How to disassemble HP Pavilion g7

posted in: 3. Compaq & HP | 51
HP Pavilion g7 disassembly

In this guide I describe and demonstrate how to disassemble a HP Pavilion g7 series laptop.

My goal is to remove the motherboard and access the cooling fan which is mounted under the motherboard.

Make sure the computer is turned off before you start taking it apart.

STEP 1.

Unlock and remove the battery.

Remove laptop battery

STEP 2.

Unscrew two screws securing the service cover on the bottom.

Lift up and remove the service cover.

Loosen screws on service cover

Under the service cover you can access both memory modules, wireless card (removing in step 18) and hard drive.

This laptop can handle 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-12800 SODIMM memory modules.

Access memory hard drive

STEP 3.

Disconnect the hard drive cable from the motherboard. Pull it up by the black belt attached to the connector.

Disconnect hard drive cable

STEP 4.

Remove the hard drive. As you see, the hard drive cable still attached to the hard drive.

Upgrading this regular 2.5″ SATA hard drive to a 2.5″ SATA solid state drive will improve laptop performance significantly.

Remove hard drive

STEP 5.

Remove one screw securing the optical drive. Slide the optical drive to the left and remove it.

Remove DVD drive

STEP 6.

Remove one screw securing the keyboard on the bottom.

Remove keyboard screw

STEP 7.

There are a few hidden latches securing the keyboard to the top cover.

In order to remove the keyboard it’s necessary to unlock these latches.

Keyboard latches

STEP 8.

Push on the latch with a small flat head screwdriver.

At the same time lift up the keyboard a little bit so the latch stays unlocked.

Do the same with all latches.

Release keyboard latches

STEP 9.

After all hidden latches unlocked, you should be able to lift up the top side of the keyboard.

Turn the keyboard upside down and place it on the palm rest.

Lift up keyboard

STEP 10.

Now you can access the keyboard cable which is connected to the motherboard.

In the following two steps I explain how to unlock the connector and release the cable.

Access keyboard cable

STEP 11.

Lift up the left side of the retaining tab with your fingernail.

The retaining tab will open up at a 90 degree angle.

Unlock keyboard connector

STEP 12.

On this picture the connector shown in the unlocked position.

Now you can pull the keyboard cable from the connector.

Disconnect keyboard cable

STEP 13.

Remove the keyboard.

If you are reading this guide in order to replace the keyboard, you can install a new keyboard at this point and assemble everything back together.

Remove laptop keyboard

STEP 14.

Remove all screws from the bottom.

Remove screws from bottom of laptop

STEP 15.

Disconnect the power button board cable and trackpad cables from the motherboard.

Disconnect palmrest assembly

Use the same technique as for disconnecting the keyboard cable.

Lift up the cable retaining tab with your fingernail.

Unlock trackpad cable connector

Pull the cable from the connector.

Disconnect trackpad cable

STEP 16.

Start separating the top cover (palm rest) assembly from the bottom case.

You can use a guitar pick for that.

Separate palmrest from bottom cover

STEP 17.

Remove the top cover assembly.

Remove palmrest assembly

Here’s a picture of the bottom side of the top cover.

Here you can access the power button board, trackpad and trackpad button board.

Bottom side of palmrest assembly

After the top cover is removed you are ready for the motherboard removal.

But before you start, it’s necessary to disconnect and remove the wireless card which is mounted on the bottom of the laptop.

Motherboard ready for removal

STEP 18.

In order to remove the wireless card it’s necessary to disconnect two antenna cables, remove one screw and pull the card from the slot.

Removing wireless card

Here’s how to disconnect the antenna cable. Simply pull it up by the gold connector and unsnap form the wireless card.

After both wireless antenna cables disconnected, remove the wireless card.

Disconnect wireless antenna cables

STEP 19.

Disconnect all cables from the motherboard.

Remove one screw securing the motherboard to the bottom case.

Unplug cables from motherboard

Here’s how to disconnect the LCD screen cable.

Unplug video cable

STEP 20.

Start removing the motherboard from the bottom case as it shown on the following picture.

Lift up motherboard

STEP 21.

The motherboard has been removed.

Remove laptop motherboard

Now you can access the cooling fan for cleaning or replacement.

Access cooling fan

The following guide for HP Pavilion g7 series explains how to remove and replace the LCD screen.


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51 Responses

  1. john angel

    do you have something that shows how to put hp pavilion g7 back together after disassembly

    • IML Tech

      @ john angel,
      No I don’t. I assume you should be able to follow all disassembly steps in the reverse order.
      What is your laptop full model number g7-???. Probably I can link you to the official service manual.

  2. Benny

    Thank you , thank you for Post this disassemble page GG ,HELP ME A LOT….GREAT…

  3. Priscilla

    Do you have a service manual for the Pavilion g7-1365dx?

    • IML Tech

      @ Priscilla,
      For Pavilion g7-1365dx all disassembly steps should be the same as in this guide.
      If you need an official HP service manual, here it is.

  4. staffan

    Thanks for this info. I couldn’t believe I had to rip my laptop apart to cleant the Fan/cooler system, but with this guide it worked quite OK.
    Had a great deal with removing the keyboard, since I cuoldnt figure how to get it out of the snaps without a bit of violence … 🙁

  5. Reid

    I have a pavilion g7-1227nr There is a problem with the hp-101 webcam The problem is with the cable connecting to it I believe I was able to push it toward the camera and it worked for a minute or two. I repeated the process and now cyberlink can’t find the webcam any more.

    I suspect I damaged the cable and need to remove it Look pretty delicate in there. Do you have a tutorial set up for another model that would be similar?

    Plesae and thank you

    • IML Tech

      @ Raid,
      The web camera cable is part of the display cable.
      In order to replace the display cable you will have to remove the top cover assembly as it shown in this guide (step 17).
      After that you will have to take apart the display panel and remove the screen as it shown in this guide.

      When it’s done you should be able to disconnect the cable from the motherboard, remove it and replace with a new one.

      How to find a new cable? Look at the original cable. It should have a sticker with the part number. Search by the part number on eBay and probably you’ll find a replacement.

      Here’s HP’s service manual for g7. I though it could be helpful in some way.

  6. Raquel

    I removed the top cover assembly to clean my fan. I put it back on and my laptop will not turn on an now. Do you know what could have happened?
    Thank you

    • IML Tech

      @ Raquel,
      First of all, check RAM modules. Maybe the laptop will not start because of bad connection between the RAM and slot.

  7. Brian

    Hi, thanks so much for this site it’s helped a lot of people, I have a question, do you know what the SM fuse rating is for (located by the power plug on the mobo)? Mine blew and the crack in the fuse makes it unreadable! I see something followed by 10y
    and then 1 V
    But that’s not really making sense…if I knew the proper current rating from the first line I’d be able to source it.

    Thanks!

    • IML Tech

      @ Brian,
      Sorry cannot help you with that. I don’t have the motherboard schematics.

  8. Samurai12

    Many thanks for the guide! It was a great help. Clearly explained and perfectly illustrated. My cooling fan had cut out on me, and I got a thermal shutdown. Compressed air through the vents was no help. It turns out it was all due to the tiniest piece of linty gunk (or maybe it was gunky lint?) stuck in a corner of the fan housing where the air couldn’t reach. Thanks to you and this guide, I was able to get to that gunk, poke it out with a paper clip, and get back up and running in no time. Nice work! Cheers.

  9. JP

    Just wondering if the hp manual link you supplied here is for all/most G7’s. Mine is a G7-1310US, and every thing in the h10032 manual that you gave the link for seems about the same as mine. I got a message at last boot up saying the cooling fan was not operating. I ordered one from amazon at a cheap price. There were no reviews for any of the fans there so I am just taking a chance. I had removed all the screws, but did not know about popping out the keyboard to get at that hidden screw under it, but assumed it was indeed a screw holding the center down, so I put it all back together & booted it up. I have not gotten the cooling fan message during the last 2 boot ups, but I am sure it’s not running because I cannot hear it like I used to. Anyway, I did download a copy of the guide you gave & it is great! My new fan should be here in 2 days along with a tube of the heat sink transfer material, so I just wanted to make sure the guide does cover my exact model so I will be good to go when my fan gets here. Just another thought, do you have any recommendations as far as replacement batteries for these laptops? My G7 has an MU06 10.8v 4200 mAb battery that started dying very quickly at about 3 months old, so I have been using it while plugged into the power supply which kinda eliminates the portability. I have noticed a very big difference in battery prices and have been wondering why, & also researched what I could find on the batteries online which was not much. I was looking at a 10.8v 6600 mAb battery at a good price on amazon, so was just wondering your thoughts on batteries. Thanks for all the info you have published!

  10. Florence

    Dumb question……what is the copper bar by the fan and can I replace it? Reason for question…..it gets extremely hot…..fan is very clean.

  11. David

    Hi, the copper bar is the heat sink. It moves the heat from the CPU to the fan.

  12. Brandon

    Howdy. First of all, thanks for the great steps. I followed these to replace a malfunctioning fan in an HP laptop and now that I have everything back together the laptop will not recognize the battery. I have reset the BIOS and performed a battery check with HP’s support software but still nothing. The laptop works just fine when connected to AC power. Any ideas? Thanks again.

  13. Grant

    Excellent web site, I look here often.
    I have a dead HP 15-e020ca. May have been hit with a power surge.
    The small SM component near where the power cable enters the board tests open with meter
    If this is the fuse where can it be purchased, shame to throw away the laptop for a .25 cent part.
    Any Ideas?

  14. Ted Bish

    I have a hp Pavilion g7-1316dx. I want to take the screen off and put a new one on. Mine is cracked. How do I get the screen off?

  15. Quinton

    Great website you have here! I was struggling for half an hour trying to figure out how to get the keyboard out and once I found this I popped it out easily and reading through the rest of the steps I was able to get past parts that I would have been stuck on forever because I had no idea they existed. Well done on such thorough pictures and of so many different models!

  16. Bill

    Excellent write up! On my G7 dis-assembly I had one extra step for removing the top cover: once you lift up the top cover the speakers were still connected. From the left speaker you have to slide the red/black/white wires out of the white connector on the mother board behind the SD card reader. The red wire connecting the left and right speakers is taped to the base , and I just lifted the tape up and removed the entire right speaker. Once you have disconnected the speaker wires and un-taped the right speaker, the entire upper casing lifts right out.

  17. Gary

    Thank you so much for the detailed step by step photos and detailed descriptions.
    I was having problems( well still am) with my laptop turning on and taking a charge. So being somewhat of a Electronics Tech; I tore the unit apart. tested voltages via battery and AC adapter the original parts/battery and the new replacement ones. Checked out the power adapter plug in and got a unload voltage 6.4vdc. SO my problems seem to point to the Motherboard. This unit didn’t even make it 18months. So I tried all of the suggested tricks from users and HP alike; no luck.
    I won’t ever buy or recommend HP products to anyone.
    thanks again for your info.
    Bless You

    Reverend G

  18. hamada

    after battery charge , charging led not switch off
    what’s the wrong ?
    know that
    before disassembly the laptop was right

  19. hamada

    I have same lap
    but , after battery charge , charging led not switch off
    what’s the wrong ?
    know that
    before disassembly the laptop was right
    please help me,
    thanks in advance.

  20. Laura

    I’m glad I found this tutorial, Thank You!. My only issue is the center tabs never popped back into place. So now the keyboard is bowed and a little loose.

  21. Brett J

    The guide was great, and very helpful. The fan on my laptop was blocked and my ill-advised unguided attempt to open it up lead me to seeking out this excellently-written one. So, thank you!

    I might have a different model than the one shown, but there were a few differences. Two or three more screws in the bottom and the service cover only had a single screw. It seemed like, on the bottom, each hole housing a screw was labeled (something like M.25 or something) but I cannot really be sure. Also, when taking out the keyboard, there was a useful “Release” hole that the Maintenance and Service Guide recommended using, and that appeared to make it less-stressful during that part of the procedure.

    But even linking to the official HP Guide was very appreciated. Overall, this page was simple/beneficial for a moron like me, and I must thank whoever is responsible for it.

  22. James R

    Hey, so my left hinge has been pulling up on the casing of my laptop, so I was wondering if I could bypass taking off things and just take off the casing. I don’t want to ruin my laptop of course, so I was just wondering if I could do that

  23. George OC

    I’m struggling to disconnect the wire to the external power input from the motherboard but I don’t want to force it and break it

  24. devon

    Helped save my computer after a drink was spilled on the keyboard. Thanks

  25. Mike

    Hi I just wanted to locate the CMOS battery in HP Pavilion g7. Could you help me with that? I am looking to remove it for BIOS password reset.

  26. George VanZandbergen

    I Broke the retaining tab that fits the keyboard wire harness where Can I buy one…Not the white piece that is connected to the motherboard, the black top piece….

  27. Donald Gottbreht

    The laptop is easy enough to disassemble but when it comes to the wireless card i am not able to get the white cable back on. Not sure how to get it back on. I have a HP Pavilion G7-2269wm series laptop

  28. Heather

    What model fan is compatible with the HP Pavilion g7 notebook PC? What if I get the wrong one? Is there a place I can look it up? I am having trouble.

  29. Janet

    Oh, I really messed up. I put it back together and the plastic top that holds down the power connector broke off. I put it back on but it fell off, now I can’t find it and I put tape over the ribbon to the connector and lined it up, but my computer won’t boot up now. I put in a new central processing unit. Please help, do I need to have this part soddered on? I didnt put all screws back just to be sure it booted up so it is easier to take apart. Any ideas? Thank you, Janet

  30. ed lippincott

    Directions worked well. You want to keep track of the 2.25 screws, which are shorter than the others. There are 4 marked with blue on the threads. Unfortunately, it did not take care of my video issue. Of course that is because it dropped to a hard wood floor from a table top. Any helpful hints on on the video screen? I didn’t see a video card?

  31. Donna G

    Thanks for the diagrams I have a HP G7 I replaced the cooling fan turned it back on everything was great except I forgot to plug in keyboard, I disassembled again did that and one of the per strip to mother board came off on both ends the skinner one, I put it back on (not sure if there is a specific way) and now it wont power up, the light on the side by the power plug is light blue and turns yellow instantly. Any suggestions?

  32. Rich

    Hi,

    I have one of these computers and it just, all of a sudden, died. I tried the usual things like pulling the battery, using a different charger, etc. Dead as a door nail.

    When I put the power adapter in, the little light next to the adapter on the computer does light. But the LED on the power switch does not light. There are no other signs of light.

    I took the computer apart and your instructions were quite helpful, and had good pictures that complemented the HP manual. Thank you.

    I checked and firmed up connections of the power cable and the on switch cable and they were fine. Computer still dead. I reseated the on switch cable and the computer was still dead.

    I pulled the power connector from the motherboard and using my magnifying glass I saw lots of strands of wire outside of the insulation at the back end of the white connector that goes into the motherboard. It’s a mess and it looks like there’s shorts there.

    I can’t tell if it was just a rotten cable or perhaps there was a hard short in the mother board and the insulation peeled back. I don’t see any burn marks.

    It’s an 8-pin connector with red, black, white, and brown colored wires.

    Advice?

    Is there a definition of what each wire is so I can try and figure out what’s going on?

    Thanks!

    rich

  33. rstewart

    Will removing the palm rest be enough to get to the speakers? Or will I have to separate the top and bottom of the unit?

  34. Kevin

    Great instructions and pictures! Just went to try to replace a cooling fan on G7-1310US. The only step I found missing was I had an extra screw underneath the keyboard that held down the top cover assembly. Got to the fan, went to take it off and found a huge piece of fuzz that was preventing the fan to turn. Also, underneath the fan there is a screw that is just about impossible to get to. It holds the plastic fan to the metal shelf. One can be removed, the other could not. Keep up the great work! It made this job really easy.

  35. etch2

    GREAT … some of the best on the net.

    My screen on a HP G71310US is black.. If I shine a flashlight into the screen I can see my screen saver, email inbox etc etc. I have installed 2 replacement screens. Same problem. The ‘screen’ company states it may be the video cable (the flat 40 pin connection of the back of the screen).

    Your input is welcome.

    please use my email to reply..

    Thanx so much.

  36. Jonathan

    First of all thank you for the guide. It was very easy to open my notebook.

    But I have a question ?? How can I checked if the speakers are connected properly ?? I opened my notebook to clean the fan and then input it back together. Everything works except for the speakers. I checked the control panel but I don’t see any issues and the speakers appeared as connected !! any help will be greatly accepted !!

  37. Paul Stevens

    Excellent guide. I replaced the fan and everything is good to go. Except: the DVD tray will not come out. It is stuck closed. I tried the paper clip in the little hole trick, but no go. I can hear the little motor working, trying to push the tray out. But it is stuck shut – and there’s no disk inside. I think somehow something got in there and jammed the transport. What can I do? Thanks.

    • IML Tech

      Paul, try removing the optical drive from the laptop as shown in the step 5. Make sure it’s not jammed inside the laptop case somehow.
      Remove the drive and install it back again. Make sure it’s properly connected to the motherboard.
      If it doesn’t help, I guess the drive failed and has to be replaced.

  38. Paul Stevens

    IML: Thanks, but I can’t get the tray out, no matter what I do. So I guess my question is, how do you remove the entire mechanism in order to replace it?

    • IML Tech

      Remove one screw securing the optical drive. I think you should be able to push the drive out (not pull out) through the opening on the back. You do not disassemble the drive, you replace the entire unit.

  39. Paul Stevens

    I removed the screw. But I do not see a hole anywhere. The entire unit seems to be enclosed in an aluminum jacket with no way for me to get inside or see inside. Can you somehow describe the hole I should be looking for? Again, many thanks for your time and trouble.

    • IML Tech

      After the screw is removed, you just pull the drive out.
      Some laptops have an opening somewhere close to the screw so you can insert a screwdriver and push the drive out. I don’t remember if it’s available on HP Pavilion g7. I mentioned it just in case if the opening is available.
      Your drive failed and you are going to replace it anyway, correct? Try applying more force to pull it out. There is no secret to remove the optical drive.
      It’s also shown in the HP service manual on the page 50: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02834058

  40. Paul Stevens

    You got me through replacing the keyboard and fan. Many thanks. But here’s a strange one: all of a sudden the battery won’t charge. I always keep it plugged into A/C and it’s always at or near 100%. Suddenly the battery is slowly draining and not recharging. When I click the battery icon it tells me I’m plugged in. But not charging. I changed the A/C cord, but no difference. Did something come loose or unplugged while I was changing the keypad? What could be wrong?

    • IML Tech

      The battery connected directly to the motherboard so there is nothing that could be loose. Try reconnecting the battery. Take a closer look at the battery contacts (on motherboard side). If contacts look dirty or oxidized, cleanup might help.
      If nothing helps, probably it’s just time to replace the battery.

      New replacement battery available here: https://ebay.to/38ncBoY

  41. Paul Stevens

    Eureka! I think what you told me to do worked. I took a toothpick and a little bit of #0000 steel wool and cleaned the connections. I just plugged it back in and the red light came on, meaning it is charging. Oh boy. Thank you so much.
    Paul