107 replies to this topic

[TexasGuy]

Today my gigabyte a/b/g/n mini pci-e card arrived, I removed old one and replaced it with the new one. Works, pics are here, text to follow, videos of the insides are to follow too.

Allow me to thank Directron.com for this unit that I upgrade to the max. My work place is a truly fantastic computer store full with wonderful people. Btw, black EEE PC units are coming to our store on 16th, pre-order for now.

Came home to find this:



The card is very small but thicker than the original because of the plastic:



Extra antenna, EEE PC has two, this one makes three:



This is N card that needs three antennas to function:



First I removed keyboard by depressing marked tabs, then unscrewed exposed screws:



Mousepad and keyboards are easily disconnected but be very gentle:



These ribbons are easy to damage:



On reverse side remove RAM and unscrew (here you see my 2GB of RAM):



Here you will need a tiny flat-head to snap-out cover all around, don't leave marks, have proper tools, easy with audio ports:



Screen is a pain to open, it holds mainly on snapped plastic tabs than screws, very easy to damage the frame:



Here is your toy with the dress off:
http://www.derectron.../eeehack/11.jpg


Motherboard is held by 2 plastic tabs near the mouse pad, un-snap and help the ports to clear from their housing:
http://www.derectron.../eeehack/12.jpg


Here is the offending G wireless card to replace (it is still working but not the best my EEE PC deserves):
http://www.derectron.../eeehack/13.jpg


Here is a closer view of the fan, it is a bit thick and blows only on the bottom of the motherboard when CPUs and bridge are on the top... ???:
http://www.derectron.../eeehack/14.jpg


Sorry for the poor pics here, my room is not well lit for this purpose, here you see two mini PCIe ports, one is occupied by the WiFi card:
http://www.derectron.../eeehack/15.jpg


The old card is removed, 2 antennas disconnected:
http://www.derectron.../eeehack/16.jpg


Here is the back of the old card:
http://www.derectron.../eeehack/17.jpg


This chip (resistor?) really is in the wrong place, it very hard now pushes against my current card, I repeat - with force is embedded now in my current new WiFi card:
http://www.derectron.../eeehack/18.jpg


After the installation of the new card and new 3rd antenna:
http://www.derectron.../eeehack/19.jpg


Boy, it was not easy to route it to the side, the other side of LCD is less busy but antenna is short and can be positioned only here:
http://www.derectron.../eeehack/20.jpg


Here is the connection to my N-Router DLink DIR-655
http://www.derectron.../eeehack/22.jpg

Edited by TexasGuy, 14 November 2007 - 08:06 PM.

[cr14mson]

Nicely done ;)

[ridestp]

What a great walk through! Don't they make cards with bluetooth enabled as well? I mean, 802.11 A/B/G/N and Bluetooth on the same mini PCIe card?

[TexasGuy]

Quote

What a great walk through! Don't they make cards with bluetooth enabled as well? I mean, 802.11 A/B/G/N and Bluetooth on the same mini PCIe card?

Maybe, but I couldn't find many mini PCIe cards for sale at all... Maybe there are some G cards with BT but I needed N for range.

[dalma]

Nice Job, I now have the urge to do this, time to order me a new wifi card, preferrably a,b,g,n atheros.

[tnkgrl]

@TexasGuy, as mentioned in other posts, the MDC card slot is for the optiona modem, not a service connector... There's actually another connector near the trackpad labeled "debug" that is the service connector!

[TexasGuy]

I am uploading videos to youtube, with my connection it will take a while, Houston has no fiber...

[TexasGuy]

Here is also my old mod:

Edited by TexasGuy, 14 November 2007 - 06:53 AM.

[TipToeKirk]

Very nice tutorial! Cant wait for my EEE PC to arrive, I actually ordered mine from Directron.com and so far have been very happy with quality of service as far as ordering and quick shipping! I will be looking for some upgrades very shortly after I get my EEE PC this week!

[jeux_1]

Very good, I am planning to do the same but could you tell me how long did it take you and the difficulty ? I never opened a laptop but have been building my own PCs (if relevant :-) )
Right better go to work.

[TexasGuy]

Quote

Very good, I am planning to do the same but could you tell me how long did it take you and the difficulty ? I never opened a laptop but have been building my own PCs (if relevant :-) )
Right better go to work.

Took me about an hour, mostly opening up, I had to discover a few things on my own. It was very hard, many tiny things to damage while disassembling and assembling. I never disassembled a notebook before this one, so, I am in a same boat.

[Longhorn Engineer]

That offending electronic is most likely a transistor of some sort. Like a 2N3904 but SMD style. If we can find a wifi card with Bluetooth it will be awesome.

[Dessimat0r]

That transistor looks dodgy. Maybe its a hardware bug, and removed in other versions of the hardware, or to be fixed.

[Dessimat0r]

What's the stuck down blue thing on http://www.derectron.../eeehack/15.jpg? Never seen that before on disassembly pics.

[tnkgrl]

@Dessimat0r, it's the RTC (real-time clock) battery.

[Dessimat0r]

Ah, I see :)

[quagga]

Hi TexasGuy, A most excellent mod.

I have a few questions if you're willing. I guess my main thing, was the reading the antenna's description on the website and it says it can basically be stretched inside a case. If I did that and stretched the wire around the bottom of the case I imagine I can make this rebuild a bit simpler. Ie, I wouldn't need to take the keyboard off or open up the monitor bezel. I would just have to remove the bottom, swap out the card and route the antenna around the bottom of the unit.

I'd like to get a card that has rfmon support in linux, and 802.11n is nice but if I can keep this simpler, that means I have less chance of breaking something.

[TexasGuy]

Well, the antenna most defenetly can be left on the bottom, there is a lot of space there. However, for best reception you have to put it as high up as possible. Plus, it is not advisable (for some reason) to have that extra antenna to be left near heat source.... The mobo does get rather hot.... Plus, the internal mesh of "wires" inside the motherboard can prolly kill any signal coming to the antenna.

In short, I would not advise to leave antenna there on the bottom or you may get a terrible reception.

[dto]

Thanks for those pics!

When I (finally) get mine, I intend to replace the wireless card with a more linux-friendly Intel 3945. (I've done it with my two Dell laptops, and it has been well worth the $23 in each case.) Your pics give me a much clearer idea of what I will need to do.

[jeux_1]

Thx TexasGuy, btw did you have the time to upload the video on youtube yet ?