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In this guide I’ll explain how to take apart an Acer Aspire 5100 laptop. I’ll show how to remove and replace major laptop components such as CD/DVD drive, memory, hard drive, wireless card, cooling fan and keyboard.
In the next article I’ll explain how to remove LCD screen and replace inverter board.
First of all, make sure the laptop is turned off, the power adapter is disconnected and the battery is removed.
Both memory modules, wireless card, cooling and and hard drive can be accessed from the bottom. Remove four screws marked with red circles and loosen two screws marked with green circles. Remove both covers.
You can search for Acer Aspire 5100 spare parts here.
Removing DVD drive:
1. Remove one screw (red circle) securing the drive.
2. Push the drive from the laptop with a flathead screwdriver.
3. Pull the drive form the laptop.
Removing hard drive:
1. Pull the hard drive to the right side until it’s disconnected from the motherboard.
2. Lift up the hard drive.
If you are replacing the hard drive with a new one, you’ll have to transfer the mounting bracket to a new drive.
My laptop had a 80GB 5400RPM SATA hard drive installed. You can upgrade it to a larger and faster SATA drive.
100GB, 120GB, 160GB and 250GB SATA drives should work just fine in this laptop.
Removing laptop memory:
1. Carefully spread latches on both sides of the memory module until it pops up at a 30 degree angle.
2. Pull the memory module by the edges.
Acer Aspire 5100 has two memory slots. You can install up to 4GB RAM total. Up to 2GB memory module into each slot. You should use PC2-533 DDR2-667MHz 200pin SODIMM RAM modules.
Removing wireless card:
1. Disconnect both antenna cables. Grab the antenna cable connector with your fingers and unsnap it from the connector on the wireless card.
2. Spread latches on both sides of the wireless card same way as you did with RAM modules.
3. When the wireless card pops up at a 30 degree angle, pull it from the slot by the edges. Remove wireless card.
Removing cooling fan:
1. Remove two screws securing the fan.
2. Carefully disconnect fan cable from the motherboard.
3. Lift up and remove the fan.
My laptop had a lot of dust trapped between the fan and heatsink. This dust buildup kills normal airflow inside the cooling module and causes laptop overheating. You can blow off dust using canned air.
Here’s how you can replace thermal paste between the heatsink and CPU.
Removing laptop keyboard.
In the following steps I’ll explain how to disconnect and remove the keyboard.
1. Lift up the keyboard bezel with a flathead screwdriver as it shown on the picture below.
2. Remove keyboard bezel.
3. Remove two screws securing the keyboard.
4. Carefully lift up the keyboard, it’s still attached to the motherboard.
5. The keyboard is connected to the motherboard via a flat ribbon cable. Before you can remove the keyboard, you’ll have to unlock the connector and release the cable.
6. Carefully move the black tab about 1-2 millimeters up with your fingernails as it shown on the picture below.
DO NOT SEPARATE THIS TAB FROM THE CONNECTOR, IT HAS TO STAY ATTACHED TO THE CONNECTOR.
If you break the keyboard connector, you’ll have to replace the whole motherboard. Be careful.
7. Now you can release the cable and remove the keyboard.
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January 16th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Hi, I can get into the BIOS Setup menu, is there anything that I need to do on there to fix the touchpad/keyboard. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. What could be the problem. Thanks again in advance. This is regarding my touchpad and keyboard from question #112.
January 16th, 2009 at 7:08 am
I disconnected the inner memory module and booted…nothing not even a beep. I removed the outer and inserted the inner and booted and nothing except a clicking sound from the cd drive. I let this go for a few minutes then it shut itself off. I reinstalled both modules rebooted and it continued with the clicking sound. I spanked the bottom of the PC…that’s right spanked it, shut it off, pressed on the inner card and started it up and SHAZAM! It works! Thsnk for all your help. MJ
January 15th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
markj,
I don’t know what this error code means for an Acer 5100. Could be bad memory or video card.
Try reconnecting memory modules, removing them one by one and starting the laptop with each module separately.
January 15th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Gary,
Usually you press Esc, F1 or F2 key as soon as logo appears on the screen.
January 15th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
“I have a problem where I must apply pressure on the left side of the track pad. If I don’t the computer will begin to run very slowly and eventually freeze. Any suggestions?
Try reconnecting RAM modules. Remove modules one by one and test the laptop with each RAM module in each slot separately.
It’s possible that one of the slots is failing or one of the RAM modules is not making good contact with the slot. ”
Tried what was suggested and unfortunately that didn’t help. I tried removing the hard drive and that didn’t help either. Any other suggestions? The spot that i apply pressure is just to the left of the track pad. Thanks for the help!
January 15th, 2009 at 11:15 am
i have a acer 5100 i was having problems with some of the programmms you suggested a recovery dics. but i found afile containing recovery booster(full back up)
so i click ok. said restart computer. on restarting, it gets as far as windows logo then went back to bootin up,, got to windows logo again
just keeps going on and on repeating its self .i can get into set up but dont really no what to do.
many thanks if you can help ,ray
January 14th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
I have an Acer Aspire 5100. It boots but first I hear 1 beep followed by 2 beeps then all of the regular normal sounds but the screen remains blank throughout the boot. I’ve tried connecting to an external monitor but it doesn’t feed to the external. Is it the motherboard or something else?? Thanks so much. M
January 14th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Thanks for the help!
January 14th, 2009 at 7:02 am
From question #109: Hi, I opened up the keyboard and noticed the cables were not loose and installed fine. After putting everything back together, the computer started to work fine. But then the next day, it was the same problem again, with the touchpad and keyboard. That’s what its been doing, one day it will work fine, the next it won’t, meaning the touchpad/keyboard.
How do I enter the BIOS setup menu? Is that when I turn the computer on, it says “Press any key to cancel disk scan” or something like that? If so, the keyboard doesn’t work for that either.
January 13th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Brian G,
What if you unplug the internal keyboard and use the laptop only with the external one. Can you boot to the login screen this way? Will it make continuing series of load beeps on startup when the internal keyboard is disconnected from the motherboard?
January 13th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
wes,
Try reconnecting RAM modules. Remove modules one by one and test the laptop with each RAM module in each slot separately.
It’s possible that one of the slots is failing or one of the RAM modules is not making good contact with the slot.
January 13th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Gary,
I guess the first thing to try will be reconnecting the touchpad and keyboard cables, just to make sure it’s not a connection related issue.
By the way, did you notice that your internal keyboard is not working only in Windows. Can you enter the BIOS setup menu and navigate the BIOS using arrow keys?
January 13th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
tim,
It sounds like either you have a faulty hard drive or there is something wrong with the hard drive controller on the motherboard. Unfortunately, the only way to find out which one is causing it is testing the laptop with another known good hard drive.
If you experiencing the same problem even with anther hard drive, apparently it’s bad controller on the motherboard, which means you’ll have to replace the whole motherboard.
January 13th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Getting back to your question to me (# 102 above), the laptop keyboard doesn’t work at all. When this problem first came up a few days ago I also had an issue with a few startups that did not proceed all the way to the windows login prompt but started a continuing series of loud beeps. I eventually did get to point that laptop was starting up properly up to the login prompt screen, then along with using the seperate keyboard connected via USB was able to login and the computer worked fine. However, sfter one day of success with the seperate keyboard, I’m now back to the issue that startups do not complete (do not get to the login screen) and the continuing series of load beeps commence. I need to unplug and remove battery to get the the computer to power down. I’ve not checked the bios. I think I’ve read some things written above about this, but at this point am not really familer with how to do this or if i can do it without being able to get through login.
January 13th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
I have a problem where I must apply pressure on the left side of the track pad. If I don’t the computer will begin to run very slowly and eventually freeze. Any suggestions? I have an Acer Aspire 5100. Thanks!
January 12th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I’m having trouble with my Acer Laptop. The touchpad mouse is not working, but if I attach another mouse, it works fine. But the keyboard will not work. None of the buttons will work, and the fan keeps running. Do you think the internal keyboard cable is loose, and if it is, how can I fix it? Thanks in advance.
January 12th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I just cleaned the hard drive contacts and also placed a small piece of EPP foam at the end of the hard drive to push it up with constant pressure against the contacts. Will let you know if that fixed it once it is powered off and left overnight. Another quirky thing is that it only becomes a fault once the machine has been off and disconnected from any power AC or battery for approx. overnight??
Thanks for your very helpful website. Great work.
Tim.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Re: response 100.
Thanks for the quick response.
I have on a few occassions re-seated the hard drive, re-seated the RAM and cannot work it out. When you chose the F12 boot menu the 120GB seagate drive is not available in the boot menu. The light is constantly ON for the hard drive and it is spinning but the heads are not clanking. I even tried cleaning the pins on the hard drive connector with a cloth. Should i try contact cleaner??
Again just now i pushed the power button and restarted the machine again and she came up normally. AHHHH, damned confused…
Any ideas??
Tim
January 11th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Brian Gasiorowski,
So, the laptop keyboard stopped working at all? Do you know if the keyboard stopped working only in Windows? Did you try entering the BIOS setup menu and testing the keyboard in there?
Your keyboard failure is not common. Usually laptop keyboards do not fail like that. In most cases you can get some faulty keys, but not the whole keyboard.
Try reflashing the BIOS with a newer or even the same version.
Unfortunately, I don’t know for sure what’s wrong with your laptop. Could be just a bad keyboard or could be a faulty keyboard controller on the motherboard. The only way to find out is installing another working keyboard. If it doesn’t fix the problem, most likely it’s bad controller, which means you have to replace the whole motherboard.
January 11th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
shani-o,
Sound like a problem with the graphics card. The graphics card is integrated into the motherboard and cannot be removes, so it’s a problem with the motherboard.
I don’t think it’s related to the hard drive. The laptop crashes when you are in the BIOS setup menu. At that time the hard drive is not working. This problem is not related to the hard drive.
January 11th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
tim,
Try reconnecting the hard drive. Maybe it’s not making good connection with the motherboard. Unplug the hard dive and plug it back in. Test the laptop again.
January 11th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Hi,thank you very much for your help,just changed
my lcd converter on my acer laptop according to your helpful hinds and diagnostic knowhow,EVERYTHING is aok,i thinks i just saved a boundle of $$$$.Thanks again GUS
January 11th, 2009 at 7:54 am
This is a very good site. Just had a problem come up yesterday with the keyboard not working for my aspire 5100. Fortunately I found your site and read the pointers. Using your very clear instructions I removed the keyboard and reconnected it in case there was a bad connection. That did not fix the problem. Next, using an external keyboard connected to the USB found that everything else works fine with the computer. Is there anything else you would suggest I check before replacing the keybaord?
January 10th, 2009 at 6:29 am
I’m soooooo glad I found this site! And I think it’s awesome that you’re answering questions.
I have an Acer 5100… I bought it in 06, it crashed in under a year, and I ended up fiddling with it, then putting it aside. I want to resurrect it now, and I’m willing to replace whatever, but I’m not sure what the problem is.
When it *does* boot (from ‘last known good config’), the pointer freezes and then the screen turns white or fills up with lots of vertical blue and white stripes.
I’ve tried restoring it to factory settings, both with and without recovery disc, but when I go into BIOS to change the boot order first (I get a PXE error, and I saw elsewhere that boot order is the prob) the BIOS page crashes and turns gray with black stripes.
I’m sure something is seriously wrong, but I have no idea what it is. Some people say motherboard, others say hard drive. Thoughts?
January 10th, 2009 at 2:57 am
I have an ACER 5610.
When it boots the hard drive light stays on and the POST runs, but after a while it has a number of PXE errors and says Operating system not found.
When i hit the power button again and restart the machine it will run OK.????
I have tried a BIOS flash to version 3.60 which worked fine and have just done a full restore but the initial problem still remains.
Could it be the sign of the hard drive on its way out or a motherboard problem??
Thanks
January 8th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
ray,
I’m not familiar with this model, but if it takes a 40GB drive, it will take a larger drive too.
I think you can safely install 60GB, 80GB, 100GB or 120GB drives.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
i hope u can help me, i have a akhter arima m621 uc,i have been to the main web site found spec on it but can’t find what it is, e-machine or gateway
i am after sercive repair manual.i am after upgrading the harddrive from 40g to what ever it will take plus upgrading the drives.
thank you.
January 6th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Kev,
I don’t know that of the top of my head, but this cable will be coming from the display panel.
You can remove the keyboard bezel and take a look at the cable coming from the display assembly.
There should be LCD cable, wireless antenna cables and webcam cable. Follow the webcam cable to the connector.
January 6th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Hi, I’ve been searching for a site like this for nearly a year! Well done on the photos and descriptions.
I have a problem with the Logitech built in webcam. There seems to be a faulty USB connection to it. Can you point me to the internal connections to the webcam please? Its for the Aspire 5610.
Many thanks in advance.
Kev
January 5th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
thanks for the reponse!
ok i’ll the memtest though i already tried the second suggestion you gave(tried to tun the lappy with one memory at a time and still the same problem)
will inform you tomorrow thanks!
^_^