Well, if it helps anyone who wants to try, these are the useful, step-by-step instructions I used when replacing the hard drive on my own Sony laptop:

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/D...d-Drive/2254/1

There are lots of screws that you need to uncover through 2 or 3 stages of disassembly, and you have to detach the keyboard which is attached via a very short and flimsy cable. It sounds like some of these other Sony models involve similar headaches, but may have the same disassembly process.

Replacing the hard drive in my Dell and HP laptops involved removing 1 screw.