In this guide I will be taking apart a Sony Vaio VGN-SZ series laptop. In my case I’m working with a Sony Vaio VGN-SZ330p laptop but the guide should work for the entire VGN-SZ line.

In you need replacement parts, search here.

STEP 1.

Turn off the laptop, unplug AC adapter and remove battery.

Remove one screw securing the keyboard.

STEP 2.

There are two latches securing the keyboard. They are located above the F2 and Insert keys.

STEP 3.

Using a small screwdriver press on the locking latch above the Insert key and lift up the right side of the keyboard.

STEP 4.

Do the same with the second latch and lift up the keyboard from the laptop base.

STEP 5.

Place the keyboard upside down on the palm rest so you can access the cable connector underneath.

STEP 5.

In order to unlock the cable connector move the black clip about 2 millimeters towards the touch pad. The clip must stay attached to the connector base.

If you break the connector, you’ll have to remove the motherboard. Work very carefully.

STEP 6.

Release the keyboard cable. Remove the keyboard and replace it with a new one if needed.

STEP 7.

Remove four screw securing the heat sink cover. Remove the cover.
Remove two screws securing the memory cover. Remove the cover.

STEP 8.

Remove two screw securing the CPU heat sink.

STEP 9.

Remove heat sink from the laptop.

Now you can clean the cooling fan and heat sink with compressed air.
Also, you get an access to the CPU.

STEP 10.

Both memory modules could be access through the door on the bottom of the laptop.

STEP 11.

Remove four red screws securing the switch cover.
Remove three yellow screws securing the palm rest.

STEP 12.

Carefully lift up and remove the switch cover.

STEP 13.

Remove three screw securing the palm rest.
Unlock the touch pad cable connector and release the cable.

In order to unlock the connector simply lift up the right side of the locking clip with your finger nail.

On the picture below the connector is shown in the unlocked state.

STEP 14.

Release the touch pad cable and remove the palm rest assembly.

When the palm rest assembly is removed you get an access to the hard drive, DVD drive, wireless card and CMOS battery.

STEP 15.

Remove three screws securing the hard drive assembly.

Disconnect the hard drive cable connector from the motherboard.

STEP 16.

Remove the hard drive assembly from the laptop.

If you are replacing or upgrading the hard drive you’ll have to transfer the mounting bracket and cable from the old drive to a new one.

STEP 17.

Remove one screw securing the DVD drive.

STEP 18.

Slid the DVD drive to the right to disconnect it from the motherboard.

There is an adapter between the DVD drive and motherboard. This adapter has to stay attached to the motherboard.

STEP 19.

Remove DVD drive from the laptop.

STEP 20.

In order to remove the wireless card, disconnect two antenna cable from the card, remove two screws securing the card and pull the card from the slot on the motherboard.

If you would like to replace the CMOS battery, simply unplug it from the motherboard and replace with a new one.

In one of the previous guides I explain how to remove the LCD screen and inverter board from a Sony Vaio VGN-SZ series laptop.

In this guide I will remove and replace defective keyboard in a Gateway M-Series notebook. In my case the notebook model is: M-6846 but this guide will work for all other Gateway M-Series notebooks. If my guide works for you, please mention the notebook model number in comments below.

STEP 1.

Turn off the notebook, remove the battery.
Remove one keyboard securing screw on the bottom.

STEP 2.

Carefully lift up one side of the speaker cover with a small flat head screwdriver.

STEP 3.

Continue removing the speaker cover with your fingers.
Be careful, there will be a cable connecting the LED board and motherboard under the cover.

STEP 4.

Remove two screws securing the keyboard.

STEP 5.

Lift up the keyboard and remove it from the laptop base.

STEP 6.

Now you can access the keyboard cable connector on the motherboard.
You’ll have to unlock the connector before disconnecting the cable and removing the keyboard.

In order to unlock the keyboard connector carefully move the locking clip about 2 millimeters to the direction shown by two arrows.

On the picture below you can see connector in the unlocked state.

STEP 7.

Now you can pull the cable from the connector and remove the keyboard.
Replace keyboard with a new one.

You can find a new keyboard for your Gateway M-Series notebook using the keyboard part number from the sticker.
In my case the part number is: AESA6U00020. Search for a new keyboard here.

In the previous guide I explain how to replace the broken screen in the same Gateway M-Series notebook.

This guide will help you to remove and replace the keyboard in a Sony Vaio VGN-C series laptop.

I’m replacing the keyboard in a Sony Vaio VGN-C250N laptop but most likely you can use these instructions for the entire VGN-C line. If it works for your laptop, please mention the model number in comments below.

Also, I found another model number on the sticker: Model PCG-6R3L.

STEP 1.

Turn off the laptop and remove the battery.

Remove one screw securing the keyboard on the bottom.

STEP 2.

There are for small latches securing the keyboard on the top.

Push on latches with a small screwdriver and release the keyboard.

STEP 3.

Carefully lift up the keyboard and place it upside down on the palm rest.

STEP 4.

Now you can access the cable connector under the keyboard.

Unlock the connector first and after that pull the cable from the connector.

In order to unlock the connector carefully move the black clip to the direction shown by two arrows.

On the following picture the connector is shown in the unlocked position.

STEP 5.

Now you can pull the keyboard cable from the connector and remove the keyboard.

In my laptop the cable was glued to the laptop base with sticky tape, so I had to unglue the cable first.

Replace the keyboard with a new one.

You can search for a new keyboard using the part number. In my laptop the keyboard part number was 147996521.

Here you can find and new keyboard for Sony Vaio VGN-C series laptop.

In this guide I explain how to remove and replace the keyboard in a HP Mini 1033CL notebook. If you have another HP Mini notebook and the guide works for you, please mention the notebook model number in comments below.

Start disassembly with removing the battery.
Unlock the battery by moving the latch 1 to the left.
Lift up the battery by moving the latch 2 to the right.

Remove the battery.

Remove two screws securing the keyboard.

The keyboard is secured in the notebook base by four small knobs on sides. In order to remove the keyboard from the base you’ll have to push it through these knobs.

Start removing the keyboard from the top side.

Continue removing the keyboard.

Place the keyboard so you can easily access the cable connector underneath.

Unlock the cable connector to release the keyboard cable.

Lift up the black connector clip with your finger nail. It will pop up at a 90 degree angle.

On the picture below you can see connector in the unlocked state.

Now you can pull the cable and remove the keyboard.

Search for the replacement keyboard using the part number from the sticker on the back side. In my case the part number is 496688-001 (USA model).

You can find a new keyboard for HP Mini 1033 notebooks here.

In the previous post I explain how to remove keyboard from HP 2133 Mini-Note PC.

In the following guide I will remove and replace the power board in an Acer TravelMate 3260 series laptop. Most likely my guide will work for some other Acer TravelMate laptops but I don’t know all models. If this guide fits your laptop, please mention the model number in comments after the post.

In Acer TravelMate 3260 laptop power from AC adapter goes to the motherboard through the power board. When the power board goes bad, the laptop stops working at all and appears to be dead. In order to get access and replace the power board we’ll have to disassemble the entire laptop.

STEP 1.

If you need spare parts for your Acer TravelMate 3260, you can find them here.

First of all, turn off the laptop and remove the battery.

Remove two screws securing the switch cover on the back of the laptop.

STEP 2.

Start removing the switch cover and lift it up by the hinge cover.
Continue removing the cover with your hinges.

STEP 3.

Remove the switch cover.

STEP 4.

Remove two screws securing the keyboard.

STEP 5.

Carefully lift up the keyboard from the laptop base and place it upside down on the palm rest so you can access the cable connector underneath.

STEP 6.

You have to unlock the connector before you can pull the cable and remove the keyboard.

On the picture below you see connector in the unlocked position.
Pull the cable and remove the keyboard.

The keyboard has been removed.

STEP 7.

Remove the hard drive and memory/Wi-Fi covers.

STEP 8.

Remove one screw securing the hard drive assembly.

STEP 9.

Pull the hard drive to the left and disconnect it from the motherboard.
Remove the hard drive from the laptop.

STEP 10.

Remove one screw securing the optical CD/DVD drive to the base.
Push the drive from the laptop with your finger.
Remove optical drive from the laptop.

It is not necessary to disconnect memory modules, wireless card, modem card and CMOS (RTC) battery for the purpose of my guide . You can leave them connected to the motherboard.

STEP 11.

Remove all marked screws from the bottom of the laptop.
Disconnect cables I pointed with yellow arrows.
Disconnect two antenna cables from the wireless card (green arrows).

STEP 12.

Remove one screw from the back side of the laptop.

STEP 13.

Disconnect the video cable connector.
Unroute both Wi-Fi antenna cables and pull them through the opening in the motherboard.
Remove four screws securing LCD panel hinges.

STEP 14.

Remove the LCD panel.

STEP 15.

Remove five screws securing the top cover assembly.
Disconnect the touchpad cable.

STEP 16.

Start separating the top cover assembly from the laptop base.

STEP 17.

Remove the top cover assembly.

STEP 18.

Remove two screws securing the motherboard.

STEP 19.

Start removing the motherboard from the top left corner.

Release and lift up the top right corner of the board.

Carefully pull the motherboard from the base assembly.

STEP 20.

On the picture below you see the power board attached to the motherboard.

The DC power jack and power switch are located on the power board. If the DC power jack is broken, you can repair it using this technique.

Remove two screws securing the power board.

Disconnect the power board from the motherboard.

The power board part number is printed right in the middle. It’s DA0ZR1PB6D1 (REV:D). You can find a replacement power board here.

STEP 21.

While the motherboard is removed from the base, you can clean the cooling module.
Loosen six screws securing the heat sink assembly.
Disconnect fan cable from the motherboard.

Remove the heat sink assembly and blow off dust using compressed air.

In this guide I remove the motherboard and repair the DC power jack in a Dell Inspiron B130 laptop. You can use same instructions for Dell Inspiron 1300 and Inspiron B120 laptops. All three models have same type of body.

In my case the power jack started failing intermittently. The laptop started switching from AC to battery power on its own. In order to switch it back to the AC power I had to fiddle with the adapter plug and find the right position. I tested the laptop with another adapter and it failed exactly the same way. I came to a conclusion that the DC power jack is not making good contact with the motherboard and has to be repaired.

In Dell Inspiron 1300/B120/B130 laptop the DC power jack is soldered to the motherboard. If the jack is broken, you’ll have to unsolder it and replace with a new jack.

Let’s start removing the motherboard.

STEP 1.

Check out spare parts for Dell Inspiron 1300/B120/B130.

Before you start taking the laptop apart, do not forget to turn off the power and remove the battery.

Lift up the right side of the keyboard cover with a small screwdriver and continue removing the cover with your fingers.

STEP 2.

After the cover is removed you can access two screws securing the keyboard. Remove both screws.

STEP 3.

Lift up the keyboard and place it upside down on the palm rest.

STEP 4.

Now you can access the cable connector and release the cable.

STEP 5.

Unlock the connector, pull the cable and remove the keyboard.

On the following picture the connector is displayed in the unlocked position.

STEP 6.

Remove two screws securing display hinges on the bottom of the laptop.

STEP 7.

Remove two screws securing display hinges on the back side of the laptop.

STEP 8.

Disconnect the video cable connector from the motherboard.
Disconnect the wireless card antenna cable.

STEP 9.

Remove the display panel assembly.

Here’s an example of removing the LCD screen from a Dell display panel.

STEP 10.

From the bottom of the laptop you can access the hard drive, memory modules, wireless card, optical CD/DVD drive and heat sink.

STEP 11.

Remove the hard drive cover.
Pull the hard drive assembly to the left and remove it from the laptop.

STEP 12.

Remove one screw securing the optical CD/DVD drive to the laptop base.
Pull the drive from the laptop and remove it.

STEP 13.

It’s not necessary to remove both memory modules and wireless card for the purpose of this guide but you have to disconnect the Wi-Fi antenna cable.

STEP 14.

Loosen four silver screws securing the heat sink.

STEP 15.

Pull the heat sink up and disconnect it from the processor.
As you see, in my laptop the heat sink is clogged with dust and needs a good cleaning.

STEP 16.

Remove all marked screws from the bottom of the laptop.

STEP 17.

Remove eight screws securing the top cover.
Disconnect the touch pad cable.
Disconnect the lid close switch cable.
Disconnect the CMOS (RTC) battery.

In this model the lid close switch is discrete module and mounted under the fight hinge.
If the lid close switch failed, you can remove it and replace with a new one or simply unplug the faulty switch from the motherboard and use the laptop without it.

STEP 18.

Separate the top cover assembly from the laptop base and remove the cover.

STEP 19.

Remove five screws securing the motherboard.
Disconnect the speaker cable from the motherboard.

STEP 20.

Start removing the motherboard from the right side as it shown on the picture below.

STEP 21.

Remove motherboard from the laptop base.

The DC power jack is soldered directly to the motherboard.

I assumed that the power jack is not making good contact with the motherboard and I was correct.

As you see, there is a crack in the solder joint around the “+” pin.
The “+” pin got oxidized and not making good contact with the motherboard.

If you resolder the jack without cleaning the “+” pin, your repair will not last.

It is necessary to unsloder the power jack, clean all contacts and solder it back to the motherboard.

You’ll find more detailed instructing in this guide for fixing failed DC power jack in a laptop.

On the following picture you see the same jack soldered back to the motherboard.
You can find a new power jack for Dell Inspiron 1300/B120/B130 here for less than $8.

In this guide I will help you to remove and replace the cooling fan in a Dell Latitude D600 laptop. The cooling fan in this model is buried deep inside the laptop under the top cover. Also you can use this guide for cleaning the cooling module and removing dust from the heat sink and fan.

If your laptops shuts down on its own without any warning, most likely it happens because of overheating. Make sure the cooling fan works and the heat sink is not clogged with dust. Replace the fan if it failed or clean the heat sink if it’s clogged.

Before you start, turn off the laptop, unplug the AC adapter and remove the battery.

When you are replacing the cooling fan, it is not necessary to remove memory, hard drive, wireless card or optical drive. I did that only because I was upgrading the laptop.

STEP 1.

Remove all marked screws from the bottom of the laptop.

STEP 2.

Lift up the switch cover with a small screwdriver. Continue removing the cover with your fingers.

STEP 3.

When the switch cover is removed you can access two screws securing the keyboard. Remove these screws.

STEP 4.

Lift up the keyboard and access the cable. Disconnect the keyboard cable from the motherboard.
Search for new keyboards here.

STEP 5.

Remove three (red) screws securing display hinges.
Remove one (yellow) screw securing the video cable ground.
Disconnect the video cable connector from the motherboard.

STEP 6.

Remove and replace the LCD assembly.
Take a look at this guide for the LCD screen removal instructions.

STEP 7.

Remove three screws securing the top cover.
Disconnect the touchpad cable from the motherboard.

STEP 8.

Start separating the top cover from the base with your fingers.

STEP 9.

Remove the top cover assembly.

STEP 10.

Now you can clean the cooling module (fan and heat sink) using compressed air. In order to replace the fan, continue laptop disassembly.

Loosen four screws securing the heat sink.
Lift up and remove the heat sink.

STEP 11.

Remove two screws securing the cooling fan.
Disconnect fan cable from the motherboard.

STEP 12.

Remove and replace the cooling fan with a new one. You can find a new replacement fan for Dell Latitude D600 laptop here.

This set of instructions will help you to remove and replace the keyboard in a Dell Latitude D620 laptop. After you remove the keyboard, you’ll be able to access the memory module installed into the internal slot. Also, you’ll be able to clean the cooling fan and heatsink.

Let’s start removing the keyboard.

First of all, turn off the laptop, unplug the AC adapter and remove the battery.

STEP 1.

Lift up the right side of the power switch cover with a small flat head screwdriver. Continue removing the switch cover with your fingers.

STEP 2.

Remove the switch cover.

STEP 3.

Under the switch you’ll find three screws securing the keyboard. Remove all three screws.

STEP 4.

Lift up the keyboard as it shown on the picture below. Before you can remove the keyboard, you have to disconnect the cable.

STEP 5.

The keyboard cable connector is plugged into the motherboard and the blue holder secures the cable.

Lift up the blue cable holder first.

Unplug the cable connector from the motherboard.

Now you can remove the keyboard and replace it with a new one.
Need a new keyboard for your Dell Latitude D620 laptop? You’ll find a new keyboard here for less than $15.

When the keyboard is removed you’ll get access to the memory module installed into the hidden slot. You can replace or upgrade laptop memory if you wish.

Also, you’ll get limited access to the cooling fan. It would be enough for cleaning the fan. You can blow off dust from the fan using canned air or air compressor.

In one of the following posts I explain how to remove and replace the LCD screen in a Dell Latitude D620 laptop.

Let’s start with the hidden internal memory slot. In order to access the hidden slot we’ll have to remove the keyboard.

Make sure the laptop is turned off and the battery is removed.

STEP 1.

Insert a small flat head screwdriver between the speaker cover and laptop base. Lift up and remove the speaker cover.

STEP 2.

Remove two screws securing the keyboard. Release the latch located above the key F8 and lift up the keyboard.

STEP 3.

It is not necessary to disconnect the keyboard while accessing the internal memory slot. Simply turn the keyboard upside down and place it on the palm rest.
The internal memory slot is hidden under a metal cover. Remove two screws and remove the cover.

STEP 4.

Remove the original memory module installed into the internal slot. In my laptop I had a 512MB module installed.

STEP 4.

Install a new 1GB memory module into the internal slot.
Install the metal cover, keyboard and speaker cover.

Now we’ll move to the second slot located on the bottom of the laptop.

STEP 5.

Remove one screw securing the cover. Remove the cover.

STEP 6.

In my laptop this memory slot was not occupied.

Install another 1GB module into the bottom slot.

That’s it!

Both memory modules should be detected and configured automatically as soon as you turn on the laptop. You can check memory size in the BIOS setup menu or System Properties.

Toshiba Satellite M100/M105 will take up to 2GB memory total. You can install up to 1GB memory module into each slot. Use DDR2 PC-5300 SODIMM modules. You can install faster memory, for example DDR2 PC-6400 but it will slow down and run at PC-5300 speed.

In this guide I explain how to remove the keyboard and access both memory modules in a Sony Vaio PCG-V505 series laptop. The whole process will not take more than 10-15 minutes and can be done even by an inexperienced user. In one of the previous posts I explained how to remove and upgrade the hard drive in the same Sony Vaio PCG-V505 laptop.

Before you start do not forget to turn off the laptop and remove the battery.

Need spare parts for Sony Vaio PCG-V505 laptop? Search for replacement parts here.

STEP 1.

Remove one screw securing the keyboard. This screw is located between the lock/unlock and release latches.

STEP 2.

Insert a small flat head screwdriver between the keyboard and base. Carefully lift up the keyboard as it shown on the picture below.

STEP 3.

Move the keyboard and place it on the display panel so you can access components underneath.

Under the keyboard you’ll find both memory (RAM) modules and RTC (CMOS) battery.
Sony Vaio PCG-V505 laptop can handle up to 1GB memory total. You can install up to 512MB memory stick into each slot.
You should use PC2100/PC2700 DDR SODIMM memory modules.

If your laptop looses date and time each time you restart it, apparently it’s time to replace the RTC (CMOS) battery. You can easily unplug the RTC battery from the motherboard and replace it with a new one.

STEP 4.

Before you remove the keyboard, you’ll have to unlock the cable connector on the motherboard and release the cable.
On the picture below you can see the cable connector in the locked position.

Unlock the connector and release the keyboard cable.

Now you can remove the keyboard and replace it with a new one if needed.

You can find a new replacement keyboard here.