How to Replace a Hard Drive on a Sony Notebook Model PCG-962A

If you have owned your Sony Vaio laptop for any length of time, you may have wanted to replace your hard drive. Most hard drives have a lifespan of one to five years depending on how heavily you use them. The Sony Vaio PCG-962A laptop is compatible with hard drives as large as 250 GB, and with speeds up to 5400 RPM. There is some light disassembly involved in accessing the hard drive compartment.

Things You'll Need

• Phillips-head screwdriver
• Small, flat-head screwdriver
• ESD wrist wrap

Instructions

1. Shut down your laptop. Disconnect all cables and devices from your laptop's sockets, ports and connectors. Close the LCD panel until it latches shut. Place the laptop face down and remove the battery from the bottom casing of the laptop.

2. Place the laptop face up and open the LCD screen. Use a Phillips-head screwdriver to remove the single screw on the side of the laptop securing the keyboard bezel. The keyboard bezel is a small strip of plastic located between the keyboard and the LCD panel. Remove the bezel and set it aside.

3. Remove the single Phillips-head screw behind the top row of keys on the keyboard. Grasp the keyboard from behind the top row of keys and tilt the keyboard upwards until the keyboard's ribbon cable is visible. Disconnect the keyboard's ribbon cable from the motherboard. Lift the keyboard out of the laptop base and set it aside.

4. Locate the hard drive tray inside the laptop. The hard drive tray sits directly in the middle of the inside laptop casing. Remove the Phillips-head screws securing the hard drive casing to the laptop base. Disconnect the data and power cables from the back of the hard drive. Carefully lift the hard drive tray out of the laptop base.

5. Locate and remove the Phillips-head screws from either side of the removed hard drive tray. Grasp the hard drive from the front opening of the hard drive tray, and then pull it out of the tray.

6. Slide the new hard drive into the drive tray. Align the screw holes on the side of the hard drive with the screw holes along each side of the drive tray. Reattach the screws to the drive tray until the new hard drive is firmly secured inside the tray.

7. Place the hard drive tray back inside the drive compartment with the hard drive connectors facing the rear of the laptop base. Reattach the Phillips-head screws that fasten the hard drive tray to the base of the laptop casing. Reconnect the data and power cables to the rear of the new hard drive.

8. Replace the keyboard by reconnecting the keyboard ribbon cable to the motherboard and reattaching the single screw securing the keyboard in place. Replace the keyboard bezel and its single retaining screw.

9. Close the LCD screen, place the laptop face down and replace the battery inside its compartment. Place the laptop face up and reconnect all cables and devices to your laptop.

References

• Repair4Laptop: Sony Vaio PCG 962-Series Hard Drive Replacment

Resources

• Sony Vaio Laptops