The cause:<\/strong> The Intel WiFi Link 5100<\/a> PCI Express MiniCard is known to have many problems, and is unfortunately the card Samsung choose to use in the Q210.\u00a0 A quick Google search for Intel 5100 problems<\/em><\/a> returns 400,000 results.<\/p>\n The solution:<\/strong> A simple upgrade to an Intel WiFi Link 5300<\/a>, which cost me \u00a323.\u00a0 I chose not to install a third antenna, and only connect the existing two to TR1 & TR2, which means it will only get speeds of up to 300mbps, not the 450mbps the card is capable.\u00a0 Except the upgrade wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped…<\/p>\n Samsung, in common with most laptop manufacturers would rather you didn’t dismantle their devices, so the Q210 is very hard to crack into.\u00a0 I’ll try to describe, with a few photos, what I did and if you have any questions, please just reply to this post and I’ll try get back to you.\u00a0 You will need a small phillips screwdriver and a small flathead screwdriver.<\/p>\n First (rather obviously), you need to unplug the laptop and remove the battery.\u00a0 You will then need to remove 4 small length screws from the back of the laptop, labeled ODD (Optical Disc Drive, 1 screw), HDD (Hard Disc Drive, 2 screws) and MiniCard (1 screw).\u00a0 Remove the ODD via sliding it out of the laptop chassis.\u00a0 The MiniCard cover should just lift off, and the laptop I was working on had no card inside.\u00a0 The HDD cover slides forward about 5mm, then lift it up (there are four catches, two on the bottom and two on the outside edge – opposite the screws).\u00a0 Now you will see the HDD itself (with a metal case over it) and a black tape attached to the top of it.\u00a0 Pull on the black tape to lift the HDD out of the laptop.<\/p>\n Next you will need to remove the keyboard.\u00a0 The instructions for this bit are clearly outlined with images in the user guide, which you can download directly from the Samsung website.\u00a0 Remove three medium length screws from the back of the laptop, labeled KBD.\u00a0 Now release the three clips on the bottom of the keyboard itself, using your flathead screwdriver (as outlined in the user guide).\u00a0 Be gentle here, as it is very easy to scratch the case.\u00a0 Carefully lift the keyboard away, and disconnect the ribbon cable from the mainboard by opening the lock and pulling towards the LCD (again, outlined in the user guide).\u00a0 Finally for this step, remove the RAM modules.<\/p>\n Now we come to taking the top of the laptop off.\u00a0 On the underside, you will have to remove 2 large length screws, 7 medium length screws and 4 small length screws.\u00a0 Back on the top side you will also need to remove 1 medium length screw from just under the RAM slots (marked with an arrow).\u00a0 Still on the top side you now need to very carefully disconnect the speaker cable on the left by pulling it to the right.\u00a0 On the right hand side you will see the touchpad ribbon cable, which you will also need to disconnect by opening the lock and pulling to the left.\u00a0 You are now ready to lift the top off.\u00a0 There are a few catches along the edges which should pop off fairly easily as you lift.\u00a0 I found the hardest one to lift up to be just under the touchpad buttons, so gently used my flathead screwdriver to pop it open.\u00a0 Before you lift the top off, this is very important<\/strong>, you need to reach inside and disconnect the microphone cable (on the left) from the mainboard.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.adrianlovell.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/back-opened-300x225.jpg\" "\\"Back")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.adrianlovell.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/keyboard-lifted-300x225.jpg\" "\\"Keyboard")
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.adrianlovell.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/inside-1024x768.jpg\" "\\"Inside")
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