How to install Bluetooth card into Dell Inspiron 1520/1521 and Vostro 1500 laptops

Inspiron 1500 1521 Vostro 1500 Bluetooth card

Installing a Bluethooth card into your Dell Inspiron 1520/1521 or Dell Vostro 1500 laptops will not take more then 5 minutes. You can easily install the Bluetooth card yourself and this upgrade will cost you about $20.
The Bluetooth card mounts between the securing tabs witch could be found under the keyboard bezel above F10, F11 and F12 keys.

Also, you’ll find detailed instructions in the Dell Inspiron 1520/1521 and Vostro 1500 service manual.

Topics: Disassembly help, Bluetooth, 4. Dell Laptops |

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How to remove keyboard and access internal RAM module in Dell Latitude D820 notebook

Dell Latitude D820 keyboard RAM

This tutorial shows how you can remove the keyboard and access the internal RAM slot in a Dell Latitude D820 notebook.
The keyboard removal procedure will not take long.
1. Remove the keyboard bezel with a flathead screwdriver.
2. Remove three screws securing the keyboard
3. Unplug the keyboard cable from the motherboard and remove the keyboard.

The internal RAM slot is located under the keyboard, right above the touch pad buttons.

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Topics: Keyboard, Disassembly help, Memory, Wireless card, Bluetooth, 4. Dell Laptops |

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How to remove keyboard and replace internal memory module in HP Compaq nw8240 nx8220 nc8230 notebooks

hp compaq nw8240 nx8220 nc8230

This tutorial explains how you can removed the keyboard and replace the internal memory module in HP Compaq nw8240, nx8220 and nc8230 notebooks. All three models are very similar and you can use the same disassembly instructions.

These laptops have two memory slots. One of the memory slots (external) can be easily accessed if you remove the cover on the bottom of the laptop. The second (internal) memory slot is located under the keyboard.

These models will take up to 2GB memory total, so you can install up to 1GB memory module into each slot. You should use DDR2-4200 (533MHz) memory modules.

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Topics: Keyboard, Disassembly help, Memory, 3. Compaq & HP Laptops |

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How to remove LCD screen from Dell Inspiron 600m laptop

Dell Inspiron 600m LCD screen removed

This tutorial explains how you can take apart the display panel on a Dell Inspiron 600m laptop and remove LCD screen, inverter board and video cable. Also, you can use this tutorial for replacing broken hinges. When the display panel is taken apart, it will take only 5 minutes to replace both hinges.

Before you start replacing parts, you have to find out what is causing the problem.
Let’s take a look at a few different video failures and possible solutions.

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Topics: Disassembly help, LCD screen, Screen inverter, 4. Dell Laptops |

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How to install more memory into Samsung Q30 Plus notebook

Samsnung Q30 Plus notebook memory upgrade

This tutorial explains how to install more memory into a Samsung Q30 Plus notebook. This notebook comes with 512MB memory (256MB integrated into the motherboard and 256MB module installed in the memory expansion slot). So, there is only one memory slot available for upgrades. You’ll have to remove the original 256MB memory module installed into the memory expansion slot and replace it with a larger stick.

The author of this tutorial was able to upgrade his Samsung Q30 notebook to 2.25GB even though the official site says you cannot install more then 768MB.

Official site will claim - even today - that this notebook cannot be upgraded with more than 512MB of memory, making a grand total of 768MB. Luckily, in this industry nothing is set in stone. When I talked to Samsung tech support, technician was not sure will the board support more than 512MB module or not. Like we have already wrote - nothing is set in stone, so yours truly ordered 2GB DDR2-667 Value stick from Corsair

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Topics: Keyboard, Memory, 9. Other Laptop Brands |

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How to replace CCFL tube (backlight lamp) in Sony laptop LCD screen

Sony laptop LCD backlight CCFL replacement

This guide published by www.laptopsockets.co.uk explains how you can replaced the CCFL tube a.k.a. backlight lamp inside the LCD screen removed from a Sony laptop.

WARNING! This guide is only for experienced technicians. The CCFL tube is located INSIDE the LCD screen. In order to replace the CCFL tube you’ll have to remove and disassemble the LCD screen. You can damage the screen during the disassembly process.

Backlight failure symptoms:

1. Your laptop starts with a reddish tint on the screen and after a while the image returns to normal. Most likely this is CCFL tube failure.
2. White color on the screen has a red tone. After a while the backlight turns off. You still can see the image on the screen, but it’s very faint. Most likely this is CCFL tube failure.
3. The backlight randomly turns on and off without any pattern. This could be inverter failure or CCFL tube failure.
4. Your laptop starts without backlight. Everything works fine with an external monitor, but the image on the laptop screen is barely visible. This could be inverter failure or CCFL tube failure.
5. Your laptop starts without backlight. You can light up the screen for a while if you tap on the lid close switch. This could be inverter failure or CCFL tube failure.

Possible solutions:

From my experience, screen inverters fail more often then CCFL tubes.
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Topics: Screen problems, LCD screen, Backlight, Screen inverter, 7. Sony Laptops |

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How to replace hard drive and DVD drive in Acer Aspire 3610 laptop

The following instructions will explain how to replace the hard drive and the DVD drive in an Acer Aspire 3610 laptop. I’m not familiar with Acer laptops but these instructions could be the same for other Aspire 3600 series laptops, such as Aspire 3610, 3620, 3630, 3640, 3660, 3680.

1. Hard drive replacement instructions here

Acer Aspire 3610 hard drive replacement

The hard drive can be easily accessed from the bottom of the laptop. Simply remove the hard drive door, remove four screws securing the hard drive caddy, disconnect the hard drive from the connector on the motherboard and remove it from the laptop.

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Topics: Keyboard, Disassembly help, CD/DVD drive, 1. Acer Laptops |

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How to remove LCD screen and replace backlight bulb in HP Pavilion zv5000 laptop

HP Pavilion zv5000 zv6000 LCD backlight replacement

These instructions explain how you can remove the LCD screen and replace the backlight bulb (aka CCFL tube) in a HP Pavilion zv5000 series laptops. Also, this disassembly guide should work for Pavilion zv6000 series.

Backlight bulb failure symptoms.

For about a month or so, my back light starts off as red on startup and slowly returns to normal (white). This can take as much as 30 seconds to a minute. Much recently, my backlight has been turning off randomly, but the frequency has been slowly increasing. As of yesterday - I noticed a high pitched hum sound just before the light kicked off. My light would come on instantly if I hit the screen position switch. And lastly, if I turned the brightness down, most of the symptoms disappears - except the back light had a red tinge to it.

If the backlight bulb in your laptop is failing, you have two options:
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Topics: Disassembly help, LCD screen, Backlight, Screen inverter, Display hinges, 3. Compaq & HP Laptops |

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How to replace keyboard on Acer Aspire 3600 series laptops

acer aspire 3600 3610 3620 3630 3640 3660 3680 keyboard replacement

The following instructions will help you to replace the keyboard on Acer Aspire 3600 series laptops. The disassembly steps should work for Acer Aspire 3610, 3620, 3630, 3640, 3660 and 3680 laptops.

Replacing the keyboard on your Acer Aspire 3610 laptop is not as difficult as it may sound. Make sure your computer is unplugged from any power source, then remove the battery.

The whole keyboard replacement process shouldn’t take more then 10 minutes.

1. You can find a new replacement keyboard for less then $25 here.
2. Follow these instructions to remove and replace the keyboard.

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Topics: Keyboard, Disassembly help, 1. Acer Laptops |

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How to make a digital picture-photo frame from an old laptop

Digital picture photo frame

I have made this digital picture-photo frame from an old Toshiba Satellite laptop. This project took me half a day but the result was very rewarding. My new 14″ digital photo frame works just great and I have tons of space for all my pictures.

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Topics: Fun projects |

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