How to disassemble Sony Vaio PCG-K series notebooks. Step-by-step instructions.
The following disassembly guide will explain how to take apart a Sony Vaio PCG-K series notebooks. I created this guide while taking apart a Sony Vaio PCG-K25 notebook but I think you can use the same disassembly steps for all notebooks in PCG-K line.
The main reason to open up the laptop was replacing broken power jack. Proceed disassembly on your own risk.
Before you start laptop disassembly, unplug the AC adapter and remove the battery.
Are you looking for spare parts for your Sony Vaio PCG-K series notebook? Search here.
STEP 1
Carefully remove the keyboard bezel using a small flathead screwdriver. Remove it slowly, there is a flat ribbon cable connecting the power button board with the motherboard.
STEP 2
Trun the keyboard bezel upside down. The red arrow pointing to the connecto on the motherboard.
STEP 3
Unlock the connector by lifting up the top side of the connector 1-2 millimeters. Be very very careful. If you break any connector on the motherboard you are screwed big time. After the connector is unlocked, you can pull the cable and remove the keyboard bezel.
STEP 4
Remove three screws from the keyboard.
STEP 5
Lift up the keyboard and place it upside down on the palm rest. Unlock the keyboard cable connector on the motherboard. Disconnect the keyboard cable and remove the keyboard.
STEP 6
Remove all screws securing the metal cover.
STEP 7
Remove the cover.
STEP 8
After the cover has been removed, you can access and clean both cooling fans. You can clean fans with compressed air.
STEP 9
Remove two screws securing display hinges to the back side of the base.
STEP 10
Remove four screws securing display hinges. Unplug the video cable from the motherboard. Unplug both wireless card antenna cables from the wireless card.
STEP 11
Lift up and remove notebook display panel.
STEP 12
Remove hard drive cover, memory cover and modem cover from the bottom of the notebook. Each cover is secured by one screw.
STEP 13
Here’s how you can remove the hard drive. Remove four screws securing the hard drive caddy to the base assembly. Slide the hard drive down to disconnect it from the motherboard. Lift up and remove the hard drive.
STEP 14
Removing memory modules (if needed). Carefully spread latches on both sides of the memory slot. The memory module will pop up at 30 degree angle. Pull the memory module from the slot by the edges.
Removing modem card (if needed). Remove two screws securing the modem card. Lift up the modem card to disconnect it from the motherboard and unplug cable from the side.
Remove all screws from the bottom of the notebook
STEP 15
Remove two screws securing the top cover assembly. Disconnect the touch pad cable connector on the motherboard and unplug the cable.
STEP 16
Lift up and remove the top cover assembly.
STEP 17
Push the CD/DVD drive to the right side with your thumb. Remove the CD/DVD drive.
STEP 18
Remove three screws securing the plastic cover.
STEP 19
Remove the cover.
STEP 20
The power jack is hidden under the metal bracket. Remove one screw securing the bracket.
STEP 21
Lift up the bracket. Now you can access the power jack.
Release the power jack. Now you can remove the old power jack (unsolder from the harness) and replace it with a new power jack.
Topics: Keyboard, Disassembly help, Memory, Hard drive, 7. Sony Laptops |
August 25th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Very good step by step guide. I used it for clening the inside of my PCG-K315S. It worked well.
Just a problem, after putting it back together the laptop get powered up for only 1 second and then shuts down.
I tried several times, but the same happen every time.
Can you advise?
Many thanks.
August 25th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Loris,
Did you remove the heat sink for cleaning? If you did, it’s possible you pulled the CPU from the socket. You’ll have to remove the heat sink again, open the CPU socket, reseat the CPU, lock the CPU and assemble everything back together.
If you remove the keyboard bezel and disconnected it from the motherboard, as it shown on the pictures 3 and 4, make sure the cable is properly connected to the motherboard.
Did you remove memory modules? Try reseating them.
If your laptop was working before you took it apart and is not working after you assembled it back together, most likely it’s some kind of connection related problem.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:32 am
After reassembly, some keys didn’t work:
Enter
[
]
p
;
‘
/
backspace
numlock
pgup
pgdown
end
August 29th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Dan,
Make sure the keyboard cable is properly connected to the motherboard. Reconnect the cable.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
This was fantastic!
I had the same problem as Loris; I was cleaning the insides and when I tried to turn it on I was terrified that it wasn’t booting, but it was just the cpu that needed to be re-encased. Thanks so much for this page, and the advice!
-hero
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:08 pm
hi laptop tech..my wireless signal on my K115S laptop is very poor even though im in the same room with my router..its still low..what should I do?..is the wireless card the problem?..
please help..
thank u..
-justin
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Justin,
First of all, test your laptop with another wireless router, maybe you can find one in a library or somewhere else. If your laptop works fine with another router, it’s likely that your problem is related to your router. Try downloading and installing the latest router firmware, it might help.
If you have the same problem with many different routers, there could be a problem with your wireless card or wireless software. Try reinstalling Wi-Fi card driver.
September 17th, 2008 at 6:55 am
It is realy help full, as i was tring to open from the back, but according to this guide, now it is clear that we have to open it from front.
Thanks again.
September 27th, 2008 at 4:22 am
I try to replace the LCD plastic case and front bezel using the guide above. Everything was done and also reassembled. I had removed the unit holding the wificable. But I am sure I recoonected it as it was before.
Now the laptop is not booting up. Can you suggest any help in getting this resolved.
Thanks for all your valuables suggestions in advance.
October 6th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Hi, great guide I used it to replace my dc power jack on my pcg-k33. Anyways I put it back together and it wouldnt start. All that needed to be done is the cpu and heatsink to be reseated but now my screen doesnt even turn on anymore. And since I have a password on my user account I dont even know if it really starts up or not. The fans turn on and the seat hink gets hot to the touch. I just really need help. I made sure the video cable is connected tightly, I took it apart at least 5 times to try and fix it now. I checked the little button the lid presses when closed to shut the screen off, its not that. I am just really in need of any help. Thanks.
October 6th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Deepak “I try to replace the LCD plastic case and front bezel using the guide above. Everything was done and also reassembled. I had removed the unit holding the wificable. But I am sure I recoonected it as it was before.
Now the laptop is not booting up. Can you suggest any help in getting this resolved.
Thanks for all your valuables suggestions in advance.”
when you press the power on button does the battery and power light blink? If so, or even if not its more than likely that you just didnt seat your cpu in tightly enough, try pressing down really hard on the cpu and starting the computer. If it starts let go of the cpu and take it all apart and try fitting it in tightly so it starts Up again.
October 11th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Thanks for the detailed directions for breakdown. I used it to replace the broken insulator (and wiring harness) on my Sony PCG-K45. I couldn’t have done it without your help, you are a lifesaver! No leftover parts except for a large “Elongated - C” shaped rigid metal wire which fell out of the keypad upon removal. it was the approximate shape and size of the “space bar” so I just tucked in up under there on re-assembly and away I went! Works fine though! Thanks again!
October 12th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Awesome!!! Just Awesome!! I bought my Vaio at a garage sale for $25 and having said this I have no room to fuss, BUT…. it has a replacement battery in it which it will run on for about 15 - 20 minutes, but the ac/charger is original and is for a 19.5 system. Now this gives me cause for concern, the charger plug has been jury-rigged and has a “replacement” tip on it, today my hubby was using it, and the jack pushed into the housing of the laptop. (hence my coming across your awesome pages) so I took it apart and found that the jack was easily put back into place, BUT….. it was also mis-shappen. upon inspection of the charge tip, I can see that it has melted the plastic around the tip and it is now larger than the hole in the jack (technicly a jill??) anyway this was the reason the jack had been pushed into the case of the laptop. NOW my question is should I replace the charger with a 14.5V, the battery, (can’t seem to locate a 19.5V sony offers places where a 14.5v is easily available) and should I also replace the Jack? Weehuu, that was a mouth full. Hope you don’t mind my asking, and Thanks a bunch in advance for your time!!!!
October 13th, 2008 at 11:58 am
PennyF,
Nope, you should find a 19.5V adapter.
October 14th, 2008 at 6:16 am
So to help me clairify this in my little mind, the Sony A/C adapter (19.5) that came with the Vaio is the correct one. And this should charge a 14.5V battery in the computer without a problem…. I have ordered a new jack, due to the melt down, is it possible to replace the tip on the a/c adapter or should I replace it due to the melt down??
Sorry, I don’t mean to sound so dumb and needy , but I am new at all this A/C to D/C stuff, I have more experience with PC’s than Laptops.
October 15th, 2008 at 4:44 am
I re-read this “I have ordered a new jack, due to the melt down, is it possible to replace the tip on the a/c adapter or should I replace it(THE WHOLE ADAPTER) due to the melt down??”
Is it possible the adapter caused the over heat?
October 15th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Penny F,
Technically, you are “not supposed” to replace the tip because it’s permanently attached to the power cord. But in real life, you just cut off the melted tip and solder a new tip if you can find one.
Check out here: http://www.computekinc.us/TheEndConnectors.htm
They have a few power tips available and one of them is for Sony laptops. Maybe it’s similar to yours.
October 15th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Again, I cannot thank you enough!!
but here goes THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 15th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
This is my question.
In this guide. At what point can I replace the two fans?
Can I do it in step 8?
Thanks.
October 15th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Jorge,
Yes, you can. Both cooling fans are attached to the heatsink, so you’ll have to replace the whole heatsink assembly.
1. Unplug both fan cables from the motherboard.
2. Loosen three screws on the heatsink. They are marked 1, 2 and 3.
3. Carefully lift up and remove the heatsink assembly.
4. Clean old thermal grease from the CPU and apply new grease.
5. Install new heatsink assembly.
October 15th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
STEP 3
Unlock the connector by lifting up the top side of the connector 1-2 millimeters. Be very very careful. If you break any connector on the motherboard you are screwed big time. After the connector is unlocked, you can pull the cable and remove the keyboard be
For this one, what happen if I accidentally force the cable to be disconnect it and break the cable, would i be able to replace the cable and fix it?
October 15th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
http://www.impactcomputers.com/1-830-249-11.html
I found the cable on this website which seem to be exactly the same one, but i’m not sure if is the same. So, my question is, is this cable the right one for the power button cable? Please reply as soon as possible.
October 15th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
What is this thermal grease, where could I get it. Radio Shack?
Thank you.
October 15th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Jorge,
It’s a special compound witch should be applied on the top of the CPU before you install the heatsink.
You can buy it in Radio Shack. Search for Arctic Silver® Silver 5 Thermal Compound. This compound suppose to be a good one.
October 15th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Ken,
I’m not sure how you can break a flat cable. You can break a connector but not the cable. Maybe I’m missing something?
You see what I see. I cannot tell if that’s the cable you are looking for. You’ll have to contact the seller for more info.
October 17th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
When i take apart the laptop, the power button cable was unattached to the connector with force by accident. So then i plug the cable back again and it only lights up once and then it will not allow me to press the power button to turn on the computer. So, did i screw up the connector? If i did, but I don’t see the connector has any damage, i mean the connector still stay on the motherboard and is fine. So, that’s why i was talking about could it be possible that some part of the cable was damaged because of the unattached the cable with force.
November 9th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
I used this great guide for the purpose of cleaning out the cooling fans (I cleaned out an astoninshing amount of dust and fur). My computer worked fine before I did this, but when I put it back together, I had the same problem as described above where when the power button is pushed, the power light blinks for one sec and then nothing. I followed the reccomendation for solving this problem and reseated all the connections. I found that the only one that was not properly seated was the memory stick cable. I also refit the fan (is the cpu on the underside of the fan?–mine is a pcg frv27). I did not apply new thermal grease. Now my computer will begin to start up, but only the power light stays on. It sounds like the hard drive is engaged just for a second and then stops–the computer remains on, but does not boot. I am almost there! Help!
November 9th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Ash,
Did you separate the heat sink from the CPU during the laptop disassembly? If you did, it’s possible that you accidentally pulled the CPU from the socket. Remove the heat sink again, unlock the CPU socket, reseat the CPU and lock the socket. It’s possible that your CPU is not making good contact with the socket.
Check if the memory module is seated correctly. Reseat the memory module.
November 9th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I may be misunderstanding something, but on my laptop, the cpu socket is attached to the motherboard. The cpu is soldered onto the underside of the cooling fan. I can see how to unlock the socket, but not how to reseat the cpu (as it is attached to the fan which completely covers the cpu socket) and then lock it again. Yet it must have been done properly when the computer was built. Is it possible to reseat the cpu while it is attached to the fan and the socket is locked–I can see no other way to do it unless I am missing something obvious. Is it possible to remove the cpu from the heatsink on the fan–it looks like it is soldered. It feels pretty solidly attached. Thanks so much for your help so far.
p.s. I just tried unlocking socket, reseating cpu/heatsink/fan structure without locking it, because I couldn’t reach it. It seemed to make a solid connection, but after reassembling, I’m back to the original problem. Again the lights blink once when the power button is pressed, then nothing.
November 11th, 2008 at 5:07 am
Very Clear Instructions here! I have the PCG-K23 model and my wireless switch use to light up when turned on. Now when I push the switch to the right (ON) the green light will not light up and I receive no wireless signal anymore. I don’t use the laptop much so it stays in the case stored in my closet. The switch is not physically damaged and still makes the “Click” sound when moved left to right. I used Sony’s ESupport yesterday but they were very limited in the help. They said it could be a driver issue.
I am thinking about taking it to Best Buy to have someone that has more knowledge than I take a look at it.
Any suggestions about the switch not lighting up anymore and not receiving wireless signal?
The wireless router is working fine because the family can still log on through it just fine.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Have a PCG-K25 with an intermittent CD/DVD drive.
I can see that the flat mylar ribbon cable has some slices through it and when moving it around the drive starts working… let go and it fails.
I know the flexi mylar ribbon cable is not repairable but it must be replaceable… where can a guy find one though.
The Sony shops all want me to drop it of and repair it for me… I’m an electronics repair tech and this seems like a simple parts swap repair with a new flexi cable from the chassis to the CD/DVD drive. Any help?
November 20th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Very good step by step guide ! I have a PCG-K315S.
I got some troubles with the screen.
When I power it up the sony logo come up but soon as windows xp loads the sreen gose black. Actually the windows/images are there but the backlight is off. It’s possible to see windows/images with strong light.
BIOS display is fine.
It works fine on external screen.
I’m prety sure that is not a driver issue. I get some very close behavior with XP instal CD: First, probably in VGA mode screen is ok and quickly the screen go black.
Have you any idea ?
November 20th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Shawn,
First of all, I would try reconnecting the wireless card. Maybe it’s not making good contact with the slot. Clean contacts on the wireless card with pen eraser. If still no light, apparently you have a bad wireless card.
I don’t think it’s a driver related issue. I believe the wireless card LED lights up even before Windows loads. Not sure 100% though, maybe Sony laptops are different. I just tested it on a Toshiba laptop and the wireless LED lights up when I turn on the switch even when the hard drive is removed.
November 20th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
gachet,
I’m thinking there could be a problem with the screen inverter or backlight lamp. Will it work if you decrease/increase the LCD screen brightness with Fn+F5/F6 keys? Can you reduce the screen brightness in the BIOS setup menu, is there any settings for that?
Enter the BIOS setup menu and try reducing the brightness then start loading Windows. Will it work with reduced brightness?