Upgrading Guide for UX32VD

[benjaminyeo]

Here's the Upgrading Guide for Asus ZenBook Prime UX32VD. I understand there are already guides online, but I am just sharing my experience!

Parts Required

• Crucial m4 7mm / Samsung 830 SSD
• Kingston DDR3 1600MHz CL11 8GB SODIMM (KVR16S11/8)

You can get the above at any retailers in SLS.

Okay. Sorry for the delay! It is finally done! Please pardon me for some of the poor quality pictures. Please refrain from asking about buying/selling from me. Please don't get me banned!

 

[benjaminyeo]

Asus ZenBook Prime UX32VD Upgrade

Disclaimer
Upgrade at your own risk. I assume no responsibility should you damage your Ultrabook.

Tools Required
Before we start, there are three tools you will need.

Torx T5
Philips Screw Driver
Guitar Pick/Plastic Ruler
Procedure

Removal of screws

There are 12 in total! Keep them safe!
Tool used: Torx T5

Please keep them safe in a box after each screw is removed! You certainly do not want to look for them if you let it roll down your table!

Prying the Double-Sided Tape

Here is a sticky situation. There are 2 super sticky double-sided tape attaching the external panel to the internal chassis. You have to use a either a guitar pick, or anything PLASTIC like ruler, etc. to pry it. You DO NOT want to scratch your shiny new toy here!


Pry from this location!

Congratulations! You managed to escape the sticky situation!

 

[benjaminyeo]

RAM Upgrade

This is the simplest part of the whole upgrade procedure.


Push it aside to let the RAM pop-up!

Use both of your index fingers and push the flaps in the direction away from the RAM. Thereafter, you will see the RAM pop-up 30-45 degrees upwards. Simply remove them and keep it inside a box to keep!

Please get yourself a DDR3-1600MHz CL11 SO-DIMM RAM.

We choose Kingston simply because it runs at CL11, which matches the latency of the 2GB onboard soldered RAM. If you choose any RAM that runs faster than CL11(CL10,CL9,etc.), it may underclock and run at a slower speed (1333MHz).

Shiny Silver Clothes Exchange!

The 2GB is feeling so naked now!

We put on the old clothes of 2GB onto the 8GB to prevent any shorting to occur! After that, slot it back at 30-45 degrees and then push it down back to its original position. Sorry, forgot to take a picture here!

 

[benjaminyeo]

SSD Upgrade

This part is for those who want to continue and change their 500GB HDD to SSD! You are making your way to become the most powerful Ultrabook to date!

Battery Screw Removal

Be careful! You really do not want to puncture the battery with your sharp philips screw driver!

After you are done with removing the screws securing the battery, simply shift the battery pack up by 1cm thereabout, just enough to expose the screws securing the SSD. Be careful not to rip the speaker cable attached as circled in pink below!

The two exposed screws are shown above. Just remove them with philips screw driver and the two below too. Right now, you have to nudge the HDD out a little to the left. Then, pull it up slightly, just enough to clear and pull it out. Sorry, no pictures here again!

Crucial SSD

One of the most reliable SSD workhorse in the market! Please choose the right SSD brands/models. You must purchase SSD with a 7mm height. Currently in Singapore, only Crucial SSD fits the bill, the rest are 9.5mm! Unless you want to import Samsung 830 SSD from Amazon yourself!

See it for yourself!

Don’t get a SSD with the wrong height! Now, just transfer the HDD bracket to the SSD! After that, SECURE the bracket screws onto the chassis. You may then proceed to shift the battery pack back and its respective screws.

TADA! You are almost done!

IT’S DONE! …Almost. Please attach the back panel back onto the chassis with the 12 Torx T5 screws!

 

[benjaminyeo]

Cloning/Installing Fresh Windows

So how now? No Windows? Well, you need to get yourself a USB-SATA cable, to clone your HDD back to your SSD. Or, you may choose to install a fresh Windows 7 Home Premium for your UX32VD!

Right here, we will show you how to do a Fresh Windows from USB3.0 Flash Drive! (Installing Windows from USB3.0 is a fantastic experience, it is done in less than 5 minutes! But the preparation is tedious..)

To be continued..

Software required

• Windows USB/DVD Tool
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit ISO (Legit)
• Windows Vista/7 to prepare your ISO.
• USB3 Driver

Extract USB3 Driver and select these three files and all their various extensions (iusb3hcs, iusb3xhc, iusb3hub).

• iusb3hcs.cat
• iusb3hcs.inf
• iusb3hcs.sys
• iusb3hub.cat
• iusb3hub.inf
• iusb3hub.man
• iusb3xhc.cat
• iusb3xhc.inf
• iusb3xhc.man
• iusb3xhc.sys

Create a folder named winpe. After that, inside winpe folder, create 2 folders

• usb3
• mount

• Burn ISO into USB using the Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool.
• Copy boot.wim file from the USB in Sources folder to C:\winpe.
• Drag all the above usb driver files, iusb3xhc, etc. all into usb3 folder.
• Open Console and navigate to C:\winpe
  Type the following code.
  

     dism /mount-wim /wimfile:boot.wim /index:2 /mountdir:mount
     dism /image:mount /add-driver /driver:usb3\iusb3hcs.inf
     dism /image:mount /add-driver /driver:usb3\iusb3hub.inf
     dism /image:mount /add-driver /driver:usb3\iusb3xhc.inf
     dism /unmount-wim /mountdir:mount /commit

• Copy the boot.wim in C:\winpe back to the USB Sources folder.

TADA! Done preparing the ISO for clean installation.

 

[adv_illusioned]

awaits the pic and guide

 

[kendo21]

if can, list down where to buy those parts thx

 

[benjaminyeo]

awaits the pic and guide

Finally done, sorry for the long wait!

 

[souler87]

wor.. just nice I looking for one guide too lol!!! Thanks! waiting the part on ur clean window 7 installation!!

 

[kendo21]

hi, thx for the pics, just to clarify which crucial m4 256 model are u using. Cuz i planned to buy it too buy confused with all the different models bearing crucial m4 256gb name.

 

[NY__chickenpie]

You can use other SSD, but need to remove the top cover to reduce the thickness to 7mm

Someone uploaded a video to show how.

 

[benjaminyeo]

if can, list down where to buy those parts thx

You can try looking around in SLS. Ours are direct from Convergent. Just ask the retailers whether it is the 7mm height.

The Parts are

• Kingston DDR3 1600MHz CL11 8GB SODIMM (KVR16S11/8)
• Crucial m4 128GB/256GB 7mm

 

[benjaminyeo]

You can use other SSD, but need to remove the top cover to reduce the thickness to 7mm

Someone uploaded a video to show how.

You can follow Tek Syndicate video, but I do not recommend you guys to remove the cover of the SSD. You will probably void the SSD warranty. Anyway, just to let you guys know, Bell is selling Samsung 830 SSD at $169 for 128GB and $309 for 256GB.

You can choose either this or Crucial m4 SSD.

 

[kendo21]

can i get directly from u? cheaper pricing? lol

 

[benjaminyeo]

can i get directly from u? cheaper pricing? lol

Our price won't differ much from SLS, I guess it is better to head to SLS to get your parts! At least it is easier for them to change for you should there be any problem.

Sorry about that!

 

[benjaminyeo]

Please refrain from asking anything about buying/sell in this thread! Don't get me banned!

 

[Bakagomi]

For SSD you have a few options that are all available in SLS :

1) Crucial m4
2) Samsung 830
3) Transcend 320/720
4) Plextor M3S, M3P and M5S

Please do make sure you check the reviews on each SSD and find out which is suitable for you.

 

[kendo21]

er brought my crucial m4 256GB liao, now waiting for ur cloning guide. need to purchase anything to clone?

 

[mojack]

Which 7mm ssd selling in sls has the data transfer kit? Does the crucial m4 or Samsung 830 has it, or just selling as a single ssd drive?

 

[matthias777]

Cloning Softwares

Anyone has any good cloning software to recommend?

So far these are the cloning programs I heard from my friends.
1. Acronis
2. Norton Ghost
3. Clonezilla

I did a check on random stores at Funan and they will do this for you at around $60. Cheaper than buying the software and all the SATA-USB cables.

Well, I prefer DIY though.