In this guide I explain how to disassemble Sony Vaio TZ series laptops in order to remove and replace the hard drive. As an example I took a Sony Vaio TZ130N laptop (Model: PCG-4L3L). In this little laptop the hard drive is buried deep inside the case and we’ll have to disassemble the whole thing apart.

I assume that my guide will work for the entire Sony Vaio TZ line of laptops. If it works for you, please mention the model number in the comments below.

Do not forget to turn off the laptop and remove the battery. Work in static-free environment.

STEP 1.

Remove the memory cover from the bottom.

Pull the memory module from the slot.

You don’t have to remove the memory module in order to access and replace the hard drive. I’m doing that just to show where you can find the memory module.

STEP 2.

Remove all marked screws from the bottom of the laptop.

There are three more screws hidden under three rubber seals.

You can remove these rubber seals with a sharp object. Remove all three screws found under the seals.

Remove one more screw found under the square rubber seal located close to the hinge.

STEP 3.

Very carefully remove the plastic cover from the left hinge. It’s not easy. I spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out how to remove the cover. It has a couple of plastic latches inside and you can remove it using a small flat head screwdriver.

The cover has been removed.

Fortunately, you have to remove only one cover from the left hinge. This cover protects the power jack.

STEP 4.

If you have any SD card or cover inside the slot on the front of the laptop, remove both of them.

Start separating the top cover (keyboard) assembly as it shown on the picture below.

Work with your fingers until the top cover separated from the base.

Place the top cover (keyboard) assembly upside down on the palm rest and disconnect the cable from the motherboard.

Remove the top cover (keyboard) assembly.

STEP 5.

You cannot access the hard drive until you remove the SD slot/USB board.

Remove two screws securing the board and unplug the cable from the motherboard.

Lift up and remove the SD slot/USB board.

STEP 6.

The hard drive is mounted under the metal bracket. Remove one screw securing the hard drive bracket.

Remove the hard drive bracket.

Lift up the hard drive and disconnect the hard drive cable.

In order to release the cable you’ll have to unlock the connector first. Very carefully lift up the black piece on the connector. Pull the cable from the connector.

The hard drive has been removed. If you are replacing the hard drive, you’ll have to transfer four rubber corners to a new drive.

My Sony Vaio TZ130N laptop had a Toshiba 1.8″ 100GB hard drive (MK1011GAH) installed. It’s same type of hard drives found in iPods. These 1.8″ hard drives are not cheap but you can find them relatively inexpensive here.

In the following guide I will take apart a Dell Vostro 1510 notebook. You can use this guide for removing almost all internal parts from the notebook base. I think these instructions might work for some other Dell Vostro notebooks, not just a Vostro 1510. If it fits your laptop, please mention the model in the comments below.

If you need spare parts for your Vostro 1510 laptop, you can search for used and new parts here.

Before you start the disassembly process do not forget to unplug the  power adapter and battery.

STEP 1.

Remove hard drive and memory covers.

STEP 2.

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

Remove the hard drive. As you see it’s a SATA hard drive. If you are replacing the hard drive, any large 2.5″ SATA hard drive should work just fine.

STEP 3.

Remove both memory modules. In a Dell Vostro 1510 you can install up to 4GB RAM (2GB module into each slot). You should use DDR2-667 modules.

STEP 4.

Remove three screws securing the cooling fan. Unplug the cooling fan cable from the motherboard.

Remove and lift up the cooling fan.

STEP 5.

Loosen four screws securing the heat sink.

Carefully lift up and remove the heat sink.

STEP 6.

Disconnect two antenna cables from the wireless card. Grab the golden connector on the end of the antenna cables with your fingers and pull it up.
Remove one screw securing the wireless card and remove the card.

STEP 7.
Lift up the keyboard cover with a small screwdriver or another sharp object.

Remove the keyboard cover.

STEP 8.

Remove two screws securing the keyboard.

Lift up the keyboard so you can access the keyboard cable connector underneath.

Very carefully unlock the connector and release the keyboard cable.

Now you can remove the keyboard.

If you are replacing the keyboard, you don’t have to through steps 1-6. Simply remove and replace the keyboard as it shown in steps 7 and 8.

STEP 9.

In the following three steps I’ll remove the display panel assembly.

Remove one screw securing the right hinge.

STEP 10.

Disconnect the video cable from the motherboard.
Pull both wireless antenna cables through the opening.
Remove five screws securing both display hinges.

STEP 11.

Remove the display assembly.
If you would like to know how to take apart the display panel and remove the LCD with inverter, check out other disassembly guides in the Dell category. The LCD screen removal instructions will be similar for most Dell (and other ) laptops.

STEP 12.

Disconnect three cables and remove three screws from the top cover assembly.

STEP 13.

Remove all screws from the bottom of the notebook.

STEP 14.

Start separating the top cover assembly from the base assembly. You can use a small flathead screwdriver.

Continue separating the top cover assembly with your fingers.

Remove the top cover.

STEP 15.

The CD/DVD drive is mounted inside the base and can be removed only after you remove the top cover.
Disconnect the CD/DVD drive cable from the connector on the motherboard.

Lift up and remove the CD/DVD drive.

STEP 16.

Remove three screws securing the motherboard.
Unplug the USB board cable from the motherboard.

Lift up the motherboard as it shown on the picture below.

Remove the motherboard.

The processor (CPU) is locked in the socket. In order to remove the processor, you’ll have to unlock the socket first. There is a small screw on the side of the socket. This screw locks/unlocks the socket.

In this notebook the CMOS (RTC) battery is replaciable. You can unlug the old CMOS battery from the motherboard and replace it with a new one.

In this guide I’ll be removing the LCD screen and inverter board from a Dell Inspiron 9400 laptop. You can use same set of instructions for a Dell Inspiron E1705 and probably some other Dell laptops. If my guide works for you, please mention the laptop model in the comments below.

Need a new LCD screen for your Dell Inspiron 9400 laptop? Find it here for less than $100.

Like in most other laptops, in this model the LCD screen is mounted between the display cover and front bezel. You’ll find eight screw seals on the front bezel. Six rubber seals (red circles) and two plastic seals (green circles).

Remove rubber seals using a sharp object. Glue these seals somewhere on the front bezel so they don’t get lost.

Remove two plastic seals using the same tool. Also, glue them somewhere on the front bezel.

Remove all eight screws found under the seals.

When all screws are removed you can start separating the front bezel from the display cover.  Use your fingers and a piece of soft plastic. In this guide I’m using a guitar pick.

Continue separating the front bezel.

The front bezel has been removed.

There are screws securing the LCD screen to the hinge bracket. You’ll find four screws on each side.

Remove four screw on one side of the display panel.

And after that remove four screws on the other side of the panel.

Now you can separate the LCD screen assembly from the cover.

Be careful, there is a video cable connecting the LCD screen and inverter board to the motherboard.
Place the LCD screen on the palm rest so you can access the video cable and unplug it from the LCD screen and inverter.

Press on latches on both sides of the video cable connector and pull it from the LCD screen.

Unplug the other end of the video cable from the inverter board.

Now you can remove the LCD screen and inverter board. As you see, the inverter board is attached to the LCD screen frame. It’s very common setup for Dell laptops.

The inverter board is mounted inside the metal casing which is a part of the LCD screen frame.
Remove one screw securing the inverter board and turn the LCD screen upside down.

Unplug the backlight cable from the inverter board.

Carefully remove the inverter board from the metal casing and replace it with a new one if needed. You can buy a new inverter board here for about $15-20.
When you buy a new LCD screen for your Dell laptop, it might come with the inverter board already attached to it. It’s very common. If that’s the case, you don’t have to remove the old inverter.

Would you like to install a new keyboard in your Dell Inspiron 9400 or E1705 laptop? It’s relatively easy even for inexperienced users. In my guide I’ll be replacing a damaged keyboard with a new one I got here for less than $20. I mentioned Inspiron E1705 laptop because it has the same body and the keyboard replacement instructions should be identical for both models.

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

STEP 1.

Open up the display as far as it goes.
Insert a small flat head screwdriver between the keyboard cover and laptop base and carefully lift up the cover.

Continue removing the cover with your fingers.

STEP 2.

Remove two screws securing the keyboard.

STEP 3.

Carefully lift up the keyboard from the base and move it up so you can access the keyboard cable.

STEP 4.

The keyboard is connected to the motherboard via a flat ribbon cable. Before you can release the cable and remove the keyboard, the connector must be unlocked.

Be very careful. The keyboard connector is permanently attached to the motherboard. If you accidentally damage the connector, you’ll have to replace the whole motherboard.

On the picture below you see the connector in the locked state.

The connector opens up like a door. You can open the connector with your fingernail.
On the picture below you see the same connector in the unlocked position.

STEP 5.

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

Replace the damaged keyboard with a new one.

My previous post explains how to add more memory and upgrade the video card. In one of the next posts I’ll explain how to disassemble the display panel and replace the LCD screen.

If you are replacing the keyboard because of missing or broken keys, check out my previous post about fixing individual keyboard keys. Maybe it’s not necessary to replace the whole keyboard.

Before you start do not forget to turn off the laptop, unplug the AC power adapter and remove the battery.

STEP 1.

On the screen bezel you’ll find six screw seals. Four rubber seals and two plastic seals.

You can remove these seals with a sharp object.
Remove all six screws found under the seals.

STEP 2.

Start separating the screen bezel from the display cover with your fingers. You can use a piece of soft plastic to separate the bezel.

Continue separating the screen bezel on the top of the display and after that move to the lower part.

Finally, remove the screen bezel.

STEP 3.

Remove four screws securing the LCD screen to the left mounting bracket.

STEP 4.

Remove four screws securing the LCD screen to the right mounting bracket.

STEP 5.

Remove two screws securing the web camera.

STEP 6.

Separate the LCD screen assembly from the display cover. As you see, the web camera is still attached to the screen assembly.

STEP 7.

Plase the LCD screen assembly upside down on the palm rest.
The green ribbon cable is the video cable and it has two connectors. One of the is connected to the LCD screen and another one to the inverter board.

Carefully push on two latches on both sides of the LCD connector, release the cable and disconnect it from the LCD screen.

Pull the second connector up and disconnect it from the inverter board.

STEP 8.

Remove the screen assembly (LCD screen and inverter board).

The inverter board is attached to the bottom part of the LCD screen. The inverter board can be replaced separately.

The best way to find a new replacement screen is searching by the LCD screen model number or Dell part number. Both numbers can be found on one sticker with a barcode.

You can find a cheap replacment LCD screen for Dell Vostor 1500 and other Dell laptops here.

If you want to replace the LCD screen or inverter board, it’s not necessary to remove the whole display panel as it shown on the picture above. You can do that while the display panel is still attached to the laptop base.

If you want to replace display hinges, you’ll have to remove the display panel first.

You can find the display panel removal instruction in my previous disassembly guide for a Comapq Presario F700 notebook. Follow steps 6-12 to remove the display panel assembly.

DISPLAY DISASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS.

STEP 1.

Using a sharp object remove eight screw seals from the display bezel. Remove eight screws found under the seals.

STEP 2.

Start separating the display bezel from the cover with your fingers.

Continue removing the bezel.

The display bezel has been removed.

STEP 3.

The screen inverter board is mounted below the LCD screen. Disconnect cables from both sides of the inverter board and remove the inverter.

The screen inverter has been removed.

STEP 4.

Remove six screws securing the display hinges to the display cover.

STEP 5.

Now you can remove the LCD screen assembly which includes the LCD screen, LCD cable and hinges.

STEP 6.

Now you can access and remove the LCD cable.
- Unplug the LCD cable from the screen.
- Remove yellow tape securing the cable.
- Remove the cable.

STEP 7.

Remove two screws securing one of the display hinges and remove the hinge.
Do the same with the second hinge.

Both display hinges have been removed.

STEP 8.

Now you can replace the LCD screen with a new one if needed. You can find a new replacement LCD screen for Compaq Presario F700 laptop here for less than $70.

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. As an example I took 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.

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.

Today I will remove and replace a damaged keyboard on a Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop. I’m replacing the keyboard because my customer spilled soda on it and all keys are sticky. If you need a new keyboard for your Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop you can find it here for less than $20.

By the way, here’s how you can fix individual keys on a laptop keyboard.

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

STEP 1.

Remove two screws in the battery compartment. These screws securing the keyboard bezel.

STEP 2.

Carefully lift up one side of the keyboard bezel with a screwdriver.

STEP 3.

Continue removing the keyboard bezel with your fingers. Be careful, there is a thin ribbon cable connecting the button board to the motherboard. The cable has to stay connected to the motherboard.

STEP 4.

Turn the keyboard bezel over. Make sure the cable is still connected.
Remove two screws securing the keyboard.

STEP 5.

Lift up the keyboard.

The keyboard is connected to the motherboard via a flat ribbon cable. Before you can remove the keyboard, you’ll have to unlock the connector and release the cable.

On the picture below you can see the connector in the locked position.

Now the connector is unlocked and the cable can be released.

STEP 6.

Remove and replace the damaged keyboard with a new keyboard.

The keyboard part number could be found on the sticker. The part number follows letters CN. In my laptop the keyboard part number is 0NK750.

In this guide I explain how to remove and replace a damaged LCD screen in a HP Pavilion dv2000 notebook. This guide should work for all models in Pavilion dv2000 line.

By the way, this HP Pavilion dv2000 is like a small copy of HP Pavilion dv6000 notebook and all disassembly steps will be very similar.

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

STEP 1.

The LCD screen is mounted between the display cover and bezel. The screen bezel is secured to the display cover by six screws hidden under six screw seals. I circled these screw seals.

Remove all seals with a sharp object and after that remove all screws found under the seals.

STEP 2.

Start separating the screen bezel from the display cover on one of the top corners.

Continue separating the screen bezel.

Remove the screen bezel.

STEP 3.

The inverter board works as a power supply for the backlight lamp hidden inside the LCD screen. In most notebooks the inverter board is mounted below the LCD screen. In my guide I will not be removing the inverter board and because of that I will unplug only one cable from the right side.

STEP 4.

Remove four screws securing the display hinges to the cover.

STEP 5.

Carefully separate the display assembly from the cover and place the LCD face down on the keyboard.

Now you can access the LCD cable (video cable) connector. The LCD cable connects the screen to the the motherboard.

STEP 6.

Unplug the LCD cable from the screen.

STEP 7.

Remove the LCD screen assembly from the notebook. As you can see, the screen still has two mounting brackets attached to the left and right sides.

STEP 8.

In order to remove the mounting bracket, simply remove three screws. Transfer the bracket to the new screen.

Are you looking for a new screen for your HP Pavilion dv2000 notebook? You can find it here for less than $70.

Did you know that your HP Pavilion dv2000 notebook might qualify from a free repair from HP?

In the following guide I explain how to remove the keyboard from an Alienware D9T gaming notebook. I think this notebook has a different name, something like Alienware Area but I couldn’t find it anywhere. The only name I found was Model: D9T. Pleas let me know if this guide works for your Alienware notebook and mention the model name in the comments below.

First of all, turn off the notebook, unplug the AC adapter and remove the battery. Make sure you work in static free environment.

Removing the keyboard from this notebook was easier than I expected.

There are four small latches securing the keyboard, I pointed them with four arrows.

Carefully release latches one by one with a sharp object, you can use a small flat head screwdriver. When you push on the latch, the keyboard will lift up a little bit and the latch will stay open.

After all four latches are open, lift up the top side of the keyboard.

Place the keyboard so you can access the cable connector. Before you remove the keyboard cable from the connector, you’ll have to open the connector.

WARNING! Be very careful with the keyboard cable connector. The connector is soldered to the motherboard and if you accidentally break it, you will have to replace the WHOLE MOTHERBOARD or use the notebook with an external keyboard.

On the picture below you can see the connector in LOCKED state. The white clip opens like a laptop display.

On the next picture you can see the same connector in UNLOCKED state.

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

If you want to replace the keyboard, you’ll have to search for a new one using the part number or model number from the sticker on the bottom side of the original keyboard. You can find cheap keyboards here.

In my case I had the following numbers.
Keyboard model number: MP-03753US-4302
Keyboard part number: 80-D90T0-011-1