How To Disassemble Laptop (Dell Latitude D620)

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How To Disassemble Laptop (Dell Latitude D620)

This week’s laptop disassembly guide will be to disassemble a Dell Latitude D620, a slight upgrade of the previous model the D610. This guide is made possible thanks to a friend of mine Cklim.

This guide will explain detailed step by step way on how to dismantle a Dell Latitude D620 notebook.

READ ME

Advices taken here are taken at your own risk. AhWee.com will be held no responsibility if you break any of the hardware and lose your warranty.

NOTE: Even though Dell said disassembling laptop yourself would lose your warranty, but I haven’t void anybody’s warranty in any possible way yet.

Tools You Need For Dismantling and Cleaning

  1. Philips Screwdriver (M2.5 will do)
  2. Flat Blade Screwdriver (usually a test pen)
  3. A brush (about 1 inch or 2 cm wide would do it, not too big)
  4. Hex Nutdrivers (about 5 mm)
  5. Thermal Compound

I usually have 2 Philips screwdrivers, big one for more unscrewing force, small one for less screwing force (so that I don’t spoil the screws), then a test pen for prying up parts and a brush for cleaning.

For this guide, because disassembling the motherboard is necessary, that is why you’ll need a hex nutdriver. A pair of pliers could do the job perfectly as well.

Before You Start

Here are a few things you’ll need to do before you start disassembling your Dell Latitude D620.

  1. Clear your Table
    Ensure that you have plenty of space (1 meter square would be great) to put all the components so they won’t go missing or falling off the table.
  2. Prepare a Small Container for Screws
    Every single screws taken out from the laptop has their own job in keeping the computer intact. Don’t lose them.
  3. Disconnect all the Cables & Components
    It’s wise to disconnect all usb cables, pendrives, power cords.
  4. Put Some Cloth or Thin Sponge Under the Laptop
    To make sure that the rough table surface would not scratch your laptop.
  5. Remove the Battery
    To remove the battery from your Dell Latitude D620, unlock 2 of the latches and remove the battery out from the battery bay.
    6402
  6. Ground the Motherboard
    When the battery is removed, simply ground the motherboard by pressing on the power button for a few seconds.
  7. Ground your Hands
    Ground your hands by wearing a wrist grounding strap or touching an unpainted metal surface from time to time.

Are you ready now? Before you move on any further I have to warn you that the D620 is not easy to disassemble. To clean the fan (which is my main purpose of disassembling this notebook) I have to disassemble even the motherboard. Don’t risk it unless you suspect something is wrong with your fan (not functioning, dust clotting the air vent, etc).

Step 1 : Remove The Harddisk

A wise move when disassembling laptops is to remove the harddisk first to protect your data from possible bumps during the disassembling process. Store the harddisk inside an antistatic bag if possible.

  1. Search for the “Container” labeled screws.
  2. Unscrew 2 screws.
  3. Slide the harddisk out from it’s compartment
    6403

Step 2 : Remove The Hinge Cover

Compared to removing the motherboard, the hinge cover should be considered easy. However, this will still pose a challenge to first timers.

  1. Note the indentation at the right side of the hinge cover, that’s the place where you start.
  2. Pry up the hinge cover using your test pen.
  3. Slowly lift up the whole thing from right to left.
    6404

NOTE: Be gentle to the hinge cover as it’s very fragile. Trust your instincts.

Step 3 : Remove The Keyboard

  1. Unscrew all the 3 screws located at the top of the keyboard.
  2. Lift the keyboard up slowly because the keyboard connector is still connected to the motherboard.
  3. Unlock the locking arm (blue color) by pulling the retaining bracket (black) sideways.
  4. Disconnect the cable by pulling the pull-tab.
  5. Remove the whole keyboard.
    6405

Step 4 : Remove The RAMs

These 2 RAMs are located at opposite sides of the laptop. DIMM A is located at the top of the touchpad and DIMM B is located right behind it.

Removing DIMM A

As soon as you removed the keyboard, DIMM A is reachable from there. Just push the pins sideways and the RAM will pop up.

6406

Removing DIMM B

DIMM B is located at the back of the laptop, so you will have to reach in from the base of the notebook.

  1. Note the small compartment above the battery.
  2. Unscrew it.
  3. DIMM B is inside, use the same method of RAM removal with DIMM A.
    6407

Step 5 : Remove The DVD/CDROM

  1. At the bottom of the DVD/CDROM, remove the screw if it is there.
  2. push the CDROM as shown from the picture below.

    6408

Step 6 : Remove The LCD Screen

  1. Disconnect all the cables from the WLAN card and the display cable.
  2. Unroute all the cables linked to the LCD screen.
    6409
  3. Turn the laptop around (bottom), unscrew two M2.5 x 8-mm screws labeled “D” .
  4. At the back of the notebook (where all the ports resides), remove two M2.5 x 8-mm screws.
    6410
  5. Lift the LCD screen from the base of the laptop.

Step 7 : Remove The Palm Rest

Note that this is also quite a hard part to disassemble. Be extremely careful and not to break any parts.

  1. Remove three M2.5 x 8-mm screws labeled “P” from the palm rest.
  2. Disconnect the Coin Cell Battery cable, Touch Pad cable and the Bluetooth Card.
  3. Loosen 2 captive screws at the hard drive compartment.
  4. Unscrew seven M2.5 x 8-mm screws located at the bottom of the notebook.
  5. Starting from the back of the laptop, carefully separate the palm rest from the base of the laptop.
    6411

Step 8 : Remove The Speaker & Modem

Removing Speaker

Just disconnect the speaker cable and your speaker is out. There’s no need to remove any screws.

Removing Modem

  1. Remove the M2 x 3-mm screw that secures the modem.
  2. Disconnect the modem cable
  3. Pull the modem out using the pull tab (star labeled).
    6412

Step 9 : Remove The Card Reader

  1. Unscrew four M2 x 3-mm screws.
  2. Pull the card reader out using the blue colored pull-tab
    6413

Step 10 : Remove the Heat Sink

I am sorry that I do not have a proper picture of the removal of heat sink. But I do have pictures of the heatsink when I was removing the palm rest though, that should be enough.

  1. Remove four captive screws according to the sequences 1, 2, 3, 4 written on the heatsink.
  2. Lift the heat sink assembly out from the motherboard
    6415

NOTE: Can you see the blue substance in between the processor’s core and the heatsink. Those are called thermal compound that helps heatflow from the processor’s core to the heatsink. It’s always better to scrap it off and replace it with new thermal compound.

Step 11 : Remove the Motherboard

You are almost there, just the last piece of component (the motherboard) that is the most fragile due to the amount of chips on it. Please, anything you do, don’t break any of the microchips on the motherboard.

  1. Disconnect the fan cable.
  2. Disconnect the other two cables circled in the picture below.
  3. Remove 4 hex screws on the serial ports.
    6414
  4. Remove four M2.5 x 5-mm screws as shown below.
  5. Gently and slowly lift the motherboard out from the laptop.
    6414

Step 12 : Remove & Clean the Fan

Congratulations you have disassembled one of the hardest notebook disassembly process. Well, the most tedious I would say.

  1. Just remove one M2.5 x 5-mm screw for the fan
  2. Remove the fan from the base of the laptop

Damn I spent my whole afternoon writing this guide. I seriously hope it will help those D620 notebook users. Alright, this is all for How To Disassemble Dell Latitude D620.

Please inform me if I missed any of the crucial steps during the disassembling process.

More laptop disassembly guides at the Laptop Disassembly Archive.

Please forward any questions or comments regarding Laptop Disassembly to the Forum at Real Time Gamer (RTG) website. RTG is a website we have long-term partnership with.

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98 Comments

  1. Seeliewight

    Thanks – I had to reseat the RAM on my brother’s laptop, and I found your site very helpful. Needless to say, the operation was a success.

    June 27, 2010 at 7:22 pm
  2. FSD

    Thank you for this excellent guide. I needed to replace a broken hinge and succeeded at it. Is it me or the D620′s hinges are incredibly hard and designed to break?

    July 11, 2010 at 6:14 am
  3. Florin Georgescu

    great article, except one thing: it’s a shame that you don’t have links for bigger photos.
    the keyboard connector is a nightmare when it comes to reconnect it…

    July 12, 2010 at 6:39 am
  4. @Florin, have you tried googling some Images, or perhaps finding a youtube video? That could probably help you out even further.

    Till then,

    Jean

    July 13, 2010 at 5:34 am
  5. Erik

    Quote(John Doe on March 17th, 2010 at 6:17 pm):
    Great guide! It might be worth noting that one doesn’t need to detach the motherboard. You can’t get the fan out all the way with the motherboard on, but you can move it around enough to pull most of the crap out of it.

    The the guide was good, I have a problem. Upon reassembly, my computer won’t turn on. I opened it back up and double checked all the connections, but to no avail. When I hit the power button, I can hear the computer starting up, and the three lights on the hinge cover to the left of the volume controls turn on (left one is steady, other two blinking). Of the lights on the right side, only the first one comes on. The computer sits there for about 40 seconds, then the bluetooth one comes on briefly, then it shuts itself off.

    Any ideas as to what I did wrong?

    I had this same problem. Turned out the RAM under the keyboard was not seated properly. I just reseated it and it started working!

    August 1, 2010 at 9:20 am
  6. james

    thanks for the help!!! nice easy steps to follow!!!thanks man!!!

    August 5, 2010 at 5:57 pm
  7. Naeem

    Thanks a lot for the guide and for your time!!! you saved me a lot of headache.

    August 12, 2010 at 11:20 pm
  8. Tee-elle

    Great guide! Very helpful! Thanks so much for posting this!!!!:)

    September 1, 2010 at 3:01 am
  9. happy D620 user

    Great post! Allowed me to open and cleanup without breaking anything or unscrew more screws than needed or in the wrong order. Thanks James!

    September 30, 2010 at 5:28 am
  10. Steve

    You forgot something. You didn’t say what to do if you disassemble it completely, then reassemble and no lights come on. Here’s what you do if it doesn’t start.

    1. Go outside and scream.
    2. Go pee.
    3. Drink a Diet Coke
    4. Disassemble it again (completely – including ALL electrical connections)
    5. Reassemble carefully. It should work this time – it did for me. :)

    Seriously.. thanks for this guide. I’ve taken apart quite a few laptops but I always like to have an online guide open. Yours is as good as any of the best I’ve seen. Thanks for putting it together.

    October 14, 2010 at 12:18 pm
  11. Chainsaw

    Pretty good. Myself, I just downloaded the service manual (html, unfortunately) from the Dell website. Your pictures are nicer but they have more detail.

    The little pill boxes with a container for each day of the week are great to keep the screws separate in. On my D620, the manual said “remove the system board screws” not mentioning that they are two different sizes.

    Unfortunately it didn’t help. My fan wasn’t working, and to get the fan out, you have to take EVERYTHING apart. Having done so, I powered the fan off a switchable wallwart (3v/4.5v/6v/7.5v/9v) and the fan works just fine off 3v or 4.5v. Not only that, there was hardly any dust at all in the fan or cooler. This means the system board isn’t supplying power to the fan, which means a new system board. WOO HOO!

    October 17, 2010 at 5:30 pm
  12. Ara

    Thanks for this fantastic guide! I was told the motherboard in my Latitude D620 died and this guide helped me take it out. Now, can anyone suggest a good place (online) to buy a new motherboard for my laptop? Thanks!

    November 3, 2010 at 5:32 am
  13. Tercio

    Thanks a lot for having the trouble to create this disassembly steps! It works for the latitude d630 aswell. Great Job!

    December 8, 2010 at 6:04 am
  14. mirza saboor baig

    sir i am really thankful o you for such a great help…!

    me to having the same problem of overheating, i tried it on my own earlier but that was of no use…but after going through such an informative article..em really glad to da that all on my self!
    thanks alot once again!

    December 9, 2010 at 11:46 pm
  15. Rancotz

    Hi My laptop is dell latitude d620, the day after yesterday it was working fine but in the morning when i tried to switch on, The following was the result:.Caps lock scroll lock flashing 45 times then went off, and fan is not running.. Any one can help me?

    December 13, 2010 at 4:47 pm
  16. Rancotz

    Quote(Rancotz on December 13th, 2010 at 4:47 pm):
    Hi My laptop is dell latitude d620, the day after yesterday it was working fine but in the morning when i tried to switch on, The following was the result:.Caps lock scroll lock flashing 45 times then went off, and fan is not running.. Any one can help me?

    December 13, 2010 at 8:09 pm
  17. JomBob

    Thanks buddy. Most useful.

    December 14, 2010 at 2:35 am
  18. Bart

    Thanks! just replaced the bottom base from my D620 which was broken with a new one from Ebay.

    Kind regards from the Netherlands.

    December 18, 2010 at 8:41 pm

3 Trackbacks

  1. [...] Continued here: How To Disassemble Laptop (Dell Latitude D620) | How To | AhWee.com [...]

  2. [...] It’s Maximum Performance. … you that the D620 is not easy to disassemble View post: How To Disassemble Laptop (Dell Latitude D620) | How To | AhWee.com Computerafford-it-nor, area, clean-the-fan, dell, detailed-step, harddisk, laptop, latitude, [...]

  3. By nPulse » Demontage de mon Dell D830 on July 23, 2011 at 4:03 am

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