Inside the MSi Wind U100-279US

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Inside the MSi Wind U100-279US

First thing I did when I got my MSi Wind was to take it apart. you see, I had hoped for a dedicated drive bay cover so that I could get to the drive easily. But MSi did not provide that capability as you can see from the photo below. So to get to the drive I had to take it apart.

Attached Image:

Underside.JPG

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:58:28 +0000

There are nine screws that you have to remove. One of them is covered by the "Warranty Sticker Void if tampered". Even though they claim that you are only voiding the sticker, they probably mean you are voiding the warranty of your netbook.

Nevertheless, you have to get in there if you need to add more RAM, swap hard drive, or change network adapter. So once you have unscrewed the case, you can remove the back panel.

The photo below shoos the inside of the netbook. The miniPCIe network card is on the for left, next to the hard drive. The empty memory slot, toward the center, is ready for another gig of RAM.

Attached Image:

Inside.JPG

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:11:51 +0000

To remove the hard drive, you have to remove the wireless N network card first, because there is a screw underneath. Once you remove the network card the screw becomes apparent (see photo below). Keep in mind that the 802.11n network cardis also secured by a screw under its antenna cables.

Attached Image:

Screw underneath the wireless card.JPG

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:20:51 +0000

By the way, you can remove the keyboard on the MSi Wind U100 without taking the whole computer apart. I learned this yesterday when my baby dumped juice on the keyboard, after taking the entire notebook apart.

To remove the keyboard, remove the battery. There are three plastics tabs that are holding the keyboard in place in the battery bay. Move each of the tabs out of the way with a small screw driver. Then you can pop the keyboard out on the other side.

Chieh Cheng
Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:23:41 +0000

By the way, it's kinda funny that you can't upgrade the memory, the hard drive, nor the WiFi card without voiding warranty, but you can pull off the keyboard and leave the warranty intact.

Chieh Cheng
Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:58:24 +0000

The hard drive inside is a Western Digital Scorpio WD1600BEVT 160 GB. It has a Ralink RT2700E B/G/N wireless network card.

Chieh Cheng
Tue, 11 Nov 2008 07:48:52 +0000

I take it by removing the Keyboard by using the 3 tab method in the baterry compartment, this will give you access to the RAM memory slot and also the Hard Drive without vioding the warranty. If so I'm gonna send Chieh Cheng many, many thanks!

Chris
Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:03:40 +0000

Unfortunately, no. It just removes the keyboard. You will not get access to the rest of the components through it.

Chieh Cheng
Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:08:34 +0000

That's a shame. I had to break my warranty seal last night to upgrade the RAM! Woe is me =( Thanks for the info though CC.

Cheers.

Chris
Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:10:32 +0000

I've tried to remove my keyboard in the way you have described but it wont budge. Do I also have to remove the back panel too?

AJ Reese
Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:05:59 +0000

Nope. Maybe you should describe how you tried to remove the keyboard.

Chieh Cheng
Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:54:29 +0000

Just before I decided to yank out my hdd I knew I had to look online for a clue why this hdd appeared to be lodged to the mainboard. Your tip about removing the wireless nic first (where that naughty screw was hiding) saved the day! I decided to replace that ole 160 Gb heat dissipater for a smooth OCZ Vertex 2 60 Gb SSD disk. It was definitely worth the investment, it now runs even better (duh!) and I have extended the use of this fine netbook with another three years or so assuming the other components will last that long.

The only thing I hate about this netbook is the location of the FN key. It always gets pressed when aiming for the control button or some reason like that.
Thx for your tips.

Amsterdam
Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:21:49 +0000

Glad this thread helped.

I've also had trouble with the Fn/Ctrl key at first. But I've used it so much now that it's not as a big deal.

Looking at all the different keyboards, it seems the industry can't make up their mind on whether Fn should be on the right or the left of Ctrl.

Chieh Cheng
Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:30:56 +0000

Hi, I unscrewed the 9 screws, but the side of the back that has the DIMM slot is still tight. I'm afraid to put too much pressure on it. Am I missing something?
Thanks in advance.
Frank

Frank
Fri, 03 Apr 2015 05:06:33 +0400

DIMM slot? There is no DIMM slot on this laptop. Please be more elaborate on which side is giving you trouble.

Chieh Cheng
Fri, 03 Apr 2015 21:16:44 +0400

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Title: Inside the MSi Wind U100-016US
Weblog: GearHack
Excerpt: Received my MSi Wind U100-016US today. The inside is exactly the same as "Inside the MSi Wind U100-279US, except for the network card and the hard drive. The U100-016US has a Realtek RTL8187SE wireless B/G network card and a Toshiba 120 GB hard drive. Unfortunately, there is no Mac OS X driver for t . . .
Tracked: Tue, 11 Nov 2008 07:49:20 +0000

Title: spare parts for MSI Wind U100
Weblog: GearHack
Excerpt: hello Chieh on this site, I found the HDD bracket assembly for which I have been searching since weeks. It is for my Wind U100. HDD BRACKET ASSY 307-0110111-A89 Do you know where I can order 2 pieces of that item ? No one in Europe can furnish that bracket. thanks for help
Tracked: Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:33:32 +0000

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