Has anyone successfully replaced the hard drive in a Sony VAIO A series? I tried it, but to no avail. Any help would be very appreciated.

Are there maybe links with steps how to replace the hard drive? I haven't found any so far.

Thanks for your help,
axelhi

what was the problem? You should be able to.

Update: I spoke with a Sony rep online and leared that the HDD has to be taken to an authorized dealer. They will check the compatibility of the drive and perform the upgrade.

Also, the RAM is user replaceable without warranty issues. And the VRAM at the moment will remain at the 64MB; but he left it very open ended-without definitely confirming or denying any future upgrades of VRAM via new purchases.

@ tourney2112

That was what I thought. I removed all the screws on the bottom, removed the keyboard, and then there are two more screws underneath the keyboard. I could lift the cover, but there was no way to remove it completely. Other people didn't get any further either.

@ sbc

I wanted to replace the current HDD with the Hitachi 7K60 (7200rpm). I hope there aren't any compatibility issues. Do you know how to figure out who is an authorized dealer? Is there a list somewhere? I was a little concerned about voiding the warranty. If the replacement through a dealer wouldn't be too expensive I might go for that.

Thanks,
axelhi

If you go to sonystyle's website and search through customer support (and/or contact us), there should be a link to do a search for authorized dealers given your zip code. He did not mention a price range for these services, I'd assume it would be dependent on the dealer--not sure if it would be included in the warranty if you bought it from a retailer.

I doubt there are any issues with the drive, no other vendor has had any problems.

the 7K60 should work in the laptop as most HDDs are standardized. Call up service, they'll probably have a way to open up the compartment. Afterall, it had to be open once before to get the HDD in.

@ sbc

I bought my A170 at sonystyle.com. I tried to find authorized dealers on the support website, but this model is not listed. I probably have to call support.

@ Tourney2112

Since it is definitely not easy to replace the HDD, replacing it would probably void the warranty. I will call support anyway. Maybe it's easier than it seems.

I have the Hitachi 7K60 on my A117S VAIO so you can be sure that it works great!!!