Acer 220 Hard Drive Upgrade

Upgrade for Acer 220 Series Laptop

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In 2003 I bought an Acer 220 series (actually 223XC) laptop. At the time the 20 GB hard drive and 256 MB memory seemed more than sufficient for all my needs. But as time passed and I started imaging with larger chip CCD cameras and eventually also a Canon 350D, I found myself frequently running out of space and having to drastically prune the contents of the hard drive. I was also occasionally getting virtual memory shortage messages.

Not really satisfactory, but I didn't want to buy a new machine. The Acer had 'true' parallel and serial ports which I used frequently with my astronomical equipment, and did everything I needed. It was stable and reliable with Windows XP, and it seemed that Windows Vista as installed in the vast majority of new machines was giving compatibility problems with existing hardware. (Also at the time I bought the Acer it cost £700!). So I decided (February 2008) to upgrade my existing machine with a larger Hard drive and more RAM (Random Access Memory).

I ordered a 512 MB memory card from Crucial in the UK. (At the same time I also ordered a 1GB card for my desktop). Crucial have an excellent system for choosing the correct memory, which duly arrived a couple of days later and installed with no problems. Highly recommended!

This is the rear of the laptop showing the various access hatches.

The memory compartment opened, showing an empty slot

And the new memory card installed. This was absolutely straightforward - an easy DIY upgrade.

But the hard drive was more problematical. On examining the laptop, it appeared that the hard drive lived in a slot at the front of the machine, with a plastic tag to extract it. But a firm pull on the tag had no effect.

Eventually after correspondence with the prospective suppliers of the new drive and feedback from the internet, I plucked up courage and pulled hard with a pair of pliers. And out came the drive!

I sourced a new drive from Drive my Laptop. They had been extremely helpful and quick to respond to my numerous queries, most of them on a Sunday! Thanks 'Adrian' very much. With next day delivery and the excellent service, I recommend them 100%

Like Crucial, Drive my Laptop have an extensive database to assist in selecting a suitable drive, and I soon decided on a Seagate 120GB unit. A 'cloning' kit was also purchased. This supplies a holder for a drive with a USB interface and appropriate software to map an exact copy of the original drive onto the new one. The two USB plugs are provided to plug in to two sockets to ensure sufficient power to run the drive

So with the new drive installed in the cloning kit unit, and the software running in the laptop, a couple of key presses and the fully automatic process was under way.

A progress screen shot. The whole transfer took around four hours - the Acer only had USB 1.1, and although I had a USB2 PCMCIA card, I didn't want to trust it for such an important task

Eventually the process was complete. The existing drive had a plug extension which needed to be transferred to the new unit

And the computer had a tray which the drive sat in - just a couple of small screws to hold it and no problem changing the drives over.

Then into the computer with the new drive.

And replace the cover for the drive bay.

The old drive then plugged into the USB interface in the cloning kit.

And became a USB external 20GB drive! Useful for transferring data, and of course the holder is available for a much larger external drive if I wish.

Fire up the laptop and voila! - loads of space. Everything worked first time with no problems.

With the faster new drive (5400 RPM against 4200 RPM of the old drive) and increased memory, the computer zips along with a new lease of life and I hope will serve me well for several more years. Around £150 altogether, including the cloning kit. I reckon money well spent!

POSTSCRIPT

With impending trips abroad, La Palma in June 2008 and France in August, and my laptop Windows XP upgraded to Service Pack 2, I decided to take a chance on a yet larger 160GB drive, with the 120GB becoming the backup. Extra programs and data also took up space, and the 120GB drive is available not only for files, but as a fully working independent drive should the installed drive fail . Again ordered from Drive my Laptop and again the order was filled immediately - first class service! Indeed at the time, the 160GB drive was cheaper than the 120! And it worked fine :-)

But the hard drive was more problematical. On examining the laptop, it appeared that the hard drive lived in a slot at the front of the machine, with a plastic tag to extract it. But a firm pull on the tag had no effect.
Eventually after correspondence with the prospective suppliers of the new drive and feedback from the internet, I plucked up courage and pulled hard with a pair of pliers. And out came the drive! I sourced a new drive from Drive my Laptop. They had been extremely helpful and quick to respond to my numerous queries, most of them on a Sunday! Thanks 'Adrian' very much. With next day delivery and the excellent service, I recommend them 100%
Like Crucial, Drive my Laptop have an extensive database to assist in selecting a suitable drive, and I soon decided on a Seagate 120GB unit. A 'cloning' kit was also purchased. This supplies a holder for a drive with a USB interface and appropriate software to map an exact copy of the original drive onto the new one. The two USB plugs are provided to plug in to two sockets to ensure sufficient power to run the drive
So with the new drive installed in the cloning kit unit, and the software running in the laptop, a couple of key presses and the fully automatic process was under way.
A progress screen shot. The whole transfer took around four hours - the Acer only had USB 1.1, and although I had a USB2 PCMCIA card, I didn't want to trust it for such an important task
Eventually the process was complete. The existing drive had a plug extension which needed to be transferred to the new unit
And the computer had a tray which the drive sat in - just a couple of small screws to hold it and no problem changing the drives over.
Then into the computer with the new drive.
And replace the cover for the drive bay.
The old drive then plugged into the USB interface in the cloning kit.
And became a USB external 20GB drive! Useful for transferring data, and of course the holder is available for a much larger external drive if I wish.
Fire up the laptop and voila! - loads of space. Everything worked first time with no problems. With the faster new drive (5400 RPM against 4200 RPM of the old drive) and increased memory, the computer zips along with a new lease of life and I hope will serve me well for several more years. Around £150 altogether, including the cloning kit. I reckon money well spent!
POSTSCRIPT With impending trips abroad, La Palma in June 2008 and France in August, and my laptop Windows XP upgraded to Service Pack 2, I decided to take a chance on a yet larger 160GB drive, with the 120GB becoming the backup. Extra programs and data also took up space, and the 120GB drive is available not only for files, but as a fully working independent drive should the installed drive fail . Again ordered from Drive my Laptop and again the order was filled immediately - first class service! Indeed at the time, the 160GB drive was cheaper than the 120! And it worked fine :-)