Modding the Acer Revo - How to Upgrade Hard Drive & RAMA guide with photos on how to upgrade the hard drive and RAM on the Acer Revo range of net top clients which come with small capacity.
I've had my Acer Revo R3600 for a while now; however, I am finding the 1GB memory and hard drive to be limited, so I decided to open up the box and perform some upgrades.
Please remember to observe the correct procedures for handling electronic devices. This guide is produced for entertainment purposes only. Use this guide at your own risk; I am not responsible for any damage you can cause to your laptop, computer or yourself using instructions published on this site.
Disclaimer: Breaking the seal and opening the box of your Acer Revo will invalidate the warranty.
Opening the Acer Revo Case
The first step to opening the case is to break a security seal on the unit's base. This seal protects a screw that must be removed to split the case in two.
Once the screw is removed, you can prise open the two halves of the case using a non-metallic or plastic tool to avoid marking the case.
Upon removing the lid, you will find a neat arrangement of components. In the picture to the right, you can see the wireless adaptor in the bottom left, with the 2.5" hard drive above it. Next to the hard drive are the memory modules, and below that, on the bottom right, are the processor and chipset heat sink and fan.
Upgrading the Acer Revo Memory
Memory upgrades can be done nicely and easily by removing the old module and inserting two new ones. In my case, 2x 2GB modules. To remove a module, move the clips outwards from the module, and it will pop out.
Upgrading the Acer Revo Hard Drive
The hard drive is a bit more tricky to upgrade as it has been screwed in from the other side of the motherboard. Follow these steps to make the process easier.
First, to remove the heat sink and fan, unscrew three tiny screws that hold the fan to the heat sink and then the four screws holding the heat sink to the motherboard. Be careful with the two thermal pads on the underside, or scrape them off and replace them with a thermal compound.
Next, unscrew the four screws holding the motherboard down, and the motherboard should be free. Again, go carefully with the add-on board containing the USB socket and power switch. Two plastic clips are holding it in. Also, take care with the wireless antenna wires, as you don't want to risk damaging them.
You can now unscrew the hard drive. It will then slide out from the SATA connector. To refit the upgraded hard drive, follow the steps in reverse. When screwing down the heat sink , do not over-tighten the screws, as you could damage the processor. Tighten screws in opposite corner order, i.e. top left, bottom right, bottom left, top right.
