Hardware · Completed
HP ZBook Fury Repair and Lab Build
Diagnosed and repaired a used HP ZBook Fury 15 G7 workstation, upgraded it to 64 GB of RAM, and turned it into my security lab machine.
Laptop repairRAM / SSD upgradesPart sourcingTroubleshootingLinuxLocal AI
Starting point
I bought a used mobile workstation to be my cybersecurity lab machine. It needed work before it was ready.
What I fixed and upgraded
- Memory: diagnosed RAM compatibility issues, sourced the right modules, and upgraded the system to 64 GB so it can run several VMs at once.
- Storage: installed and configured a new SSD.
- Keyboard replacement: fully disassembled the laptop and replaced the keyboard, matching the replacement by HP's service part number (SPS M17094-001) so the part would fit.
- Stripped M.2 screw: worked around a stripped screw on the drive mount without damaging the board.
The result
The laptop is now my Linux security lab. I use it for Metasploit, Burp Suite, Wireshark, and the hands-on CompTIA labs in my courses, and its Quadro GPU helps with password-cracking practice. With 64 GB of RAM it also runs local AI models, both standard (dense) and Mixture-of-Experts, so I can work with LLMs offline without sending data to a cloud provider.
What it shows: methodical diagnosis, sourcing correct parts by part number, careful disassembly, and handling the kind of surprise you hit on real repairs.
Photos
