Hi there
Why is it on even a quite EXPENSIVE laptop these days do they make the HDD cable so FLIMSY -- on my old Sony VAIO it was easy to fit a new HDD / SSD -- the SATA connector was RIGIDLY attached to the mobo and the disk slotted straight in - no flimsy wire or ribbon connector from the HDD to the MOBO..
Modern one's have flimsy ribbon connectors or tiny wire connectors between the HDD (SATA connector) and the laptop MOBO.
I've just BRICKED an 800 USD laptop because the SATA HDD ribbon connector was too flimsy -- it will take around 14 days to get a new connector !!!! - it's not the trivial price of the connector (3 USD) but that these connectors are TOO flimsy for anybody wanting to change an HDD for an SSD. The rest of the laptop is "Battleship built" but the HDD connector is definitely a WEAK LINK.
This laptop was the HP S4 envy 4 series - anybody else changing the HDD on these -- be careful !! -- the other irritant is you have to undo 13 screws to get the base off (even to change the battery) - otherwise not a bad laptop at all. However it's going to be sitting idle for the next 14 days -- and I've done a lot of hardware upgrades in my time so it's not just a question of "Bad technique" or inexperience.
So this post is just to warn you if you are thinking of swapping an HDD for an SSD in some of the newer laptops --usually a good idea BTW but BE WARNED about these rotten flimsy cables.
Wow! I thought Acer was the cheapo brand. All mine so far have had pretty sturdy drive connectors and the batteries pop on and off with a release switch. Screws usually run about 6-8 to get to the memory and hard drive.
Not close to Battle Ship build but not an issue for me being a 17.3" desktop replacement anyway. Stays on a solid table and doesn't move anywhere much except to clean the vents and fan.
My fathers HP laptop is like that, it has the cables. He had to order one for his second drive bay. It only came with the one cable for the factory installed drive. My ASUS laptop has the fixed connectors that the drive just slides into. I still had to order the bracket the drive mounts in for my second bay though. My father hasn't swapped out the factory drive or added a second drive yet. I replaced my factory drive for an SSD and added a second SSD. Thanks for the heads up, I'll have to warn him to be careful if he decides to swap or add a drive.
The battery just slides out with the two unlock switches on my ASUS. The drives, RAM and WIFI card are under one large panel that has 6 screws. Even with the screws out its still a pain to open as it has some snap fit tabs on it.
A lot of these laptop SATA cables aren't your standard SATA cable. The only one that will work and connect properly is the manufacturers cable. On my fathers HP I do believe the plug that connected to the hard drive was a one piece molded power and data connector. To be guarantied that it would fit and work his only option was to buy it from HP.
There are so many cheap stuff in Acer laptops nowadays, take the touchpad for example, mostly they install Elan or Alps but the retailers display the one with Synaptics , when a customer buys that model thinking it has Synaptics touchpad and when he opens the box at home the Elantech touchpad laughs at him/her , conveniently they avoid mentioning the make of touchpad in their product description as well, clever stuff.
Add me to the list of people who hate the flimsy cables. I fix laptops at work and on the side and these cables add quite a bit of stress to the entire process.
, when a customer buys that model thinking it has Synaptics touchpad and when he opens the box at home the Elantech touchpad laughs at him/her , conveniently they avoid mentioning the make of touchpad in their product description as well, clever stuff.