"unstiching" sony vaio vgn-a217s

[scottyman]

hey guys - I need to whack the hard drive out of a failed vgn-a217s laptop, I've removed all of the screws, but there's a couple of connectors on the top panel holding it together.

Any idea where I'd find a service manual for it (for free)
I'm trying to recover the data for a client before the insurance company disposes of it and replaces it.

very odd - it seems to be the hardest of any laptop I've seen to take it apart without damage. I can even see the hdd, but it's beneath the touchpad interface which is screwed in place.

it's not even encased in a protective sleeve which is INSANE, so I'm concerned that it's been water damaged.

[scottyman]

...update... oh you'll laugh...

37 screws to unseat the back

unclip keyboard

unscrew top part of machine

remove 4 more screws to get mem stick pro interface board out of the way
3 more screws to get drive out.

the hard drive sits in a "sump" where all fluids will naturally pool.

have taken 70-odd gb worth of data off the drive before meltdown

new drive delivered today - just about to take the sodding unit apart again to replace the drive.

I'm probably going to tell my client that we'll claim a replacement on insurance anyway, as if I see one more sodding sony laptop screw - I'll throw the sodding thing out the window.

Another point.
Why on earth would you use 8 different size screws, with three different thread spacings?
Fine - can understand one for drive compatibility, another to hold the actual chassis together - but when you've got 3 different screw lengths to hold bits onto the chassis there's clearly a design flaw somewhere!

It's the first laptop I've repaired in years where it takes more than 2 screws to remove a HDD from the chassis.

I might sue sony for rsi from trial and error getting the screws in and out.

pricks.

[kushtibari]

Yep, just done one similar model here as well - really pleased that we only had two screws left over when it got put back together. Shame keyboard doesn't work though....

The only reason I can see for all the hassle is that Sony (having already taken you for a grand or so) want to make a mint on any repair/servicing jobs.