Acer Aspire 5 A515-54 Storage Upgrade Guide With Pictures
Here at 9to5gadgets we talk a lot about RAM upgrades. However, the memory upgrade is not the only upgrade that we can easily perform on a laptop with little to no technical knowledge. You can also typically upgrade the storage with the addition of either an extra NVMe SSD unit or a standard SSD drive. Today we’re going to walk you through upgrading the storage on the Acer A515-54 lineup of laptops. A fairly simple process that shouldn’t take you much more than 5-10 minutes in total.
So, how do you do it? What type of storage unit can you use? That’s what we’re going to be covering here in great detail with a lot of pictures to make sure you can perform the upgrade quickly and easily.
How to Upgrade the Storage on the Acer Aspire 5 A515-54
Before going ahead and dismantling the Acer A515-54 you need to know a couple of basics. Primarily the type of storage that this laptop accepts.
What type of storage unit can I use?
For this upgrade, you’re going to need to make use of a 7mm or 2.5″ SSD Drive. You can find these units in an assortment of capacities. We would recommend 1 TB of compatible storage to future-proof your device properly. But you could also upgrade to an additional 512 GB of compatible storage if you don’t need that much storage space.
Very important that you make sure you are buying a 2.5-inch drive and not a bigger format since bigger formats are not supported in this notebook series.
Step-by-step tutorial on performing the storage upgrade on the Acer Aspire A515-54
The first thing you need to do is make sure that the laptop is turned off and disconnected from the power source. You’re going to need to make use of a screwdriver as well as a prying tool of some sorts to separate the base of the laptop from the chassis.
Step 1: Once the laptop is turned off and disconnected, place it upside down and remove all eleven screws attaching the chassis like so:
Now that you have removed the screws you’re going to use a prying tool to separate the case making sure to release the clips one at a time. Many people here use guitar picks for this procedure but you could also use a plastic device such as the one used here:
Step 2: Once the case has been removed you’re going to open up the laptop and see what’s under the hood. We would recommend at this stage that you disconnect the battery. Generally speaking, this isn’t necessary but since you’re going to also remove the wireless card it’s strongly recommended.
Step 3: You’ll notice there’s a mounting bracket located on the right side, as well as a connector that’s beneath said bracket and that you will use later on to connect the drive. You’re going to remove the four screws that are attaching the mounting bracket to the mainboard like so:
Step 4: Once you have removed the bracket and the connector you’re going to connect the connector to the drive. There’s only one way in which you can connect them so it’s fairly intuitive.
Step 5: Now that the drive is connected to the connector you’re going to insert it into the mounting bracket like so:
Step 6: The Acer A515-54 should’ve come with four small mounting screws. These screws are going to be used to firmly attach the drive to the mounting bracket.
Step 7: Now you’re going to place the mounting bracket with the drive inside onto its rightful place within the laptop. The place from which you removed it previously. You’re also going to use the four screws you removed previously to hold it in its place.
Step 8: Now you need to connect the drive to the mainboard. To do that you’re going to need to remove the wireless card since the connector for the drive is located right beneath it. Just grab your screwdriver and unscrew the wireless card, gently remove it and set it to the side.
Step 9: Now that you moved the wireless card you’re going to notice there’s a connector clip located beneath it. Make sure the connector’s clip is up, otherwise you won’t be able to insert the connector.
Step 10: Now that the connector clip is unlocked, insert the cable that runs from the drive to that connector. Make sure it’s inserted properly in its place and then lock the connector once again.
Step 11: Now you’re going to insert the wireless card back in its place, using the screw you removed previously.
Step 12: Finally, you’re going to connect the battery once again since you’ve disconnected it at the start of the tutorial to upgrade the storage on the Acer A515-54. Once that’s done all you need to do is place the bottom case back in its place and turn the laptop on. You’re going to need to format the drive and create a new volume but that’s a pretty straightforward process where you just click “next” a bunch of times.
And that’s it! You have successfully upgraded the storage on your Acer laptop and you’re no longer constrained by the amount of storage that came with the laptop, being able to store a lot more content. Finally, don’t be intimidated by the number of steps involved.
We tried to make this tutorial as comprehensive as possible so that you wouldn’t miss anything when upgrading the storage. In reality, it’s a very quick process that shouldn’t take you more than 10 minutes to perform.
How to disassemble Acer Aspire 5 A515-54 model N18Q13
In this guide I show how to disassemble an Acer Aspire 5 A515-54 series laptop (model N18Q13). In this particular case I’m taking apart an Aspire A515-54-51DJ.
During the disassembly process I found some pros and cons of Acer Aspire 5 A515-54 design. Here they are:
Pros:– Support for PCIe NVMe M.2 solid state drives.– The cooling fan easily removable and replaceable.– The battery can be easily accessed and replaced.
Cons:– The motherboard has only one memory slot.– The keyboard is permanently attached to the top case.– The LCD screen is glued to the display cover.
Laptop disassembly steps
For this disassembly you will need only a few basic tools: Phillips #0 or #1 screwdriver, tweezers and thin case opener tool.
STEP 1.Remove eleven screws from the bottom.
STEP 2.Start removing the base cover using a case opener tool. Pry up the cover to separate it from the top case assembly. There are many hidden latches securing the cover.
STEP 3.With all latches released, you can lift up and remove the base cover. Lift up the cover from the headphone jack side.
STEP 4.There are no screws securing the battery. Disconnect the battery cable from the motherboard.
STEP 5.Peel off clear tape attaching the battery to the motherboard. Remove the battery.
Acer Aspire 5 A515-54 series battery model: AC14B8K
STEP 6.Remove one screw securing the PCIe NVMe M.2 solid state drive. Pull the SSD out.
STEP 7.Remove two screws from the cooling fan. Disconnect the fan cable from the motherboard.
STEP 8.Lift up and remove the fan.
STEP 9.Using tweezers carefully disconnect both antenna cables from the wireless card. Grab the Wi-Fi cable close to the golden head and lift up. The cable will un-snap from the card.
STEP 10.Remove one screw securing the wireless card. Pull the wireless card out of the slot.
STEP 11.Remove one screw securing the USB audio jack board. Disconnect the I/O cable from the motherboard.
The connector has to be unlocked before removing the cable. Lift up the locking tab at a 90 degree angle (red arrow) and pull the cable out.
STEP 12.Lift up and remove the USB audio jack board.
Motherboard and display removal steps
The upper right corner of the motherboard is secured under the hinge. In order to remove the motherboard it’s necessary to remove the display panel first.
I will leave the memory module connected to the motherboard.By the way, Acer Aspire 5 A515-54 series can support up to 20GB RAM total (16GB in the slot and 4GB non-removable built into the motherboard).
STEP 13.Remove two screws from the right display hinge. Un-route the wireless antenna cables from the guided path on the top case.
STEP 14.Open up the right display hinge as it shown on the picture.
STEP 15.Remove two screws from the left display hinge. Disconnect the display cable from the motherboard.
Unlock the connector. Lift up and remove the display cable.
STEP 16.Open up the left display hinge.
STEP 17.Lift up one side of the top case assembly (red arrow) and slide it from under the display hinges (yellow arrow).
STEP 18.Remove the top case assembly completely.
STEP 19.Remove three screws attaching the motherboard to the top case.Disconnect the following color-coded cables:– Keyboard backlight cable (orange).– Keyboard cable (yellow).– Speaker cable (green).– Fingerprint reader (blue).– Touchpad cable (pink).
I will leave the CMOS battery connected in order to save the BIOS settings.
Here’s how to disconnect the keyboard cable.1. Slide the white connector locking tab to the direction shown by the yellow arrow.2. Pull the cable out.
STEP 20.Lift up the left side of the motherboard and separate it from the top case. The CMOS battery attached to the top case with adhesive tape. Separate the battery from the case.
Here’s the other side of the Acer Aspire 5 A515-54 motherboard. The DC power connector is soldered to the motherboard. Here’s a guide for replacing the DC jack.
As I mentioned earlier, the keyboard is permanently riveted to the top case and cannot be removed and replaced. If the keyboard fails, it’s necessary to replace the entire top case assembly or try this keyboard repair.
LCD screen removal
With the display panel separated from the base we can start taking it apart. You must remove the display in order to take it apart. Otherwise it’s not possible to remove the front bezel.
STEP 23.Separate the screen bezel from the display cover. You’ll have to wiggle the bezel in order to release hidden latches.
STEP 24.Continue removing the bezel on the top side of the display.
STEP 25.After the bezel is removed on the top, you can move to the hinge area.
STEP 26.Separate the hinge cover from the display. A case opener tool will be helpful here.
STEP 27.Lift up one side of the screen bezel and separate it from the hinge. Pay attention to how the cables are routed.
STEP 28.Remove the screen bezel.
When the bezel was removed, I found that the LCD screen is glued to the display cover. There are no screws securing the screen.
I was afraid to proceed with the screen removal to avoid damaging it (I’m taking apart a perfectly working unit). In order to replace the screen it’s necessary to unglue it first.
Mínimo histórico: este potente portátil está rebajado más de 300 euros
Tener un portátil siempre es recomendable para llevar el estudio o el trabajo a cualquier parte. Las ventajas respecto a un ordenador de sobremesa son evidentes y hay mucha variedad de modelos en oferta. Hoy tenemos que destacar el Acer Aspire 5 (A515-57) por su estupenda relación calidad-precio que te va a sorprender. Se trata de un ordenador muy versátil que sólo cuesta 520,54 euros en Amazon, ya que tiene un descuento del 39% que lo ha dejado por los suelos. Concrétamente supone un ahorro de 329 euros que puedes aprovechar.
Este portátil de Acer está preparado para realizar cualquier tarea con buen desempeño e incluso mover videojuegos menos exigentes. Para ello cuenta con un gran procesador, aunque no es un ordenador gaming que aguante la tecnología más avanzada de gráficos. En ese caso, es bueno revisar las especificaciones técnicas del ordenador en la web oficial de Acer.
Acer Aspire 5 A515-57
Este ordenador de Acer está entre los más vendidos con un 39% de descuento que lo deja en su mínimo histórico.
El Acer Aspire 5 está más barato que nunca: sólo 520,54 euros en Amazon
Ya no hace falta que gastes mucho dinero para comprar un portátil muy decente. Este Acer Aspire 5 es un todoterreno que tiene buenas ventas, sobre todo tras caer a su precio mínimo histórico. Hablamos de un ordenador con pantalla IPS Full HD de 15,6 pulgadas y biseles laterales estrechos. Por tanto, tiene una relación pantalla-cuerpo del 81,61% para disfrutar de cualquier contenido multimedia e incluye tecnología Acer Color Intelligence. Todo esto sobre una estructura de aluminio pulido con arena que le da un aspecto muy elegante y fino.
A pesar de tener un diseño muy ligero y delgado, este ordenador portátil demuestra toda su potencia en el interior. Cuenta con un procesador Intel Core i7 de 10 núcleos y 1,7 GHz de velocidad, memoria RAM de 8 GB y un SSD de 512 GB de almacenamiento interno. Finalmente hay que decir que tiene una tarjeta gráfica integrada Intel Iris Xe, conectividad Bluetooth 5.2 y Wi-Fi 8. Un ordenador muy completo que ofrece hasta 7 horas de autonomía, según la descripción del producto. No tiene sistema operativo preinstalado, pero eso ya no es un problema hoy en día. Podrás configurar el ordenador a su gusto.
Acer Aspire 5 A515-57
Este ordenador de Acer está entre los más vendidos con un 39% de descuento que lo deja en su mínimo histórico.
Lo más llamativo es el precio porque ha caído hasta su mínimo histórico en los últimos días. Puedes comprar el Acer Aspire 5 (A515-57) por sólo 520,54 euros en Amazon, donde tiene aplicado un descuento del 39%. Con esta genial oferta puedes ahorrar hasta 329 euros y llevarte un portátil muy equilibrado que da buenos resultados.
