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 this guide I explain how to remove and replace the broken LCD screen in a Gateway M7 series laptop. I’m fixing a Gateway M-6846 laptop. It also says Model No.: SA1 on the bottom. Most likely my guide will works for some other Gateway laptops. If it works for you, please mention the laptop model number in the comments below.

Need spare parts for a Gateway M-series laptop? Search for spare parts here.

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

STEP 1.

There are three hinge covers on the bottom of the display panel. We’ll have to remove these covers first.

Insert a sharp object under the hinge cover and lift it up. Continue removing the cover with your fingers.

The hinge cover has been removed.

Remove two other hinge covers.

STEP 2.

There are six screw covers on the screen bezel.

Remove screw covers with a sharp object.

Remove all six screws found under the covers.

STEP 3.

Start separating the screen bezel from the display cover.

Continue removing the screen bezel.

The screen bezel has been removed.

STEP 4.

The screen inverter board mounted below the LCD screen.

Remove one screw securing the inverter board.

Unplug the LCD screen backlight cable from the right side of the inverter board.

I’m not replacing the inverter board, so I’m not disconnecting the cable on the left side.

STEP 5.

Remove six screws securing the LCD screen hinges and mounting bracket.

Before you can separate the LCD screen assembly from the display cover, you’ll have to unplug cable from the webcam board.

Now you can separate the screen assembly from the display cover and access the video cable connection on the back of the screen.

Unplug video cable from the LCD screen connector.

STEP 6.

Remove two screws securing LCD screen to the mounting  bracket.

Remove two more screws on the other side of the screen.

Now you can remove the broken LCD screen and replace it with a new screen.

I found a new LCD screen for my Gateway M-6846 laptop here. If you have a different Gateway laptop, just search by the model number.

In the next guide I explain how to remove and replaced defective keyboard in Gateway M-Series laptop.

This video explains ho to take apart an Acer Aspire 5580 series laptop. A very nicely done tutorial. I found it on YouTube and couldn’t miss the opportunity to share this guide with you.

The video walks through the disassembly process of the entire laptop.

According to the comments posted after the video:

Acer aspire 5580/5570/3680 have the same configuration and same structure.

If this guide works for your Acer laptop, please mention the model number in the comments below.

The LCD screen doesn’t work because the video cable got disconnected from the motherboard.

I have seen a problem like that on a few different Satellite L305D laptops. Not sure why it’s happening but check this out.

In order to access the video cable connector you’ll have to remove the keyboard first.

Using a sharp object lift up and remove the keyboard bezel.

Under the bezel you’ll find two screws securing the motherboard. Remove both screws.

Lift up the keyboard and place it upside down on the palm rest. Be careful, the keyboard is attached to the motherboard.

You’ll find the video cable connector under the keyboard.

If you look very closely, you’ll see that the video cable is half way out of the connector on the motherboard.

Plug the video cable back into the connector and test the laptop now. Does it help?

My previous post explains how to fix power port in Toshiba Satellite L305/L305D laptops.

Today I explain how to remove and replace the broken display hinge in an Acer Extensa 4620z laptop. If this guide works for your Acer laptop and it’s not Extensa 4620z, please mention the model number in comments below.

In this particular laptop I’m replacing the right hinge.

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

Need spare parts for Acer Extensa laptop? Find spare parts here.

STEP 1.

Insert a small flat head screwdriver under the hinge cover and lift it up. The hinge cover is a part of the keyboard cover.

STEP 2.

Remove the keyboard cover.

When the keyboard/hinge cover is removed you can see that the right display hinge is broken. The bottom part of the broken hinge is still connected to the base assembly and the top part is mounted to the display.

STEP 3.

Remove screws securing display hinges to the bottom of the laptop. If you are replacing only one hinge, remove only one screw.

STEP 4.

There are six screws securing the screen bezel. All six screws are hidden under rubber covers.

You can remove screw covers with a sharp object. Glue screw covers somewhere on the screen bezel so you don’t lose them.

STEP 5.

Start separating the screen bezel from cover with your fingers.

STEP 6.

Continue separating the screen bezel and finally remove it from the laptop.

STEP 7.

While removing the screen bezel, I dislocated the display latch assembly. If you did so, put it back in place.

STEP 8.

Remove three screws securing the broken display hinge.

STEP 9.

Remove the bottom part of the broken hinge.

STEP 10.

Remove the top part of the broken hinge.

STEP 11.

Install a new hinge into the display and secure it with screws.

The broken display hinge has been replaced. You can use same steps to remove and replace the left hinge if needed.

Assemble the laptop back together.

Also, you can use this guide for removing and repolacing laptop screen and inverter board.

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 the following guide I explain how to remove and replace damaged LCD screen in HP G50/G60/G70 notebooks. I’m installing a new LCD screen into a HP G50 notebook but all disassembly steps should be almost the same or at least very similar for HP G60 and G70.

By the way, HP G50/G60/G70 notebooks also known as Compaq Presario CQ50, Presario CQ60 and Presario CQ70.

In most notebooks you can replace the LCD screen without separating the display panel from the base but not in HP G50/G60/G70. In order to replace LCD screen in these models we’ll have to remove the keyboard, keyboard cover and display panel. Let’s start replacing the screen.

Need spare parts for your HP laptop? Search by the part name or number here. You can find the HP spare part number in the service manual. I linked to service manuals at the end of this guide.

STEP 1.

Turn off the laptop and remove the battery.
Remove one screw securing the Wi-Fi cover and remove the cover.
It is not necessary to remove the memory and hard drive covers. I marked them just for your convenience.

STEP 2.

Remove three (yellow) screws securing the keyboard.
Remove four (red) screws securing the keyboard cover.

If you are using this guide for replacing the keyboard, you have to remove only three (yellow) screws.

In G50 and G60 the keyboard screws are located in the battery compartment.
In G70 notebooks there are only two screws securing the keyboard and they are located on the bottom (there is a small keyboard stamped close to each screw).

STEP 3.

Carefully lift up the keyboard from the base.

STEP 4.

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

You have to unlock the connector and release the cable before removing the keyboard.
Move the white clip about 2-3 millimeters towards the display panel and release the cable. Now you can remove the keyboard.

WARNING! The white clip must stay attached to the connector base. If you accidentally break the connector, you’ll have to replace the motherboard. If you work slowly, everything should be fine.

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

STEP 5.

Disconnect the switch board cable from the motherboard.

STEP 6.

Remove the keyboard cover.

STEP 7.

Turn the laptop upside down and disconnect two antenna cables from the wireless card.
Each antenna cable has a golden head. Grab the head with your fingers and lift it up.

STEP 8.

Disconnect the video cable connector from the motherboard.
Disconnect the webcam cable from the motherboard.
Pull two Wi-Fi antenna cables through the opening.

STEP 9.

Remove four screws securing the display panel hinges.

STEP 10.

Lift up and separate the display panel from the laptop base.

In the following steps we will disassemble the display panel and remove the LCD screen.

STEP 11.

There are two screw seals located in the lower left and right corners.

Remove these seals with a sharp object and remove screws found under the seals.

STEP 12.

Start separating the screen bezel from the display cover.

Continue separating the bezel.

The screen bezel has been removed.

STEP 13.

The screen inverter board is mounted below the screen. The inverter is locked between plastic brackets.

You can remove and replace the inverter board without removing the LCD screen. Simply pull the inverter board from the cover and disconnect connectors on both ends.

STEP 14.

Remove two screws securing the right display hinge.

Remove the right hinge.

STEP 15.

Remove two screws securing the left display hinge.

Remove the left hinge.

STEP 16.

Remove the inverter board from the cover and disconnect one connector from the right side. By the way, this is the backlight lamp connector.

STEP 17.

Remove two screws securing the LCD screen on the top.

STEP 18.

Now you can separate the LCD screen from the display cover and access the video cable.

My HP G50 notebook didn’t have the webcam installed and the webcam cable was taped to the display cover.
If you have a HP G60/G70 notebook, most likely it came with the webcam. You’ll have to disconnect the cable from the webcam before disconnecting the video cable.

STEP 19.

Remove sticky tape securing the video cable connector and unplug cable from the LCD screen.

STEP 20.

Now you can remove the LCD screen from the cover.

If you are replacing the screen, you’ll have to transfer the left and right mounting brackets to the new screen.
Remove three screws securing the bracket and remove the bracket. Do the same with the other side.

The LCD screen model number is located on the sticker. In my laptop I had a screen with the following model number: B154EW08 v.1

The best way to find a new LCD screen for your laptop is either searching by the  LCD model number (shown in the picture above) or using the HP part number.

The HP part numbers for LCD screen and other parts can be found in service manuals and here they are.

Service manual for HP G50 or Compaq Presario CQ50 (page 57).
Service manual for HP G60 or Compaq Presario CQ60 (page 4-23).
Service manual for HP G70 or Compaq Presario CQ70 (page 4-20).

After you find the spare part number for LCD screen or any other part, you can search for a new replacement part here. You’ll find many cheap LCD screen replacements.