Acer Nitro 5 AN515-55 SSD Replacement

Written By: Solomon Mekuria

Comments: 1

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

20 - 40 minutes

Introduction

Use this guide to replace a Solid State Drive (SSD) in your Acer Nitro5 (AN15-55) laptop.

An SSD is a piece of internal hardware that both stores and retrieves data in a computer.

An SSD failure can cause your laptop to run very slowly and/or continuously crash (the notorious blue screen of death) leading to potentially major data loss. In cases of complete SSD failure, your laptop’s operating system will not boot up at all.

Likewise, upgrading your SSD can increase your laptop’s performance. If your laptop is getting low on storage, getting too noisy or heated, or running more slowly than you’d prefer, consider upgrading the SSD. Most SSDs should fit in this laptop but take caution in confirming the compatibility of devices. If searching for an SSD on Amazon, use the Amazon Confirmed Fit tool to verify compatibility.

During preparation and installation, be very careful with the SSD, as the device, specifically the connector pins, are extremely delicate. Ensure that your current SSD is backed up before you begin the replacement process. Once ready, power off your laptop and disconnect it from any power sources.

Tools

Parts

Crucial P5 3D NAND PCle M.2 SSD

Step 1

Shut down your laptop.
Make sure your laptop is completely turned off to prevent damaging other parts.

Step 2

Flip the laptop on its back.
Remove the eleven 8 mm screws securing the back cover using the Phillips #1 screwdriver.

Step 3

Loosen the back cover using a plastic opening tool.

Step 4

Pull the back cover off and put it in a safe place.
A little bit of force is needed to pry open the clips at the corners of the laptop.

Step 5

Remove the 2.6 mm screw that is holding down the SSD with a Phillips #0 screwdriver.
Make sure to ground yourself before working on the motherboard to prevent damage.