This guide will help you take apart a Sony Vaio Z1 series notebook. In this notebook all so-called user replaceable parts such as memory module, hard drive, DVD drive, etc… are hidden under the top cover making them hard to access or even find.

For cleaning the cooling fan and heat sink or replacing the memory module, all you have to do is remove the keyboard. You don’t have to disconnect the keyboard from the motherboard, simply lift it up and place upside down on the palm rest. The keyboard is secured to the notebook base by two screws marked “D” on the picture 1. You should be able to lift up the keyboard after you remove these two screws.
You can clean the cooling module with compressed air. There is only one memory expansion slot in this model and it will take a memory module up to 512MB (DDR226/PC2100).

If you want to replace the hard drive, CR-RW/DVD-ROM drive or wireless card, you’ll have to remove the top cover as it shown on the picture 7.