Taking apart HP Pavilion dv7 laptop. Guide 3.

In this guide I’ll be taking apart a HP Pavilion dv7 laptop.

This is my THIRD disassembly guide for HP Pavilion dv7 laptop. This guide was made for HP Pavilion dv7-6000 series.

In this particular case I’m taking apart dv7-6113cl model.

If your laptop looks like one shown on the following picture, this guide will work for you.

If it looks different check out my first HP Pavilion dv7 disassembly guide (made for dv7-1000 series) or my second HP Pavilion dv7 disassembly guide (made for dv7-3000 and dv7-4000 series).

In the following guide I’ll go though the following major disassembly steps:
STEP 1-9: Accessing laptop memory, wireless card, CMOS battery. Disconnecting hard drive.
STEP 10-16: Disconnecting and removing the keyboard.
STEP 17-23: Removing the palmrest assembly.
STEP 24-25: Accessing the DC power jack harness and cooling fan.

OK, lets take it apart. First of all, make sure the laptop is turned off.

STEP 1.

Unlock the remove the battery.

STEP 2.

Slide the battery latch to the left (unlocked position).

At the same time insert something under the bottom hatch and lift it up.

Continue removing the hatch with your fingers. You’ll have to wiggle the hatch in order to remove it.

STEP 3.

Remove the bottom hatch.

STEP 4.

Under the bottom hatch you can get access to the following laptop components:
- Both memory slots/modules.
- Wireless card.
- CMOS battery.
- Primary and secondary (optional) hard drives.

STEP 5.

Remove four screws securing the primary hard drive mounting bracket.

STEP 6.

Disconnect the primary hard drive cable from the motherboard.

STEP 7.

Lift up and remove the primary hard drive assembly.

STEP 8.

In my HP Pavilion dv7 laptop I didn’t have secondary hard dive installed. I had only an empty bracket.

STEP 9.

Remove one screw securing the DVD drive.

Pull the DVD drive to the left and remove it from the laptop.

STEP 10.

Remove one screw securing the keyboard.

STEP 11.

Now the tricky part to remove the keyboard.

Insert a very small screwdriver into the whole where the keyboard screw was located.

Push the screwdriver into the hole. By doing that you actually pushing on the back side of the keyboard.

STEP 12.

While pushing on the back side of the keyboard you’ll see the front side of the keyboard will lift up a little bit.

You’ll be able to insert your fingers between the keyboard and laptop case and lift it up.

STEP 13.

Continue removing the keyboard and move it towards the screen.

STEP 14.

Now you can access the keyboard cable connector. It’s necessary to unlock the connector in order to release the keyboard cable.

STEP 15.

Carefully lift up the outer side of the retainer. It will pop up at a 90 degree angle.

STEP 16.

After the connector unlocked you can pull the cable and remove the keyboard.

New keyboard for HP Pavilion dv7 laptops available here. Make sure to find one that fits your dv7 series.

STEP 17.

Remove all marked screws from the bottom of the laptop. Make notes about removes crews, they have different length.

STEP 18.

Remove two screws securing the palmrest assembly.

Disconnect the following cables:
- Power button cable.
- Touchpad cable.
- USB board cable.
- Finger scanning device cable.

All cables have similar connectors.

First, lift up the cable retainer.

Second, pull cable from the connector.

STEP 19.

Now you can start removing the palmrest assembly.

STEP 20.

I’m using the guitar pick to separate the palmrest assembly from the bottom cover. You can use a piece of plastic.

Insert it between the palmrest and bottom cover and slowly move along the side.

STEP 21.

Lift up the palmrest assembly BUT BE CAREFUL. You’ll have to slide the USB board cable through the opening.

STEP 22.

Carefully pull the USB board through the opening and remove the palmrest assembly.

STEP 23.

Here’s the bottom side of the palmrest assembly. Here’s you can get access to the following internal components:
- Finger scanning device.
- Power button board.
- Touchpad assembly.

STEP 24.

When the palmrest assembly removed you can get access to the DC power jack which is mounted in the uppder right corner of the laptop base.

New HP Pavilion dv7 DC jacks available here. Again, make sure it fits your dv7 series.

STEP 25.

Also, under the palmrest assembly you can get limited access to the cooling fan. It should be good enough for cleaning (in a case of laptop overheating).

In order to remove and replace the cooling fan it’s necessary to remove the whole motherboard.

For more complete HP Pavilion dv7-6000 series disassembly instructions you can refer to the official HP service manual. Removal and replacement procedures start on the page 46.