Acer Aspire One Cloudbook 14 (AO1-431-C8G8) with eMMC (32GB): Is the eMMC replaceable?

stf92 · 08-18-2020, 09:17 PM

Hi: I have an Acer Aspire One Cloudbook 14 (AO1-431-C8G8) with eMMC (32GB) instead of an electro-mechanical hard disk. Now the eMMC I've been told has a limited lifespan, much shorter than hard disks. I think the eMMC is just an IC (chip) soldered on the motherboard. This is a question. Second question: In case it is, and if some day it begins to fail, could I take it to a computer shop and ask the technician to replace the IC? So, assuming it is replaceable, my laptop could have a much greater lifespan.

The following is from /var/log/messages/

Code:

  mmc0: new HS200 MMC card at address 0001

'lspci -v' only gives

Code:

 
00:10.0 SD Host controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series MMC Controller (rev 21) (prog-
if 01)
        Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series MMC Controller
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 11
        Memory at 91321000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
        Capabilities: [80] Power Management version 3
        Kernel driver in use: sdhci-pci
        Kernel modules: sdhci_pci

Timothy Miller · 08-19-2020, 10:34 AM

It is considered a non user-servicable piece. It is soldered to the motherboard and is not considered replaceable.

That said, if you were to get the same NAND chip that is soldered to the board and you have enough skill to desolder the existing and solder the replacement, then it is indeed replaceable. It's even POSSIBLE that you could upgrade it to a larger capacity chip, although no guarantees it would recognize the larger chip.

stf92 · 08-19-2020, 12:43 PM

In Buenos Aires there is a computer shop called Dr. Motherboard. You take your motherboard to them and, if feasible, they fix it. This laptop was manufactured in January 2016. If only I could bought the IC now, then its lifespan would virtually be infinite!