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In this guide I explain how to remove keyboard, replace memory module and access hard drive in a HP 2133 Mini-Note PC. Fortunately all these three components can be removed without taking the whole thing apart. Even a novice user can do that if he/she is careful enough.
Also, you should be able this guide for taking apart a HP 2140 Mini-Note PC which has the same body.
Before you start do not forget to turn off the laptop and remove the main battery.
STEP 1.
REMOVING THE KEYBOARD.
In the battery compartment you’ll find three screws securing the keyboard to the laptop base. Remove these three screws.
Carefully lift up the top side of the keyboard as it shown on the picture below. There are small plastic latches securing the keyboard on both side but they should’t be a problem. Do not lift up the keyboard too much, it’s still connected to the motherboard.
Set the keyboard so you can access the cable connector underneath. You’ll have to unlock the connector before you can release the cable and remove the keyboard.
WARNING! Be very careful with the connector. You cannot replace the connector if you accidentally break it. The connector is permanently attached to the motherboard. If it’s broken, the whole motherboard has to be replaced.
In order to unlock the connector, lift up the brown locking clip. The clip will open as a door on hinges.
On the picture below you see the same connector in the unlocked state.
Now you can release the cable and remove the keyboard.
Here’s the back side of the keyboard removed from a HP 2133 Mini-Note PC.
You can find a new replacement keyboard if you search by the part number 482280-001. The keyboard is not expensive and can be purchased for less than $25. Searches by the keyboard model number 468509-001 also will bring you some results.
STEP 2.
REMOVING THE MEMORY MODULE.
HP 2133 Mini-Note PC has only one memory slot and it’s located under the keyboard. After the keyboard is removed, you’ll find the memory module between the cooling fan and hard drive.
In order to remove the memory module, carefully spread latches on both sides of the slot.
The memory module will pop up at a 20-30 degree angle and you can pull it from the slot by the edges.
HP 2133 Mini-Note PC will take up to 2GB memory module. You should use DDR2 PC2-5300 or faster DDR2 SODIMM module.
STEP 3.
REMOVING THE HARD DRIVE.
Remove two screws (green) and loosen one screw (yellow) securing the hard drive assembly.
Pull the hard drive cable up and disconnect it from the motherboard.
Remove the hard drive assembly from the laptop.
Remove two screws from each side of the hard drive assembly. These screws securing the hard drive to the caddy.
Remove the hard drive from the caddy.
Disconnect the hard drive connector.
Now you can replace the hard drive with a new one. In my laptop I had a 120GB 7200RPM hard drive installed. You can replace it with a larger drive without any problem. Make sure then new drive also works at 7200RPMs.
CLEANING THE COOLING FAN.
If your laptop overheats, most likely it happens because the cooling module got clogged with dust.
When you remove the keyboard you can get a limited access to the cooling fan. It would be enough for cleaning the fan and heat sink.
For cleaning the fan use a can of compressed air of find an air compressor. Spray compressed air into the fan until all dust is gone.
Block the fan with your finger so it doesn’t spin when you spray air inside the cooling module. Hi RPMs can kill the fan bearing.
You’ll find complete laptop disassembly instructions in the official service manual for HP 2133 Mini-Note PC and HP 2140 Mini-Note PC.
By the way, the display panel disassembly instructions (LCD screen, inverter board removal, etc…) are posted in the chapter 11 (Recycling) on the page 112.
August 10th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Thank you very much!
I spille some soda on the keyboard and three keys stopped working. With this guide I can fix it myself. Already order the keyboard on ebay.
Sent you donation.
John
August 11th, 2009 at 3:44 am
Hi there!
Thanks for the guide! I want to open a friend’s 2133 and see if the LCD screen is compatible with my Dell Mini 9′s – do you have any experience doing this?
August 11th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Chris2.0,
I haven’t replace the LCD screen on a HP 2133 PC yet, but I can give you some directions.
1. Remove the display panel as it explained the the maintenance and service guide for HP 2133 and HP 2140 laptops. It’s on the page 72.
2. After the display assembly is removed you can remove the display bezel and access the LCD. The bezel is secured to the back cover by four screws hidden under screw seals in four corners of the display.
Remove screws seals, remove four screws, separate the bezel from the cover with a piece of plastic. Now you can access the LCD.
September 19th, 2009 at 11:35 am
sir can you please teach me how to remove the plastic of the display. I just remove the two screw and the plastic snap from the speaker (bottom and both side but the top portion I cannot remove. Please help.
September 19th, 2009 at 11:46 am
leo alba,
I didn’t disassemble the display panel on this unit myself and cannot give you a good advice.
It might be necessary to remove the display panel from the laptop before you can take it apart. The display removal instructions can be found in the official service manual on the page 72.
Also, look for hidden screws in the top left and right corners of the display bezel. Can you find any? In most laptops screws are hidden under rubber/plastic seals.
October 23rd, 2009 at 7:57 pm
[...] In the previous post I explain how to remove keyboard from HP 2133 Mini-Note PC. [...]
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:34 am
i took a friend laptop and i need to replace the processor and i do not now how to go about this .Do you have any experience on this.if u do please email this address
February 18th, 2010 at 9:20 am
Hi so like some other posts on here i am trying to remove the lcd screen from the hp 2140. I already dissasembled the machine in order to remove the display from the rest of the computer. My biggest problem is removing the bezel from the display. I already unscrewed the two top screws and the bottom has no screws. I am able to pop most of the bezel off except from the top of the display where the microphone and webcam is located. It appears to be glued or something because it does not come off easily. PPPlease help me with this. I think i am going to have to call hp also and see if one of there techs can help me out.
February 18th, 2010 at 9:35 am
mark,
Don’t call HP. Most likely you will not get any help, at least for free.
Download this service manual for HP 2133 Mini-Note:
http://bizsupport2.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01658655/c01658655.pdf
It’s a 4.32MB pdf file and might take some time to download.
Go to the chapter 11 (Recycling) page 112. You’ll find the LCD screen removal instructions in there.
I don’t know why HP posted these instructions in the recycling chapter.
February 26th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Thanks laptop tech but the service manual did not help. The computer used to demonstrate how to remove the bezel is noth the same therefore does not have the same issue i am having. I have replaced many screens in the past but this one just isn’t coming off. I was told by the support group that the bezel is not intended to be removed as it holds the microphone and webcam in place. The solution is to replace the display entirely which runs around 270 bucks.
February 27th, 2010 at 11:51 am
mark,
This is strange. You said you have an HP 2140 notebook and the service manual says it’s for HP 2133 Mini-Note PC and HP 2140 Mini-Note PCs.
I’m not sure why it’s different.
March 8th, 2010 at 6:00 am
DO ALL HP 2133 COME WITH HARD DRIVE? MY HP NEVER WORKED RIGHT HAD IT IN FOR AT LEAST 6 TIME TO HP – I GAVE UP – AFTER 6 MTD I THOUGHT I WOULD TRY TO REPAIR. OPENED IT UP NO HARD DRIVE. A CIRCUT BOARD NO HARD DRIVE – SHOULD IT HAVE ONE
April 19th, 2010 at 7:43 am
Hello, find your directions very helpful. Can you tell me how to access the wires leading from the base unit to the screen? I have a black screen that just flickers when you hold the ‘off’ slider for a few seconds to power it down. I think there may be a chafed wire. I have tried all the instant remedies so far regarding black screens…
-deplete static charge by removing battery & holding ‘on’ button for 60 seconds
-freeze the unit to re-set the thermal switch
-reseat the memory
Anything I haven’t tried to get the black screen alive again?
Many thanks,
Robert
April 19th, 2010 at 9:57 am
Robert Szabo,
You’ll find step-by-step disassembly instructions on this service manual for HP 2133 Mini-Note PC and HP 2140 Mini-Note PCs.
The display removal instructions starts at the page 36.
The display disassembly instructions are on the page 112, in the recycling section.
PC
June 17th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
Would anyone know a solution for the usual motherboard heat problem on all 2133? I was thinking on using a 2140 motherboard (with an ATOM CPU). Does anyone know it’s possible? Does it match the form and size?
October 31st, 2010 at 12:51 am
DEAR SIR I WANT TO DISASSEMBLE MY HP MINI 2133 BATTERY(3 CELL) TO CHANGE THE INTERIOR CELL BECAZ IT IS NOT CHARGING N I DONT WANT TO DISCARD IT PLZ GUID MY IS THIS POSSIBLE TO CHANGE THE CELLS INSIDE THE LAPTOP BATTERY?
November 5th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Tank’s a lot!
November 16th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
I have a good ac power adapter but th female end within my HP Mini 2140 i beleive is faulty. The power light comes on breifly but will no stay on. Is there a way I can replace the dc jack receiver within my HP Mini 2140?
November 17th, 2010 at 9:41 am
>> “Thanks laptop tech but the service manual did not help. The computer used to demonstrate how to remove the bezel is noth the same therefore does not have the same issue i am having. I have replaced many screens in the past but this one just isn’t coming off. I was told by the support group that the bezel is not intended to be removed as it holds the microphone and webcam in place. The solution is to replace the display entirely which runs around 270 bucks.”
I am not so sure about this – I was able to snap also the top part off – needed to use sharp knife and use just a bit more force. It snapped off nicely. I have HP Mini 2140. BUT: so far I have not been able to remove the botton part of the bezel, as it is obstructed by the hinges. I have been trying to remove the hinges, but it seems to require a 5mm wrench, which I don’t have. So need to go to hardware shop tomorrow. I am quite positive the screen can be removed, even though it is VERY difficult.
December 9th, 2010 at 10:52 am
I have my friend’s HP Mini 2133 and it’s getting on (the blue light is coming but no activity happening on screen) can you provide me the detail screen shots how and what to check?
December 10th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
MP,
Could be failed memory module. I would try replacing it with a known good memory module first.
January 25th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
hi,
really good step by step guide!but a quick newbie question…if i have 160gb 5200rpm hard drive will i have an issue upgrading to a 320gb or 500gb 7200 rpm hard drive?
thanks,
Andy
February 20th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Hi, thumb up for excellent work u’re doing. Heres my issue. My 2133 stopped working a while ago, overheating/motherboard issue. Since I live in Europe outside of an area where I can get HP servicing, my question is, if I order motherboard from ebay or similar, will I be able/is it possible to change motherboard manually (i.e. myself)??
Thank you very much!
February 21st, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Nino,
Sure, just download service manual for HP Mini 2100 Notebook series and follow disassembly instructions.
April 9th, 2011 at 2:14 am
Hello,
Thank you for step guide is really good!
1. My HP Mini 2133 was overheating and fan really noisy. I try to removed and cleaning all over fan, heatsink with a little drop of Arctic Silver 5, then i replace everything back.
2. I started up, everything work fine just for 20 minutes! After that my little fan started to moaning and again overheating!
3. I have done the same as (1) again, and try to do a little more as i have been reading somewhere on internet. I removed the black tape (sorry i really dont know how to call the name) what was wrapped over the Motherboard that i thought might be helpful (i was wrong).
So now extreme hot! I mean almost 100 degree! I know i was wrong to removed the black wrapped…Please help me!
Questions
* Can i run my notebook without black wrapped? If not, can i buy it somewhere and replace it myself?
* How to make the fan less noise and less hot..etc.
Thank you very much for advice!
April 10th, 2011 at 10:48 am
Tiiki,
If the cooling fan makes noise even after cleaning, I guess it’s time to replace the fan with a new one.
Apparently the original fan doesn’t work properly and has to be replaced.
August 5th, 2011 at 9:31 am
The hp mini 2140 is bit different from inside as fan can not be seen after removing keyboard what one can do to replace or clean the fan?
September 17th, 2011 at 11:45 am
Thank you so much!
Very interesting your detailed process I’m technician and I really need this information! Greentings from South America!
September 25th, 2011 at 7:08 pm
All but 5 of the keys work on my keyboard. The clip and the ‘tape’ got seperated – but we were able to use a small piece of tape to put them back in place. Hate to buy a new motherboard for 5 keys. Ideas?
December 6th, 2011 at 4:27 am
hi…
i have a 2140 hp mini laptop. it has started showing black screen on start up and does not proceed. can u pls help?
December 6th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Aprajita,
First, try reseating memory modules. Try replacing memory.
December 28th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
One of the hinges of my 2133 hp mini came off, how do i fix it? Its the part of the laptop that allows it to open and close. I don’t know what to do, and i would really appreciate your help please.
December 28th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
@ Steven,
You can find replacement hinges for HP Mini 2133 here.
Complete laptop disassembly instructions shown in the service manual.
Hope it helps.