2004 Advent 7081 Laptop Teardown

– First up, it’s battery time. Just unlock and switch it out—pretty similar to how modern laptops still let you swap batteries.

– Next, let’s tackle that pesky broken left mouse button. The tape holding it in place is bound to be annoying later, so it’s time to remove it.

– Remove the two Phillips 0 screws holding the cover that hides the hard drive. Set them aside somewhere safe.

– Meet your hard drive: a Seagate 40GB model, hanging out in a quick-release drive caddy and just waiting for an upgrade.

– As you try to free the drive from its cage, you’ll spot your first warranty sticker. Don’t worry—this is just a sign you’re heading the right way!

– Tackle two more screws, and the drive will slide right out of its hot-swap cage with a satisfying little victory.

– Just one lonely screw stands between you and the inside. Pop it out, and you’re in.

– Right away, you’ll spot a 256MB DDR SODIMM. Back in the day, you could have upgraded this to a whopping 1GB.

– Heads up: one of these screws is holding on for dear life in a cracked hole. That’s just the kind of battle scars you get in a house with kids running around.

– Surprisingly, the intake fan is still looking fresh after all this use. I remember this thing used to let out a serious howl whenever things got busy.

– There are quite a few screws holding the bottom panel in place, including one that’s tucked deep into the plastic. You’ll need a long-shaft screwdriver for that one!

– One of the screws holding the optical drive was a bit stubborn and refused to come loose. Had to drill it out—sometimes these things happen!

– Unfortunately, something was stuck, and I couldn’t get the cover off any further with my (not-so-professional) skills. But don’t stress, there’s still one more interesting step ahead.

– Once the heatsink is off, you’ll spot the CPU—a classic Intel Celeron M350 running at 1.34 GHz.

– This chip is held in place with a quirky screw-based lock. Just give it a turn to set the CPU free.