t440s HDD replacement, broke a tab

I wrote about this on reddit but I thought I might post it here as well.

So I just finished installed a samsung ssd in my new t440s. I've installed and serviced many laptops in the past and according to the manual removing the base cover looked to be easier than most.
Sure it was no hard feat to remove the base cover but to my big disappointment one of the hinges broke during the process and a few of them were showing noticeable signs of wear. As I said I've done these things in the past and have never broken a hinge before so this really struck me in a negative way.

I'm pretty sure this is not covered by the warranty but I thought I'd ask if there's anyone who's dealt with this kind of problem with lenovo.

I'm just baffled about the whole thing. I followed the instructions to a T, used the correct tools and did not use any excess force at all.
If the hinges breaks that easily how can HDD replacement be covered by warranty?

 

Search this forum and you will see that most people break at least one tab, even in some cases taking 20 to 30 minutes to slowly remove the base and following the HMM instructions. It is clearly a really bad design. I would really like to hear from someone who watches an on-site tech remove the base without breaking any tabs and report back as to the exact procedure they used before I do my upgrades.

 

You are right, there's quite a few of them. But has no one spoken to lenovo about this problem?
I get why people would be reluctant to do so but this is a straight up design flaw that needs to be adressed.

 

Hey, I posted in your Reddit thread. I don't exactly understand what you mean by you broke your hinge; when I replaced the HDD in my T440p it wasn't secured on hinges but rather screws -- and it just popped right out.

Can you take a picture of the internals of the T440s to show a comparison? I'm actually kind of interested.

Sorry I'm of no help, just interested.

 

What I believe the OP meant was the tabs, not the hinges, which are something completely different. The entire T440s base needs to be removed to access the internal components and is held together by screws and snap-together "tabs". You can refer to the Hardware Maintenance Manual for a clear picture of this.

 

Yeah, I just looked at the HMM. The talk of hinges confused me, I guess he was talking about the tabs then. So if the tabs are broken does that mean the HDD is non-functioning? (we're talking about the tabs that connect it to the board, right?)

 

Actually, let me correct myself; they are called "latches" not "tabs". The latches connect the base of the unit to the entire upper assembly, not directly attached to the motherboard (if that is what you meant by board). People report that breaking one or two latches really doesn't affect much as there are plenty of them, and in addition to that you have the screws.

 

You are both completely right. Bad translation on my part.