Opening up the WindPad 110W [+ inside picture]

[Jack the Newbie]

For those who are wondering what to expect when you open the WindPad 110W, here is an "inside" picture with some marking for orientation.  To open the thing up, you need to "unplug" the four rubber knobs on the bottom cover to get access to the screws below it. There are just four of them.  Once they are unscrewed, the bottom cover can be carefully removed.

This is what you will see:

 

[Slimak]

Is It 3G Or non 3G model?

 

[ex_forum_user_3]

Thing is, we don't know, we got an engineering sample from MSI to help people in the forum with problems.
It wasn't described to what it has or lacks.
Sometimes we get some stuff from MSI to play with.

 

[aussiejez]

I'd say it is as the module next to the where the battery plugs in is missing from mine and my module didn't come with a 3G modem

 

[Henry]

For the curious among all of you, the mini card with the black plastic sheet on it just below the battery in Jack's picture just happens to be the AzureWave GPS-M16 card & the tan colored thingy just above the battery is the antenna for it.

Data sheet for it:

http://www.shopmanda.com/public/Companion%20Pad/%2808%29AVL/%2809%29GPS/GPS-M16-DS-Rev01.pdf

 

[pox67]

Stink, as aussiejez said my Australian Windpad is missing the unit under the black plastic. That would go a very long way to explaining my problems with GPS!
Thanks MSI 

 

[Henry]

Since I don't see any other place for mini module I would assume that the Windpad could use the 3G card or the GPS card but not both. Just a guess though.

 

[Jack the Newbie]

Stink, as aussiejez said my Australian Windpad is missing the unit under the black plastic. That would go a very long way to explaining my problems with GPS!
Thanks MSI

The GPS Module is an optional feature, which means that there are versions sold that have such a module and versions that don't have such a module (just as there are versions with a 32GB SSD and versions with a 64GB SSD).  In case the shop were you bought the WindPad 110W made you think that there was a GPS Module inside, then the specifications the shop advertised were wrong. Consequently, if you were expecting a GPS Module and there in none in there, it is the shop you have to thank for that, not MSI.

 

[ex_forum_user_3]

Also the box shipping the device does explain on the label what is inside.
If it has a GPS or 3G, the label should mention those devices.
If they are NOT listed on the label, then they are not installed, it's that simple.
Got nothing to do with MSI but eveything with the wishes of the distributor on what they order to be installed.
MSI just delivers with or without the options, just how the distributor orders it.

 

[pox67]

I am sure the shop's website originally said GPS but it now doesn't.
I am sure it also said Bluetooth 3.0 but now says 2.1 as well.

So now I have a free PCI-E slot...what to jam in there I wonder!
My options seem to be GPS or 3G Modem, anything else that goes in those slots?

I noticed on the Azurewave website they have better cameras available, they look similar so should be just a matter of plugging it in as well.
http://www.azurewave.com/Camera_Modules_1.asp
only a .7mp difference but other manufacturers might make better ones.

I wonder what else can be replaced...

 

[Henry]

BT + internet wireless is a 2 in one combination card.

 

[pox67]

So now I have a free PCI-E slot...what to jam in there I wonder!
My options seem to be GPS or 3G Modem, anything else that goes in those slots?

After some searching around it seems that the options are:
- Sound cards
- TV cards
- Special video hard ware decoder cards
- Wireless and BT cards
- 3G Modem
- GPS Card
- PCI-E hard drive (as opposed to the MSATA drive that we already have installed)

TV card would be interesting but I don't tend to watch TV much so kind of useless. Looks like I'll go with a GPS or 3G Modem, it would be good if they came as a combo.

 

[iPokey]

Just to the right to dock connector there is a screen connector. Very delicate!

 

[Pogi]

BT + internet wireless is a 2 in one combination card.

Hi! I installed the Windows 8 Developer Preview 64-bit on the 110W. I managed to install the drivers except for the Bluetooth. Can you identfy this bluetooth so I can search for it? Please!

Thank you

 

[ex_forum_user_3]

As far as I can see: Twinhan (Azurewave) AW-NB037H

 

[swotime]

Hi! I installed the Windows 8 Developer Preview 64-bit on the 110W. I managed to install the drivers except for the Bluetooth. Can you identfy this bluetooth so I can search for it? Please!

Thank you

I used the same one that came with the Windows 7 CD.  Extract the drivers to a folder and use Device Manager to search for the update.

 

[sku]

For those who are wondering what to expect when you open the WindPad 110W, here is an "inside" picture with some marking for orientation.  To open the thing up, you need to "unplug" the four rubber knobs on the bottom cover to get access to the screws below it. There are just four of them.  Once they are unscrewed, the bottom cover can be carefully removed.

This is what you will see:

Hello everyone, I just bought some 8GB of memory and want to add them to my windpad 110W but I can't seem to be able to open that thingie. I unplugged the four screws under the rubber knobs, but something around the power connector seems to prevent me from opening the case. Somewhere I read about 2 additional screws but I can't seem to find them. Can anyone please help me? What do I have to do in addition to the 4 screws under the knobs to successfully open my windpad?

 

[Stu]

There are only the four screws that hold the case together, but once these are removed, the casing must be clipped apart to separate it. Use your fingernails, or a small flat-blade screwdriver, to gently prise the casing apart.

 

[iPokey]

No, there are six. Four at the back, and two on both sides of the connector. They must be all unscrewed.

 

[sku]

No, there are six. Four at the back, and two on both sides of the connector. They must be all unscrewed.

Yes, I have found the two ones next to the connector. Hardly recognizable. I definitely need glasses now.

I have now changed the 2 GB of memory with 8GB and I also replaced the 32GB SSD with a 256 SSD and everything seems to work. I will run prime95 for a few hours tomorrow to see if everything is stable. I also found the solution to another riddle: My windpad definitely has no GPS module, so I plugged in the old, obsolete 32 GB SSD into the free mini pci-e slot where otherwise the GPS module would be. However this hard disk is now not known to the system. Windows doesn't see it, nor does the live linux (clonezilla) that I used to reapply the OS images that I have saved over the course of the last months. Is there anything I have to do so the 32 GB SSD in the mini-pci-e slot is recognized?

--
Stefan