Acer Aspire ZIF Hard Drive Guide

Replacing the 2.5″ or 1.8″ hard drive inside an Acer Aspire 11.6″ laptop or a 10.1″ netbook can be tricky since it is hooked up with a fragile “ZIF” (zero insertion force) connector. If you have an Acer Aspire AS1410, AS1430, AS1810, or AS1830 and want to replace the OEM hard drive with a faster / bigger unit, check out my guide by clicking on the text link or thumbnail image below.

Acer Aspire 11.6″ Laptop ZIF Hard Drive Replacement Guide

Green Sand Beach – Big Island, Hawaii

There are only three green sand beaches in the entire world. We were fortunate enough to visit one of them on the Big Island of Hawaii about an hour hike from the parking lot of South Point Park. This very special beach located at the southern tip of the island is also known as Mahana or Papakolea Beach. For more, click on the text link or thumbnail image below.

Green Sand Beach Pictures & Video Clip – South Point, Big Island

Rescue A Wet SD Memory Card

My trusty Canon S5 IS super zoom digital camera recently took a dip into an alligator infested river. (Well, we only saw one alligator during the entire 4.5 hour experience on the Juniper Springs Canoe Run.)

I wasn’t able to save the camera since the lens had been filled with filthy water, but I did rescue the wet SD memory card using a technique that is widely recommended online.

Many small electronics that get dropped into water, spilled on, rained on, or otherwise soaked with a liquid can be recovered by first removing the battery, patting it dry and placing it into a Ziploc bag filled with rice. If the device got wet with anything other than water, it’s a good idea to carefully rinse it off with fresh water.

I placed my wet SD memory card in a quart sized Ziploc bag with about a cup of white rice and also a silica gel desiccant pack. I let the highly absorbent rice and desiccant packet work overnight to remove any moisture and then was able to easily copy the images from the memory card in the morning.

I’ve also had luck using this “rice & plastic bag” method in the past for restoring a cell phone and toy remote control car to working condition. The SD memory card is a fairly simple device so I only waited a day. I’d recommend waiting at least 3-5 days to turn on or use more complex devices such as digital cameras and cell phones.

Here are the pictures and video clips from the SD card above –

Juniper Springs Canoe Run