Project - SSD Mods

Correct.

 

Just thought I'd describe my (so far) successful experience of the CF mod for the 110 SSD model in case anyone else is having the problems I had.

I've ended up with it installed so the CF card can be changed through the removable back panel.
I had to remove one screw post and the plastic cage next to the existing SSD drive to get it in.
Held in place by a couple of strips of metal screwed into nearby screw posts.
I also added liberal helpings of insulating tape to prevent shorts.

The biggest problem for me was getting the ZIF cable installed correctly and securely. I had a normal cable which I converted to cross-over by just folding one end over. It's in securely and working well now, but this took several attempts.

I found it helped to position the CF adapter and the motherboard in their correct locations then loosely crease the cable with folds in the right place before disassembling again to connect the cable to the CF adaptor. Whenever I was creasing/folding the cable while connected, I tended to just end up loosening one end.

Now it's up and running Windows XP is definitely much snappier. It just feels normal now whereas before it was usable but a bit annoying.
Read speed is around 28MB/s and write around 27MB/s (compared with 6MB/s write before the mod). These figures are limited by the truecrypt encryption on the disk, not by the CF hardware. The CF card is 266x and could go faster still without encryption I think.

Anyway, I've got photos if anyone's interested in the mounting. It's very similar to other peoples mods that have done the same thing.

I recommend it if...
A. you're not worried about the risk of killing your AAO for good.
B. you're not worried about hacking away at the plastic of the case.
C. you've got the patience to take apart and re-assemble the bl**dy thing at least three times while trying to get it working up.

 

Hey Guys use this adaptor it works without the flip cable.
http://cgi.ebay.com/CF-1-8-ZIF-hard-dis ... 7C294%3A50

 

What exactly does this "flip cable" do? Does it just allow you to position your CF-board where you want, or does it do something funky to the signal? I've been trying to get this mod workin with two different CF-Boards, but with little luck. When I connect it precisely as the SSD was connected, a red led lights up on the board until I turn the computer off. If I turn it upside down, nothing happens.



I've tried both:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11814
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.19675

With this:
http://www.slipperybrick.com/wp-content ... on-266.jpg

What am I doing wrong?

Did you take pics? Could you explain the process? I think this is where I'm stuck, tho I'm not sure.

EDIT: Well, when I remove the CF card, and just have the CF-board connected to the mobo, the machine crashes. This means that there is some sort of connection there at least.
And now it doesn't recognize the original SSD x)

 

I bought an hp mini 1000 and took out the 16gb ssd that came with it because i have a runcore 1.8'' 32gb ssd.
The HP ssd made by sandisk, it plugged and play with the acer no problem. Runs way smoother than the 8gb ssd.
I ran a benchmark and got 35 read/15 write on the 16gb ssd. Numbers doesnt do justice on how faster it is over the acers.

 

I'm happy for you...

Anyone have any advice for my post tho? I've read the entire thread two times, but it's not precisely very clear on things...

 

please see http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=59&start=50#p1715

 

Yes, thank you, I know what it looks like. I just don't know the reason why it should work when the other cable doesn't, that's why I was asking if it actually did something to the signal.
It doesn't matter anymore tho, I ordered a 30gb zif hdd for just 30USD

 

something for who-want-to-do-this-mod might like
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0348141649
selling the 8GB CF with ZIF adapter for $80 /w free S&H
It's brand new, might save you time ordering from different places, with a little discount compare to others.

 

(Also keep in mind that you get 30gb 1.8 Zif hdds for $30 on ebay)

 

Looks very attractive ! In fact it's the only one, which suggests a "non-flip" solution. Had somebody tried ??? I'm going to order one, but it may take ages until it arrives to my place :cry:

 

margul,

did you arrived the zif adapter, did it works?

 

I've got an 8.9" version. I loaded OpenSUSE onto it, but the normal SSD just wasn't up to it. I bought a 16gb MTRON ZIF SSD and installed it quite easily following tnkgrl HDD video. Yes, I had to use a flip ribbon as I couldn't get the normal one to reach. And had to knock off that plastic thingy attached to the base that was in the way. The trickiest part was getting the zif ribbon into the slot at the MTRON end.

I'm really happy with the result and have been using my netbook to run Eclipse no probs. I would recommend this mod

- A
PS: Anyone looking to use OpenSUSE I would suggest using an external CD drive, the Network install CD and a wired connection (I tried the USB boot method but ran into too many problems).

 

Hi,

I just recently completed the SSD replacement surgery on my Aspire One A110 and thought I could share my findings. The interesting bit here is that I created a ghost image of my just recently installed XP Pro and reused this exact same image after installing the HD. This way we can really compare the performance of the two drives. The drive I went with is the MK3008GAL as seen earlier in this thread. I got a ZIF to LIF cable from eBay to facilitate the installation. I also have 1.5GB of RAM installed. Other tweaks I applied are: disabled paging, system restore, D2D, used FAT32.

Here are the results:
SSD:
[attachment=3:3nzsw2d3]SSD.JPG[/attachment:3nzsw2d3]

HD:
[attachment=2:3nzsw2d3]HD.JPG[/attachment:3nzsw2d3]

Definitely the read speed is less on the HD at higher sizes but much better at lower ones. Writes are simply way better all over. My personal impression of Windows XP is that it is much much better with the hard drive. It doesn't slow down when accessing 2 things like it did before. Actually it was pretty much freezing for 10-15 seconds when opening up the device manager while trying to open explorer. I find it a much more reliable machine now. I'm guessing that Windows XP uses a lot of small files... boot time is about the same, although I didn't time it.

One thing I'd like to mention that I had a hard time finding online is that the cable required for this to work is a ZIF to LIF that has the pins on the same side of the cable.
The connector on the motherboard has the pins at the bottom (closer to the mother board) and the pins in the connector on the Toshiba hard drives are at the top (when the hard drive is resting on its back with the connector on top, opposite of the motherboard connector).

Also the only 3 easy to find hard drives that I would recommend are the:
MK2008GAL (20GB, 2MB cache)
MK3008GAL (30GB, 2MB cache)
MK4009GAL (40GB, 8MB cache)
They all have the 5mm thickness and LIF connector, other models from Toshiba seem to be either 8mm and/or have a different connector.

I've attached two more lesser useful benchmarks of the 8GB SD card that came with the system. One for each extra slot on the Aspire One.

I hope this might help someone in the future.
Nic

 

Here's my benchmark for my Sandisk Extreme III CF card (30mb/s)

 

In the morning I will be receiving my Samsung 1/8" SLC SSD and will be using THIS adapter to install it. This will be replacing the 160gb drive in my AA1.

I will post pics and data when completed. I will also be upgrading to 1.5gb and also making a new copper heat sink though too.

 

I just got my Samsung SSD and hooked it up to my gaming machine. In a normal HD Tach test (long test) the single SSD is faster then my Raptors in RAID0

I do not have time to take apart my AA1 but will this weekend.

 

hooked up my Samsung SSD and got BSOD. Reformated with DOS and still BSOD. Installed in my gaming PC and still BSOD :twisted:

Will call Samsung and then newegg in the morning

 

Just got my HDtach up along with some pics.

Check out my copper heatsink too

Click here for web page

 

Has anyone figured out how to use the Transcend 300x 16GB CF card in UDMA Mode 5 yet? I ordered this card before I read this post. I don't want to open it yet unless I can use the card at the faster speeds.