Corvallis Computer

You can. Fold the computer all the way over and go from there. The only advantage to opening the bottom would be to disconnect the battery: a highly recommended procedure.

I successfully completed this repair. Went from 500GB Seagate to 1TB WD Blue.

Problems I had are limited to the thermal connector would not fit the hard drive I bought. I'm pretty sure the pins on my new drive are for an 8-pin thermal instead of a 4-pin, and I just left it unplugged. The fans spin at full speed now, but that's hardly a deal-breaker.

I got an extra screw hiding under the rubber gasket holding the end of the heatsink to the chassis. Ended up bending the heatsink a little cause I wasn't looking for it.