Aopen 1557G/GL/GLS thread.

[Freejack2]

I searched and didn't find any threads about this notebook. I know a number of us have this notebook so I thought I'd start a support thread for all of us.

My tips: To get the keyboard off you have to pop the piece of plastic behind the keyboard. There are little tabs between the plastic and the keyboard. Pop these and pull it up (you'll have to tilt the screen way back). Don't pull too hard or you'll pull out the cables for the power switch and cd player switches.

My findings: Dell Truemobile 1400 wifi cards don't work in this system. It'll act like it's working but doesn't pick up anything. The Intel 2100 works fine though. Has anyone gotten a Truemobile 1400 to work in this system?

Even though they don't spec it, the system takes an 80gb 5400rpm drive with no problems.

For anyone wondering what a 1557G/GL/GLS is. It's an Aopen barebones notebook that takes Pentium M processors up to 2ghz and has Radeon 9600 or 9700 video. 1557G is 9600 64mb, 1557GL is 9700 64mb, and the 1557GLS is 9700 128mb. Myaopen.com sells them new and newegg every once in a while gets refurbs.

http://solution.aopen.com.tw/products/nb/1557-G.htm

 

[Garster]

I bought a refurbished Aopen 1557 from Newegg about 5 or 6 months ago, not sure about the Dell 1400 mini pci card. I've installed an Intel 2200 b,g card and it works well, the plastic strip above the keyboard would have to be my biggest complaint. It is very fragile and looks to be easily broken if not careful, but the performance of this laptop is excellent. My battery life is around 4 hours, and the SXGA+ screen is very nice. I believe the G, GL, GLS branding refers to the screen type because i have an older verson of this laptop and it is a GLS model and has the Radeon 9600 64mb video for graphics. Other then that, i have not had a problem with it sense putting this laptop together.

 

[Freejack2]

That's quite possible. The webpage gave me the impression that the model letters were based on the video. Mine is a newegg refurb also. It has the 1440x1050 screen but it's a Radeon 9600 64mb like yours.

I ordered a panasonic slot load dvd+-rw for it as I doubt anything will fit flush with the front of this laptop anyhow.

Seeing as you have the 2200 working, I think I'll sell my truemobile 1400 and pick up an Intel 2200.

 

[Garster]

LMK how the drive fits Freejack2, i'm currently using an older Dell cdrom drive and looking to purchase a combo drive. Myaopen.com has the correct drive for this laptop for $88.00 + shipping, but the slot load drive sounds nice.

 

[Freejack2]

Someone else did this already. He took pics of it: http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=37595

I finally managed to get my Truemobile 1400 working. I got a clue what was wrong when my wife plopped the notebook on the bed and the Intel 2100 started going nuts. Ended up putting electrical tape over the connectors and pigtails and used it to hold the card down. Installed the older Dell drivers then manually installed the newer ones. Works fine now.

I let the battery run down to 4% and I don't know if it's 4 hours but it was darned long. Found out Doom 3 plays just fine on battery also.