RNS-510 HDD replacement/SSD swap DIY

[johnc]

This is kind of old, but from what I know, it was never well documented. Well, it wasn't back in June 2010 when I first did it, but I haven't looked since. I offered to do 2 of them for some mates, so I figured I could post the DIY up now with some decent, and rather idiot proof instructions. It's not a difficult process at all. I undertook it based on vague directions, but all you really need to know is that you have to pretty much strip the whole unit down to access the HDD.

The access times are considerably better than the standard HDD. With a full 40GBs of albums and folders, it would scroll and navigate without delay. My unit has been running flawlessly for over the past year.

Before I start… I accept no responsibility if you end up with a non-working unit. If your unit is still under warranty, and you undertake this procedure, it will no longer be covered by that warranty. You've been warned.

Exploded Component Overview:



STEP 1


Make sure the area you work in is clear of dust. Have some soft foam padding ready for when you remove the screen. Avoid anything that creates lint.

1. Remove 2 x T8 screws from top of unit
2. Remove 2 x T10 screws from side of unit. There are only 4 of these T10 screws in the job. Don’t mix them up with your other T8 screws.
3. Repeat step 2 for the other side.

STEP 2


Remove top cover plate by pulling up at point (A) and work the hinge at point (B).


STEP 3


Carefully drop screen down as shown. The screen is connected with data ribbon in 3 locations. Pull the beige ribbon locks outwards to release the ribbon. There is no need to disconnect the DVD drive ribbon (A). Move the screen in foam aside while you do the rest of the job.


STEP 4

1. Remove 2 x T8 screws from DVD drive mounting bracket. Aternatively, you could undo the 2 T8 screws that mount the DVD drive to the bracket.
2. Remove the 1 x T8 screw which secures the HDD mounting bracket to the exterior cover.

STEP 5


Lift out the DVD drive, and flip it over to access the 2 ribbon locks. Unplug both ribbons as you did in Step 3.

[johnc]

STEP 6


Remove the 1 x T8 screw from the rear of the heatsink. Then remove the 2 x T8 screws which are down inside the heatsink. The two arrows in the picture highlight their location. This is one of the reasons behind the long reach T8 driver.


STEP 7


Remove these 3 x T8 screws from the rear of the heatsink. Then remove the 2 x T8 screws which are down inside the heatsink.


STEP 8


Drop down the rear cover plate in the same way you removed the top cover plate in Step 2. Disconnect the cable for the fan and remove the plate from the hinge.


STEP 9

1. Remove the 1 x T8 as indicated.
2. Carefully lift the card (red highlight) in an upward direction. The card is plugged into the upper circuit board and may resist a little. See Step 10 to see what the card sits in. Just try to lift it evenly, and also pay attention to the opposite end of the card as is needs to be guided up between 2 metal prongs. These prongs can be seen in Step 11.

STEP 10

1. Remove the 3 x T8 screws from the board.
2. Straighten the 2 tabs (as shown) in order to lift out the upper circuit board. Lift it out and pay attention to any places where it may catch on the existing frame. It needs to be done at a bit of an angle to clear the 4 screw tabs towards the rear of the left and right cover plates.

STEP 11


Once the upper circuit board is out of the way, you need to remove the 1 x T8 from the HDD mounting cover bracket. You can then carefully lift the HDD directly out of its plug in an upward direction.


STEP 12


Once removed, undo the 4 screws from the HDD mounting plate and replace it with your new drive. I’ve replaced this one with a 64GB 2.5” SSD IDE PATA MLC. Depending on your firmware version, this will either give you a 40GB music drive (2 partition firmware) or a 30GB music drive (with new 3 partition firmware). Remember to remove the jumper on your new SSD drive. You cannot insert the HDD with a jumper in place.

SSD drive specification




STEP 13


Reverse the procedure and you’re done. Double check all of the ribbon conenctions along the way. Plug it into your car, load your firmware+maps and check that everything is working as it should.

After it's all back together and plugged in, you'll need to install the firmware and then your maps to get the drive working.

After some recently developments by kamold, it is now possible to change the size of the partitions on the drive. For more details, visit: How to re-partition the HDD in your RNS510



Enjoy.

[kamold]

Bloody awesome writeup Johnc you are to be heartily congratulated. I have a PATA SSD on order (don't even have the car yet either) and was just going to wing it but your highly detailed instructions will ensure I have a minimum of frustation whilst carrying out the upgrade.
Thanks!!!

[mikinoz]

John is a very generous and skilled bloke, and many should benefit for the time he has taken to document this.

Cheers mate.

[aussietig]

John is a very generous and skilled bloke, and many should benefit for the time he has taken to document this.

Yep sure have!

Just completed my install following the instructions and no major dramas whatsoever.

Only minor setback was entirely installer's fault!

Didn't have a long reaching skinny T8 driver in my toolbox.
But fortunately a small flat head screw driver with correct diameter seem to do the trick!

Anyhow, thanks for detailed write up John!

You most certainly have my vote for an AO next Australia Day!

[boshala]

Thanks John, you have made this DIY look alot easier with your detail instruction!!!

great work there!

[csd1uk]

I hadn't even thought of this...now it is going to be the first thing I do! I have a 64Gb SSD sitting in my office!

Muchos Gracias for the write up.

I have one question though...do you need to format the HDD in any particular prior to install? (NTFS, etc)

Cheers

[mikinoz]

Just make sure the SSD is PATA not SATA.

[csd1uk]

Perfect Thanks

Just make sure the SSD is PATA not SATA.

[johnc]

I have one question though...do you need to format the HDD in any particular prior to install? (NTFS, etc)

The format of the drive is done when you install the firmware on the unit. I wasn't 100% sure what I did when I did this a year ago, but after doing it again recently for mikinoz, you do need to install the firmware and then the maps. I may have noted that you could just do the maps.

Have updated the original post to show this.

[kamold]

Finally got around to putting in my 64GB SSD last night.

Took me a while to get hold of a T8 driver that wasn't too chunky to fit into the heatsink. Ended up having to weld a T8 bit onto an extension piece as I couldn't find a proper driver...

Thanks to the excellent instructions it was a painless experience!

Trap for young players (me) make a note of which way up the ribbon cables are inserted (they normally have some colour or paint on them to indicate if its not obvious from the layout). I had to pull the unit out again after I found I'd put the cable for the SD card slot in upsid down...

Now have 40GB free space for music.

One question: has anyone tried resizing the partitions on the drive after its setup? Its annoying to have a ~20GB partition for <1GB of map data.

Also recommend adding JohnC's thread as a sticky.

[aussietig]

One question: has anyone tried resizing the partitions on the drive after its setup? Its annoying to have a ~20GB partition for <1GB of map data.

Don't think it can be done, since it's the FW that does the auto partition!

[kamold]

What about after the fact? When the fw load has already setup the partitions?
Will have a play with the oem drive and report back.

[Transporter]

Well done John! It's good to see the threads like this one.

It is stickie.

[Corey_R]

What about after the fact? When the fw load has already setup the partitions?
Will have a play with the oem drive and report back.

Yeah, it's something I'd be interested in knowing too. My personal CD collection is 70GiB as VBR MP3's. So I'd be happy to do this mod and use a 128GB SSD even. But to spend that money, and then have it potentially auto partition with a 40GB map partition and 80GB music parition would be frustrating... or even worse, if the new firmware is paritioning in 3 and you only end up with half the space as mentioned above, then I still wouldn't have enough space for my entire collection, which makes this mod pointless.