Difficulty

Easy

Steps

6

Time Required

                          5 minutes

Sections

1

  • Hard Drive
  • 6 steps

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Introduction

What you need

Step 1

              Gather Materials
  • You will need to have a replacement drive ready. The R61i officially supports SATA I speeds, but if you flash the Middleton’s BIOS, you will get the full SATA II speed. If you plan on upgrading to an SSD during this process, I would recommend flashing Middleton’s BIOS. Get more information & download links here

You will need to have a replacement drive ready. The R61i officially supports SATA I speeds, but if you flash the Middleton’s BIOS, you will get the full SATA II speed. If you plan on upgrading to an SSD during this process, I would recommend flashing Middleton’s BIOS. Get more information & download links here

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Step 2

              Remove the battery & unplug power adapter
  • You may need to apply a good amount of force to the levers that hold the battery in place. Mine was especially well stuck, as it was a recently installed aftermarket battery.

You may need to apply a good amount of force to the levers that hold the battery in place. Mine was especially well stuck, as it was a recently installed aftermarket battery.

Step 3

              Remove the HDD caddy's cover
  • Locate and remove the #2 philips screw on the hard drive bay cover.
  • Pull the hard drive bay cover straight out. Mine required a good bit of wiggling and force before it came out of the computer.

Locate and remove the #2 philips screw on the hard drive bay cover.

Pull the hard drive bay cover straight out. Mine required a good bit of wiggling and force before it came out of the computer.

Step 4

              Remove the caddy & hard drive
  • Locate the plastic tab that you will need to use to remove the caddy. I recommend using the iFixit plastic tool to remove this, as most screwdrivers could tear or scratch the plastic or drive caddy.
  • Pull the hard drive and caddy straight out of the machine.

Locate the plastic tab that you will need to use to remove the caddy. I recommend using the iFixit plastic tool to remove this, as most screwdrivers could tear or scratch the plastic or drive caddy.

Pull the hard drive and caddy straight out of the machine.

Step 5

              Remove the rubber sleds from the drive caddy
  • Remove the two rubber sleds from the drive caddy.

Remove the two rubber sleds from the drive caddy.

Step 6

              Remove the hard drive from the caddy
  • Remove the four phillips head screws around the hard drive. Do not lose these, as they will be used to install your new hard drive or SSD!

Remove the four phillips head screws around the hard drive. Do not lose these, as they will be used to install your new hard drive or SSD!

Congratulations! To re-assemble the device, follow the guide in reverse order.

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                    Sam

Member since: 02/24/2017

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