it will go. Use a plastic tool such as a guitar pick to unlock the four latches located at the top edge of the keyboard by pressing down with the plastic tool or pick. The latches are above the F1, F6, F11, and End keys.

3. Gently lift the keyboard up just enough to gain access to the ribbon cable connector underneath. Pull up gently on the connector to disconnect it and remove the keyboard completely.

4. Connect the new keyboard to the connector in the same manner and snap the connector down in place.

5. Flip the keyboard down into place until it snaps into the latches you previously unlocked. Make sure it is secure.

At this point you can replace the battery and power cable and power up the system. Check to make sure that your new keyboard is functioning properly. If so, you have successfully repaired your laptop. Enjoy your new fully-functioning keyboard.

1. Unplug the power cable and any other connected cables from the laptop and remove the battery. This will reduce any risk of electric shock while repairing your laptop.

2. Turn the laptop upside down with the front facing you and locate the memory compartment near the top left. Remove the screws securing the access panel and remove the access panel. Remove the screw inside the panel marked with a keyboard icon.

3. Find the WLAN compartment located near the top right. Remove the screw securing the access panel in place and remove the panel. Remove the screw inside this panel marked with a keyboard icon.

4. Turn the laptop over and open the lid as far as possible. Lift the top edge of the keyboard slightly, then slide it toward the back of the laptop until you have access to the ribbon cable connecting the keyboard to the motherboard.

5. Gently disconnect the ribbon cable from the motherboard and remove the keyboard.

6. Connect the ribbon cable from your replacement keyboard, then slide the new keyboard into place.

7. Close the lid and flip the laptop back over. Replace the two screws marked with a keyboard icon, and then replace the access panels and their screws.

At this point, all that is left to do is replace the battery and power cable and power up the laptop. If your keyboard appears to be functioning correctly, you are finished.

1. Find a replacement drive

Before you start, you will need to find a compatible drive for your laptop with more storage space. Use an online parts locator tool to see which drives are compatible with your laptop model, as different models require different drive form factors. You will probably also want an external drive enclosure for the cloning process.

2. Clone your drive or Reinstall?

The easiest way to upgrade a laptop hard drive is to clone it with cloning software. This copies all files and partitions from the original drive to the new drive and you can simply boot up the laptop and pick up where you left off. Programs such as Acronis True Image or Norton Ghost can handle the cloning process, and will also expand the partition for the larger drive, allowing you to utilize all of the extra space.

If you choose not to clone the drive, you can simply backup all your important data, install the new drive, install the operating system, then move your files onto the new drive.

3. Find Instructions

The process of replacing the drive is somewhat different for each model, so it is a good idea to find specific instructions for your laptop’s model. Try searching for the term “service manual” along with your laptop’s model for instructions. You may also try a search such as “How to replace hard drive” and you laptop’s make and model.

4. Reuse your old drive

If you have purchased an external enclosure for the cloning process, you can place your old hard drive in this enclosure to use it for extra storage. Once you are sure your old files are backed up, you can delete the files on this drive or reformat to regain space.

Here are the steps:

1. Power down the laptop, unplug the AC adapter and all cables, and remove the battery before proceeding. This will reduce the risk of electric shock and damage to the machine.

2. Flip the laptop over and remove the single screw holding the RAM access panel in place. Remove this panel and the installed RAM chip.

3. Remove the other 8 screws on the bottom of the laptop.

4. Flip the laptop over, and lift up on the keyboard from the back, and slide it forward to release the catches. Remove the cushion holding above the ribbon cable, release the cable lock, and remove the cable and the keyboard carefully.

5. To remove the palmrest, disconnect the FFC cable in an indentation near the top left, and disconnect the coaxial cable near the top right. Remove the single screw holding the palmrest in place. Gently pull up on the palmrest at the very bottom to release the three catches, and pull up and toward you to remove it.

6. Above the optical drive is a metal shield that must be removed to access the wireless card. Remove the three screws and the metal shield.

7. Remove the two screws securing the wireless card, disconnect the cable, and remove it.

8. Connect the replacement wireless card and replace the two screws.

At this point, you can simply reverse these instructions to reassemble the laptop and test that the new wireless card is working correctly. It is possible that once you install this wireless card, you may need to setup your wireless connection again on your laptop, but that typically only takes a few minutes and then you will be up and running again.

The Toshiba NB305 notebook series comes standard with 1 GB DDR2 RAM, which you can upgrade to 2 GB total, doubling the amount of RAM in your system. However, this particular machine only has one available memory slot on its motherboard, which means you can only have one stick of memory installed at a time. To upgrade your memory, you will have to open up the bottom slot of your machine and remove the 1 GB stick of memory, and replace it with a 2 GB stick instead.

The Toshiba NB305 requires a standard 200 pin DDR2 SODIMM laptop memory module. Be sure not to purchase desktop memory, as this will not work with your machine, even if everything else is the same. From here your choices are between 667 MHz and 800 MHz memory modules. If possible, purchase the 667 MHz module as the bus speed of the NB305′s motherboard is 667 MHz, and anything above and beyond this will be throttled down anyway.

To replace your memory, be sure to shut down and unplug your laptop’s battery and AC adapter. With your laptop upside down, locate your memory compartment and remove the screws securing it in place. With the compartment door removed you will have access to your RAM module. Press outward on the latches on both ends of the socket, and the RAM should pop up slightly and become easily removable. Then take your new RAM module and slide it into place and secure the connectors. You should not see any of its gold connectors once properly installed. Once you have replaced your compartment cover, battery and/or AC adapter, boot your system back up, and the BIOS should automatically detect and configure your new memory.

First, before doing any hardware work on your machine, make sure that it is powered off completely. Shut the machine down, remove the AC adapter from both wall socket and machine, and remove the battery. Next, flip the machine upside down and remove the two hard drive screws on the underside of your machine. Slide the hard drive with cover out of the machine, and then remove the two screws on either side of your hard drive to slide off the cover. Be sure to remove the small connector board from the hard drive to use on the replacement hard drive.

Then, using your product manual, manufacturer’s information, or the part number listed on the hard drive itself, find your replacement drive. Once you have it, simply reattach the hard drive cover with the two screws on either side of your hard drive, attach the connector board and slide the hard drive with case into the machine, using firm and even pressure. Be careful not to slam or force the drive in the drive bay as this can damage the connectors on your hard drive or inside the laptop. Once fully seated in the drive bay, secure the drive in place by reattaching the two screws on the underside of your laptop.

Insert your battery and AC adapter, and insert your operating system or recovery disk into your machine. Power on the laptop and begin the installation of your operating system. It should recognize your new drive and install seamlessly, getting you back on track and back to work quickly and painlessly.

There a few methods you can use when replacing your hard drive with an SSD:

Option 1: Backup all necessary files, install the empty SSD drive, reinstall the operating system, and copy your files back to the new drive. This has the benefit of a clean operating system install, which can improve performance in some cases, but you will lose all your customizations and system settings, and it is possible some files will be missed when backing up.

Option 2: Clone your original hard drive to the new SSD, and then install it into the computer. This keeps the operating system and all files exactly as they were, and you can get the benefits of your new SSD without losing your settings or customizations. This can be a potential problem if the old drive is larger than the new drive, however, which is sometimes the case when upgrading to an SSD.

Whichever option you choose, you will likely need a way to connect both drives to the computer. With a laptop, you may need to purchase an external USB enclosure for this purpose.

If cloning the drive, use a utility such as CloneZilla or Norton Ghost to make an exact copy of the drive. Otherwise, install the new drive and the operating system, and then connect your old drive to copy over your files. The process of physically replacing the drives is no different with and SSD than with a traditional drive.

First, you must find a Sony laptop hard drive upgrade that is compatible with your specific model. Most laptop hard drives are compatible with multiple models, but the best way to ensure compatibility is to use a parts locator tool, available on many online retail sites that deal in replacement laptop parts. This tool will allow you to enter the model number of your Sony laptop and get a list of compatible replacement parts, so that you know the Sony laptop hard drive you purchase will be compatible. Once you have your hard drive, it is a fairly simple process to replace the drive.

While each Sony laptop model is different, these instructions will provide the basic process for upgrading most Sony laptop hard drives.

1. Use an anti-static wrist band to reduce the risk of static damage to sensitive laptop parts.

2. Remove the screws on the back of the laptop.

3. Flip the laptop over and carefully remove the keyboard. There will be a ribbon cable connecting the keyboard. Carefully remove this ribbon cable from the connector on the mainboard.

4. Remove the screws holding the wrist plate or top cover in place and remove it.

5. You should now have access to the hard drive. Remove the screws holding it in place, and gently remove the ribbon cable and/or power cable. Pull the hard drive out of the laptop.

6. Connect the ribbon cable to your new hard drive and place it back in the laptop. Replace the screws and reverse the above instructions to reassemble the laptop.

At this point, power up the laptop and test that the new drive is working. Reinstall your operating system or use your restore discs and you are ready to go.

Almost every hardware problem begins small and can easily go unnoticed. Locating the problem can be just as difficult, and may require opening the laptop up, and searching for possible sources. One of the biggest reasons for a personal computer’s failure is the inevitable congregation of dust within the casing and that which is accumulated within the cooling fan. This problem causes a chain reaction within the device, and if not properly treated or cleaned early enough, it can create serious overheating. Most manufactures and sales representatives highly suggest that their device stays dust free at all times to prevent these inconvenient situations.



Every piece of fine machinery requires maintenance, and a laptop is far from exempt. If anything, these devices need the most care and yield the biggest benefits from it. With the proper treatment and well executed troubleshooting, there is no piece of laptop hardware that can take it completely out of commission. Almost everything from the hard drive to the motherboard can be replaced within minutes, and the lifespan can only be extended. Regardless of the occurrence of errors, there is always a reason to routinely update and maintain your laptop computer.