I've done some mods with my AA1-110, 1G memory added, a bluetooth adapter added in the caddy left for 3G module and an OCZ Solid Series 30G mounted on SATA port.
My AA1 is the one with 8G SSD which is notorious for the poor writing speed. Now with the new OCZ 30G added, it has two SSDs inside, as I can leave the original compact and fast Linux in the 8GB SSD and install a "real" OS in the new SSD with a decent read/write speed (120/80 RW in ATTO) and enough space, at least for a full version of XP to work decently.
It has been a long time since I decided to figure out a perfect solution for my AA1, solving the storage problem, expanding and accelerating. Normally there are three methods, 1.8 zif HDD/SSD replacement, CF - ZIF converter and SATA HDD solution. I didn't use any HDD because I don't like the noise and heat they make and the weight and fragility they might add to my AA1. I didn't use CF-ZIF converter because a fast CF card with enough capacity always costs so much, and even the fastest CF card can hardly compete with an entry-level SSD in speed. And I gave up the plan to buy a Runcore or Mtron 1.8 ZIF SSD because they cost more than a cheap 2.5 SSD while their performance is still way behind, due to the limit of ZIF connection, I guess. And, as I read from several sources, the mod to add a conventional 2.5 HDD into the SSD SKU requires nearly half of the chassis bottom being cleared, with posts/L-braces/T-braces removed, which kinda scared me off.
So I decided to do the SATA mod first, though, I have to say, it was really some hard work for me to dismantle the SATA connector from an external harddisk box and solder it onto the MB of AA1. However, at last, I only soldered 6 out of all 22 pinouts to make SATA port usable, which made things easier. I also disassembled the 2.5 SSD, attached the PCB directly onto the SATA connector and left behind the useless but heavy and huge case. That helped a lot, since the PCB itself is merely as thick as the 8GB SSD (PCB-form as well, only smaller), even slimmer than a 5mm 1.8-inch HDD, and weighs 1/3 of the whole SSD. Then I only need to cut 3 posts and 3 braces in half to fit it in and I still have enough space to place the 8GB SSD just above it.
It cost me almost 8-9 hours to do all the mods yesterday, but indeed it was worth it. Now I'm really happy with my AA1. It weighs 1008g (with 3-cell battery) after bluetooth and one more SSD integrated and 1G DDR2 memory added, with a mass increase of 30-40g, scarcely noticeable. So it runs much faster but its body shape remains which are both very important to me, or I would have bought AA1-150 model instead.
However, there are still 2 problems. One is the speed of the new OCZ SSD in my AA1 does not match the number claimed by the company, where it is said to have a read/write speed of 155/90MB/s in ATTO but mine only scores around 120/80 MB/s. I checked the device properties in Windows device manager. It says the connection is Ultra DMA-5. I think the SATA controller of ICH7M is working in IDE compatability mode and it seems Acer doesn't provide AHCI support for AA1 and perhaps no harddisk can be tuned up to real SATA mode in AA1. I'm not sure if this really accounts for my problem. Does anyone have any advice? Is there any tweak that can help AA1 achieve a real SATA mode? I've searched some forums but failed to find any useful info about that.
The second problem is about the boot sequence. I had supposed that the two SSDs would be listed as IDE 0 and IDE 1 in BIOS but curiously found that only the 8GB one is there, labled as IDE 0, and IDE 1 is still left blank. At the same time, on the first page of BIOS, however, the HDD model name is OCZ SOLID_SSD instead of P-SSD1800. And the annoying part is AA1 always boots from P-SSD1800 as there is no way to give priority to the SATA one in BIOS when the two SSDs are both connected. As I disconnect the original SSD from the motherboard, AA1 recognises SATA as IDE 0 and boots from it. Now I only find out two ways to let AA1 boot from SATA SDD in dual-SSD mode, using F12 Boot Menu where both SSDs will appear as IDE 0 and each of them can be selected as the boot device, or making a multi-booting setup in the 8GB SSD, apparently neither of them is perfect. Could some one give me any clue to solve this?
BTW, I just left a post in NeoVector's thread to report the second problem. And I'm glad we seem to have done the same thing.
Maybe next time, I can replace the original 8G SSD with a Runcore ZIF SSD, if they could just simply cut its price somehow.
My AA1 is the one with 8G SSD which is notorious for the poor writing speed. Now with the new OCZ 30G added, it has two SSDs inside, as I can leave the original compact and fast Linux in the 8GB SSD and install a "real" OS in the new SSD with a decent read/write speed (120/80 RW in ATTO) and enough space, at least for a full version of XP to work decently.
It has been a long time since I decided to figure out a perfect solution for my AA1, solving the storage problem, expanding and accelerating. Normally there are three methods, 1.8 zif HDD/SSD replacement, CF - ZIF converter and SATA HDD solution. I didn't use any HDD because I don't like the noise and heat they make and the weight and fragility they might add to my AA1. I didn't use CF-ZIF converter because a fast CF card with enough capacity always costs so much, and even the fastest CF card can hardly compete with an entry-level SSD in speed. And I gave up the plan to buy a Runcore or Mtron 1.8 ZIF SSD because they cost more than a cheap 2.5 SSD while their performance is still way behind, due to the limit of ZIF connection, I guess. And, as I read from several sources, the mod to add a conventional 2.5 HDD into the SSD SKU requires nearly half of the chassis bottom being cleared, with posts/L-braces/T-braces removed, which kinda scared me off.
So I decided to do the SATA mod first, though, I have to say, it was really some hard work for me to dismantle the SATA connector from an external harddisk box and solder it onto the MB of AA1. However, at last, I only soldered 6 out of all 22 pinouts to make SATA port usable, which made things easier. I also disassembled the 2.5 SSD, attached the PCB directly onto the SATA connector and left behind the useless but heavy and huge case. That helped a lot, since the PCB itself is merely as thick as the 8GB SSD (PCB-form as well, only smaller), even slimmer than a 5mm 1.8-inch HDD, and weighs 1/3 of the whole SSD. Then I only need to cut 3 posts and 3 braces in half to fit it in and I still have enough space to place the 8GB SSD just above it.
It cost me almost 8-9 hours to do all the mods yesterday, but indeed it was worth it. Now I'm really happy with my AA1. It weighs 1008g (with 3-cell battery) after bluetooth and one more SSD integrated and 1G DDR2 memory added, with a mass increase of 30-40g, scarcely noticeable. So it runs much faster but its body shape remains which are both very important to me, or I would have bought AA1-150 model instead.
However, there are still 2 problems. One is the speed of the new OCZ SSD in my AA1 does not match the number claimed by the company, where it is said to have a read/write speed of 155/90MB/s in ATTO but mine only scores around 120/80 MB/s. I checked the device properties in Windows device manager. It says the connection is Ultra DMA-5. I think the SATA controller of ICH7M is working in IDE compatability mode and it seems Acer doesn't provide AHCI support for AA1 and perhaps no harddisk can be tuned up to real SATA mode in AA1. I'm not sure if this really accounts for my problem. Does anyone have any advice? Is there any tweak that can help AA1 achieve a real SATA mode? I've searched some forums but failed to find any useful info about that.
The second problem is about the boot sequence. I had supposed that the two SSDs would be listed as IDE 0 and IDE 1 in BIOS but curiously found that only the 8GB one is there, labled as IDE 0, and IDE 1 is still left blank. At the same time, on the first page of BIOS, however, the HDD model name is OCZ SOLID_SSD instead of P-SSD1800. And the annoying part is AA1 always boots from P-SSD1800 as there is no way to give priority to the SATA one in BIOS when the two SSDs are both connected. As I disconnect the original SSD from the motherboard, AA1 recognises SATA as IDE 0 and boots from it. Now I only find out two ways to let AA1 boot from SATA SDD in dual-SSD mode, using F12 Boot Menu where both SSDs will appear as IDE 0 and each of them can be selected as the boot device, or making a multi-booting setup in the 8GB SSD, apparently neither of them is perfect. Could some one give me any clue to solve this?
BTW, I just left a post in NeoVector's thread to report the second problem. And I'm glad we seem to have done the same thing.
Maybe next time, I can replace the original 8G SSD with a Runcore ZIF SSD, if they could just simply cut its price somehow.
