Lenovo ThinkPad X131e

The Lenovo x131e is a rugged low-end laptop originally released on July 31 2012, for schools and businesses. It came in a wide variety of skews ranging from AMD E series CPUs to Intel Celerons and low-class i3 processors. It was re-released as a Chromebook in 2013, despite no changes to hardware. A board view is available online for this device, though at the time of writing the author is unsure of its accuracy.

Battery Replacement
The laptop has a removable battery held in by two latches at the bottom. One is spring loaded, The other is a toggle. The battery simply slides out.

Replacements are available online.

SIM card access
Some versions of the x131e were equipped with SIM slots. Removing the battery and lifting the small rubber plate in the center of the battery compartment allows access to the slot.

HDD/SSD, WiFi Card, RAM, and further board Access
Three captive P1 screws hold in the bottom cover, after which the plate comes up, slides out and comes off of the laptop.

2.5 inch HDD/SSD Sled and Drive
Two P1 screws hold in the sled to the chassis. the assembly slides a little to the left, disconnecting itself, and then up and out to remove the drive. A plastic tab is installed on the drive to assist in removing the drive and sled assembly. Two more P1 screws fasten the sled to the drive. After removal a new drive maybe be installed into the sled, and into the laptop again.

RAM
The ram in the laptop is DDR3 1600mhz SODIMMs. The laptop has a stated maximum of 8GBs.

WiFi Card
The WiFi card is held in by 1 P1 screw, and 2 attached cables.

Wobbly Feet
The feet on the plate at the bottom of the laptop may cave in, causing the laptop to become wobbly. the cause of this is that the piece of plastic attached to the chassis where the feet are on the plate has broken and fallen into the laptop. It may be possible to glue the piece back into place, but my solution was to fold up a fraction of paper and place it where the part should be. Whatever your solution, make sure that it is non-conductive, as components lie directly underneath the piece, or where the piece used to be.

External Documents
Lenovo SKU sheet

User manual

LCD parts list provided by Lenovo