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In this guide I explain how to disassemble a Compaq Presario F700 notebook. The guide might work for some other Compaq and HP models. I think the disassembly steps will be very similar for Compaq Presario F500 and HP G6000 notebook PC. If this guide works for your notebook, please mention the model name in the comments below.
You’ll find tons of spare parts for Compaq Presario F700, F500 notebooks here.
In this particular guide I’m taking apart a Presario F730US notebook.
Before you start, turn off the laptop, unplug the power adapter and remove the battery.
COMPAQ PRESARIO F700 DISASSEMBLY GUIDE.
STEP 1.
Remove three screws securing the memory cover and two screws securing the hard drive cover. Remove both covers.
STEP 2.
Lift up the right side of the hard drive by the plastic tab to disconnect it from the motherboard. Remove the hard drive.
STEP 3.
Remove both memory modules.
UPDATE (January, 2011):
Compaq Presario F700 specification says this laptop can support only 2GB RAM max (1GB per slot).
I just tested a Compaq Presario F700 (running Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit OS) with two 2GB modules. I used Crucial DDR2 PC-6400 memory modules.
After I installed two 2GB modules the laptop started properly. In system properties I can see 3.19GB total RAM reported.
The BIOS shows all 4GB.
I think that 3.19GB is only limitation of a 32-bit OS. Most likely if you install a 64-bit OS, you can use all 4GB.
Were you able to upgrade your Presario F700 to 4GB? Please leave a comment.
STEP 4.
Disconnect both antenna cables from the wireless card. Remove two screws securing the wireless card in the top left and right corners. Pull the wireless card from the slot and remove it.
STEP 5.
Remove one screw securing the CD/DVD drive and pull the drive from the notebook. Remove the drive.
STEP 6.
Remove all marked screws from the bottom of the notebook.
Yellow screws securing the switch cover (keyboard cover).
Green screws securing the keyboard.
STEP 7.
Start lifting up the switch cover as it shown on the picture below. You’ll have to work with your fingers to disengage small plastic latches holding the switch cover.
Be careful, there is a thin ribbon cable running from the switch cover to the motherboard.
STEP 8.
Now you can lift up the top side of the keyboard and access the connector underneath the keyboard.
The keyboard cable connector is located above the touch pad. Before you pull the cable and remove the keyboard you have to unlock the connector.
Move both sides of the locking tab about 1-2 millimeter up and release the keyboard cable. Now you can pull the cable and remove the keyboard.
STEP 9.
Disconnect the switch cover cable from the motherboard.
Remove the cover.
STEP 10.
Unplug the LCD cable from the motherboard.
Release the wireless card antenna cables. Pull them through a hole in the motherboard.
Remove four screws securing the display panel.
STEP 11.
Lift up and remove the display panel assembly.
In the next guide I will explain how to access and remove the LCD screen with inverter board.
STEP 12.
Remove four screws securing the top cover assembly.
Disconnect the power button board cable.
Disconnect the touch pad cable.
STEP 13.
Remove all screws securing the top cover assembly from the bottom of the notebook. Do not forget three (green) screws in the CD/DVD drive bay.
Remove two hex studs located close to the memory slots.
By the way, the RTC (CMOS) battery can be accessed when you remove the memory cover.
STEP 14.
Start separating the top cover assembly from the bottom assembly. You’ll have to work with your fingers to disengage plastic latches securing the top cover.
Carefully lift up and remove the top cover assembly.
STEP 15.
Now I’m going to remove the motherboard.
Remove one screw securing the motherboard. In other Compaq/HP models there could be more then one screw securing the motherboard.
STEP 16.
Lift up the right side of the motherboard as it shown on the picture below.
Before you remove the motherboard from the base assembly you have to disconnect the audio board cable.
STEP 17.
Remove the motherboard and turn it upside down. There are two more cables to disconnect.
These cables connect the motherboard to the USB/Power connector board.
Finally, the motherboard is removed. As you see on the picture below, the audio board and USB/power connector board are secured to the base assembly.
The motherboard has been removed. Now you can access and replace the cooling fan if you have to.
You can access and replace the processor if you remove the heat sink.
January 23rd, 2012 at 12:17 pm
@ Abubakar Sattar,
It’s likely that both issues (wireless failure and video failure) are related to the graphics card failure. It’s a known issue with some HP/Compaq laptops.
You cannot replace the VGA card because the video chip is integrated into the motherboard. If the video chip fails, the entire motherboard has to be replaced.
You can try this trick: http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2011/02/23/fix-laptop-motherboard-with-failed-nvidia-graphics-chip/
But do it only if you have nothing to lose. Proceed at your own risk.
January 20th, 2012 at 11:35 pm
hi, i ve read your article thats are very helpful.. i have a problem with my Presario F500. 1st issue is Wifi card light is always orange and no drivers shown in device Manager but some times may be in a month or later it goes to blue but for a little time…. what can i do for this problem…. 2nd problem is that often when i play any video after some time it goes Hang…. this is major Issue… plz help me for this and tell me can i replace my vga card or not.. thanx
January 15th, 2012 at 10:54 am
can not find drivers for brcm1020 wifi card for presario f700 dose not recognize card in device manager.
January 11th, 2012 at 8:09 pm
@ Karynb,
You follow disassembly steps 1-15 to remove the top cover assembly. You can skip step 2 – hard drive removal and step 3 – memory removal. You can leave the connected to the motherboard.
After the top cover removed, you’ll be able to access the DC jack board. You can see the board in the upper right corner in the step 15.
The DC jack soldered to this board. Instead of replacing just the DC jack (which requires soldering) I suggest replacing the entire DC jack board. You simply unplug it from the motherboard and replace with a new one.
You can buy a new DC jack board for Compaq Presario F700 laptop here, it’s about $15.
January 11th, 2012 at 4:23 pm
Hi there!
We could really use your help! The power adapter cord died on our Compaq Presario F700, we had a cheap replacement cord but that one broke. We think it may have left a piece inside the power adapter jack. How do we get to the jack to replace it? We have started following the directions on disassebly but are not sure if we have to go through all the steps to get to the power adapter jack. Thanks!
January 8th, 2012 at 11:14 am
@ Travis,
You’ll have to find the power cord to test the laptop. There is no other way.
Go to a small local repair shop. Most likely they will help without charging you.
January 8th, 2012 at 12:07 am
I accidentally melted my wife’s laptop took the covers off and seems only the plastic covering is melted. Any1 know if it will still work we don’t have a power cord to see dog ate it lol this laptop gone thru hell if it works be an awesome feat and a testiment to compaq laptops. we gonna see if a computer repair shop will let us see if it works without charging us to use their cable for 2 secs. any1 else do this know if it will work?
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:13 pm
thank you for info. you give me that i search all day
November 28th, 2011 at 8:13 am
Thanks for very informative website. The guide for Compaq Presario F700 worked for my HP G6000, which had a horizontal flickering screen. I bought a 2nd hand screen, casing, VGA Cable and Invertor. Replaced screen, still same problem. Replaced invertor and used both screens with same problem. Then I swapped VGA cables over and my HP screen worked. Through process of elimination I have resolved the problem using your tutorial. Once agin, thank you.
October 20th, 2011 at 8:36 pm
Hi, Laptop Tech!
Maybe 2 years ago I had the 1 sec “blue light of death” at power up. I used the F730US guide, baked the GPU with a heat light and it’s worked until now (blessed by my donation?). However, the 1 sec blue light is back. What was the answer to post #324? I thought of a new motherboard but don’t want his experience. Are there other areas on the board that desolder? I read about stripping the board and baking it in the oven, but not sure of temp and time. Thank you for your thoughts on this.