Modding the Acer Aspire One - hard drive

Welcome.. this is a multi-part post on moddng the Acer Aspire One!

In other part, I will try to show how to take the Aspire One apart, how to upgrade the RAM, and how to add internal Bluetooth. Today I demonstrate how to replace the SSD with a 1.8″ PATA hard drive and how to reassemble the Aspire One…

Here’s another video and additional pictures that cover the process.

The Aspire One SSD features the same ZIF connector found on 1.8″ PATA hard drives, which are small, light, efficient, affordable, plentiful, and somewhat shock resistant - all this while providing more storage and better performance than this particular SSD. Blame the iPod :)

Apparently, there’s just enough space for a thin (5 mm) 1.8″ PATA hard drive under the Aspire One’s motherboard. I happened to have such a hard drive floating around, a 60 GB Samsung. It’s a plug-and-play mod - just disconnect the ribbon cable from the SSD and connect it to the hard drive.

I used double-sided adhesive foam squares to secure it to the motherboard. This adds some padding and provides protection for the hard drive, but makes for an even tighter fit. Check out the pictures.