It has been awhile since I actually disassembled a laptop or even written an article. Fortunately, when I was back in hometown for new year, my brother who trusted my ability to disassemble laptop had offered me the opportunity to clean his Dell Latitude E4300.

This guide will explain detailed step by step way on how to dismantle to clean a Dell Latitude E4300 notebook.

READ ME

Advices taken here are taken at your own risk. AhWee.com will be held no responsibility if your laptop malfunction or 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 (Size #0 is great)
2. Flat Blade Screwdriver (usually a test pen)
3. A brush (about 1 inch or 2 cm wide would do it, not too big)

It pays to go to your nearest hardware store and get a well fit Phillips screwdriver because you don’t want to spoil the screws in your laptop.

Before You Start

Here are a few things you’ll need to do before you start to disassemble your Dell Latitude E4300.

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 E4300, unlock 2 of the latches and remove the battery out from the battery bay.
   
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.

Getting excited? We’re good to go now.

Step 1 : Remove The Harddisk

Always (I mean like every freaking time), remove the harddisk first and store it inside an antistatic bag if possible.

1. Turn the laptop upside down. Note the harddisk is at the lower right hand corner.
2. Unscrew two M3x3 screws.
   
3. Slide the harddisk out from it’s compartment.

Step 2 : Remove The Hinge Cover

I like the hinge cover in E4300, very flexible (very easy to break too) and easy to remove.

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.
   

Step 3 : Remove The Keyboard

After you remove the hinge cover, you can see three screws that secures the keyboard.

1. Unscrew all the three M2x3 screws located at the top of the keyboard.
2. Lift the keyboard up from the top, then slide the keyboard out.
3. The connector is not a wire so it slides out together along with the keyboard.
   

Step 4 : Remove The LCD Screen

1. Turn your laptop upside down, remove two M2.5×4 screws securing the display assembly on the white support.
   
2. Remove two more M2.5×4 screws at the back of the laptop
   
3. Turn the laptop rightside up and open the screen as far as possible.
4. Remove the display cable with the blue tab.
5. Remove 3 (white, grey, black) antennas that is labelled “Display”.
   
6. Slowly lift the LCD screen out from its respective compartments.

Step 5 : Remove The Palm Rest

Note that this is the hardest part during a laptop disassembly. Be extra careful here to make sure every cable are dislodged and every screw is unscrewed before taking the palm rest apart.

1. Turn the laptop upside down and remove the two M2.5×8 from the bottom of the computer and two M2x3 screws from the harddisk’s compartment.
   
   Obviously, I forgot to remove the harddisk first, sorry.
2. Turn the laptop rightside up, remove the five M2.5×8 screws and five M2.5×5 screws from the palm rest. The sizes are labelled beside each screw.
   
3. Remove 6 cables that connects the palm rest to the motherboard.
4. Start from the back of the laptop, slowly disengage every hooks until you have the whole palm rest out.

NOTE: If you think something is not right with the palm rest (it is not coming out or something), chances is that there are still some screws or cable still connected. Trust your instincts.

Step 6 : Remove The Dirty Fan

After the palm rest have been removed, you can see the system fan clearly.

1. Disconnect the cable that connects the fan to the motherboard.
2. Remove one M2.5×5 screw.
   

Sponge of dust would usually clog the air vent. It is extremely normal actually.

There you go, Dell Latitude E4300 disassembled.

Please inform me if I missed any of the crucial steps, wrote wrong screw dimensions or even forgot to add the tools needed to complete this guide.

More laptop disassembly guides at the Laptop Disassembly Archive.

Apple introduced its newest tablet style product called the Apple iPad on 27th of January at San Francisco. I watched the Keynote; everybody was dead silent when Steve Jobs ran through all the features available on the iPad, unlike the cheers and applauses on the iPhone during its first debut.

When I looked through Facebook, tonnes of disappointed Apple fans updated their status with “iPad, a gigantic iPod Touch”. Myself on the other hand think the Apple iPad is “the future” if Apple would be bothered to revise it.

Apple has always focused on user interface to redesigned our lives. On the Apple iPhone, Apple redesigned the way we use mobile phones.  On the iPad however, Apple have done a superb job focusing on user interface, but has it redesigned our lives?
From the looks of our many Facebook colleagues, not quite.

If Apple thinks that enlarging the iPod Touch and introducing the iBookStore would mean anything near to “redesign lives”, Apple is dead wrong. It is simply not going to work. Look, the iPad will be mostly used in offices or at home. We have high speed laptops and desktops at these places, why should we the iPad instead?

Here are the questions.

1. Is the iPad better at web surfing?
   I doubt so, can it open 30 tabs to work with?
2. Is the iPad worth $499 to share & view pictures with?
   Highly doubt so.
3. Does the iPad score better at watching movies?
   Definitely a no if you’re a fan of big screens and an audio freak.
4. Is the iPad better at listening to music?
   I already have an iPod touch mate.
5. How about email (Apple hyped a lot at this)?
   I can definitely reply email faster with my workstation.
6. But how about reading books with your iPad?
   Sounds like a future to me.

I beg to differ what Steve Jobs has explained in the keynote. He said the iPad is far better at doing some important things than the iPhone and the Macbook. From the questions I have asked above, I’d say the iPad failed at doing everything. It is just another “Improved Netbook” that fails at everything.

So the only reason I think anybody would use to persuade themselves to get the iPad is the book reading feature. But does that justify the need to get another $499 gadget ($829 at its best spec)?

I personally think the iPad was mixed with the hype of iPhone thus blinded Apple’s development team from searching an identity (or a specialty) for its newest product.

The Apple iPhone has an identity, a revolutionized mobile phone. The Apple iPod also has an identity as well, iPod revolutionize your music. The iPad? Let’s just say as things stands now, the iPad has yet to have an identity of its own.

Apple iPad, Revolutionize Your Home

When I first saw the size of the iPad, what came to me was that this is something I would love to play with when I am taking a break away from my workstation (a laptop or a desktop). Ultimately a gadget perfect for a home, where I can do whatever I do in the living room all in that one piece of metal.

A Library at Home

Apple has done this and I would say this is the biggest step to the future. Many kids have always read story books under a shade which could cause eye problems later in life, same goes to reading books in the iPhone, I can barely see the texts. Reading books in a laptop or desktop however, does not give you the sense of satisfaction.

Therefore the new iBookStore for the iPad in my personal opinion is a huge step forward. Apple iPad has the size of an average book size and is perfect for reading, in any position.

Of course, Amazon’s Kindle has done it before Apple, but is it as user friendly as the iPad?

Built-in Home Telephone

Home phones has run its course in human life now, it is old technology and should be replaced. I irk every time the telephone rings (especially the old ring noise) and how unfitting it is to room spaces and usefulness.

Sometimes it is even more nerve breaking when you are to jot down notes through your phone. You just couldn’t find the pen and paper! While iPad does it all with just a flick of a finger.

Built-in TV

While revolutionizing a home, a built-in TV should not be missed in the iPad. Build the iPad in such a way that it becomes a second TV at home, wirelessly. This way, parents and children would not fight for the favourite TV channels and end up with cold faces at dining tables.

I believe with all these built into the Apple iPad, it will give Apple targeted customers a reason to replace household things (especially the telephone) with the iPad regardless of its price.

What’s the point of creating a product when any older product can easily outdo it? Create one that is made to substitute older products. That is what triggers human nature to change, in which we call revolution.

Out of a dozen Inspiron 6400s I am pretty sure eleven of them suffers from wobbling screens. Of course, mine wasn’t excluded from this “disease” as well. So today I decided to fix this problem and at the same time create a different post on how to disassemble the bezel and replacing the LCD panel.

• Constant adjustment to the screen
• Opening and closing the screens in an extremely fast manner
• Aggressive/fast screen movements

We all know how irritating wobbling screen can be sometimes, especially when you know there is something lose inside but you have no idea how to fix it. Thus, this article is written to solve the wobbling screen problem.

First I must confess that my wobbling issue was not severe, therefore I can easily solve it with my method. For those who have serious wobbling cases, you can try this method but I am not sure that it will 100% help you fix your problem.

Fixing Wobbling LCD Screen

1. Remove the LCD Screen.
2. Remove the Display Bezel.
3. As the display bezel is removed, you can see four screws (2 screws every hinge)
4. If your Dell Inspiron 6400 suffers from wobbling screen, most probably screws near the hinges are lose.
5. Tighten all the four screws on the both the hinges.
   

And you are done, wobbling screen fixed. Enjoy using your Dell Inspiron 6400 without being irritated by wobbling screen.

More laptop disassembly guides at the Laptop Disassembly Archive.

Due to popular search demands on removing the display bezel and the last day of using my camera, I decided to try and disassemble the display bezel. It was a success that’s why this article can be written to cater for those who want to replace their Dell Inspiron 6400′s LCD panel.

Removing the Display Bezel

1. Remove the Battery (available here).
2. Remove the Hinge Cover (available here).
3. Remove the LCD Screen (available here).
4. Note that in every round display bumpers, there is a M2.5 x 4.2-mm screw.
5. Unstick all the display bumpers. Please take note that some display bumpers comes out in 2 pieces. So you might need to pry it out with a small screwdriver before you get to unscrew it.
   
6. Unscrew all the six screws in the display bumpers.
7. Here is the hard part, it is extremely hard to unclip all the protruding edges shown below. On each side, there are at least three edges you will need to unclip.
   You will need to apply some strength to force the edges out, so don’t be sissy with the edges.
   

Replacing the LCD Panel

1. After the bezel is removed, you can fix the wobbling screen or replace the LCD panel.
2. To change a LCD panel, simply remove eight M2 x 3-mm screws (four on each sides of the panel).
   
3. Disconnect two connectors. One with the blue tag, another one by clipping it in and pull it out.
   
4. Connect those two connectors to the new LCD panel.
5. Fix it into the display back cover.

There you go, removing the display bezel and replacing the LCD panel of a Dell Inspiron 6400. I hope it helped you guys solve some of your problems.

More laptop disassembly guides at the Laptop Disassembly Archive.

Have you ever wondered how much dust could be stuck inside your laptop? Dusts collect and grow, and can be damaging when it completely blocked your laptop’s air ventilation. Dust is laptop cooling system’s worst enemy, but how would you know how much dust has been collected and when should you clean your laptop?

What can dust do?

First, let’s talk about how heat is dissipated from laptops. An effective heat dissipation system would be a fan blowing on a lot of copper plates called “Heat Sink”. If you increase the number of copper plates, you have a better cooling system.

However, there is a pitfall if you introduce too many copper plates. If a clump of dust is bigger than the ventilation hole (the distance between copper plates), then dust will stuck and accumulate. It is just a matter of time before a sponge of dust emerges and blocks the ventilation holes.

Dusts have clogged the air vents

When that happens, air blown out from the fan can never reach the heatsink. And your laptop overheats, as the temperature reaches its maximum threshold, your computer will shut itself down to avoid damaging the electronic components.

Dust collecting around the fan would also damage the fan, resulting in an extremely loud and inefficient laptop fan.

Symptoms of a Dirty Laptop

Laptop gets very hot earlier than expected

If last year your laptop wasn’t hot at all when you are using word processing software and now you can feel the heat while doing the same thing, there could be dust accumulating inside your laptop.

No Air coming out from the heatsink

Occasionally feel for released air coming out from the heatsink (usually located at the back) of your laptop. The air could be very little, but enough for your hands to feel it.

If you can’t feel anything coming out, chances are the air ventilation is blocked.

Testing Method

A very good method to check for dust is to test your laptop with your favourite 3D game that sucks up a lot of resources from the laptop. Then compare it with the performance when your laptop was still new.

Play the game for 30 minutes, if the game lags and your laptop gets extremely hot, it is time to clean your laptop. This is how I determine when to clean my laptop

Clean your laptop once a year

A rule of thumb I often use before was to clean my laptop once a year. I’m not talking about wiping the screen and keyboards. I am talking about disassembling the laptop and cleaning it from the inside.

Would Cooler Pads Help?

This is one of the most popular questions asked by anybody before disassembling their own laptop. Since disassembling your laptop comes with a little risk, seeking an alternative way could be a solution for some people.

The answer for the question is of course yes, it helps. It’s just that the downside is if your laptop rely on cooler pads to cooldown, it has lost its portability.

So here’s a suggestion, if you are afraid of risking your laptop due to the disassemble operations, get a cooler pad. Otherwise, disassemble the laptop yourself.

I have compiled some laptop disassembling guides at the Laptop Disassembly page. I am doing my best to expand the guide, so if you live in Sydney, don’t want to buy a cooler pad and want somebody to disassemble your laptop, I can volunteer to help.

Have been awhile since I last written anything. Here is a laptop disassemble guide, the Dell Precision M65. A workstation class notebook built for business purposes 3 years ago. This is quite a fighter I must say. All thanks to HQ and Thomas I am able to disassemble this laptop.

This guide will explain detailed step by step guide on how to dismantle a Dell Precision M65 notebook.

READ ME

This guide is made for the purpose of cleaning your laptop.

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.

Contents

1. Tools Needed
2. Before You Start
3. Step by Steps
4. Replace RAMs

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 (not too big, about 1 inch in width or smaller)

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.

Before You Start

Here are a few things you’ll need to do before you start disassembling your Dell Precision M65.

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. Disconnect all the Cables & Components
   It’s wise to disconnect all usb cables, pendrives, power and HDMI cables.
3. Put Some Cloth or Thin Sponge Under the Laptop
   To make sure that the rough table surface would not scratch your laptop.
4. Remove the Battery
   To remove the battery from your Dell Precision M65, simply grasp on the latch and lift the battery from the handle.
   
5. Ground the Motherboard
   When the battery is removed, simply ground the motherboard by pressing on the power button for a few seconds.
6. Ground your Hands
   Ground your hands by wearing a wrist grounding strap or touching an unpainted metal surface from time to time.

All preparations done. This is one of the easier type of laptop that can be cleaned without removing the motherboard (which is tedious).

Step 1 : Remove The Harddisk

For the sake of your business data stored inside the laptop, I strongly suggest the harddisk to be removed first and placed somewhere safe. Preferably inside an antistatic bag.

1. Remove two screws that secures the harddisk.
2. Pull the harddisk out from its compartment.
   

Step 2 : Remove The Hinge Cover

Removing hinge cover can be a little tricky as the hinge cover can be bent quite easily. You don’t want to bent it too much and break it but you need to apply enough force to snap it out from the palm rest. So be gentle.

1. Open your LCD screen all the way until it is 180 degrees with the base of the laptop.
2. Note the little notch at the right side of the hinge cover.
3. Use your flat blade screwdriver to pry up the hinge cover from the notch.
4. The popping sounds indicates that the edges are disconnected
   

Step 3 : Remove The Keyboard

I like removing keyboards, because they are so easy.

1. Remove all three screws located at the upper side of the keyboard.
2. DO NOT pull your keyboard out yet, the connector is located right behind the keyboard.
3. Slowly lift the keyboard upwards so that you can disconnect the keyboard cable.
   

Step 4 : Remove WLAN Card

1. In case you don’t know where WLAN card is, it is located at the bottom left hand side, beside it is the WWAN slot.
2. Simply disconnect all those antennas. (Don’t worry if you will forget where the antenna go, the WLAN card clearly states that black is right side and white is left side)
3. Spread the securing metals apart to pop up the WLAN card.
4. Remove it from the slot.
5. Don’t forget to unroute the antennas from their routing guides.
   

Step 5 : Remove LCD Screen

1. Turn your laptop upside down and remove 2 screws labeled “D” (for display) at the bottom of the laptop.
2. Turn your laptop topside up and remove 2 screws at the back of the laptop.
   
3. Disconnect the display cable from the motherboard by pulling the blue tag.
4. Unroute all the cables from the routing guides (highlighted) as shown in the figure below.
   
5. Lift the LCD screen up.

Step 6 : Remove The Palm Rest

Tired of looking at the dirty fan but unable to reach it already? This is just one step away and the hardest one.

1. Remove the bluetooth device at the center of the hinge cover.
2. Remove three screws labeled “M2.5X5″ from the top of the palm rest.
3. Disconnect the speaker cable and the touchpad cable located in between the RAM and WWAN.
   
4. Turn your laptop upside down and remove twelve M2.5 x 5-mm screws.
5. Starting from the back of the laptop, slowly disconnect all the edges of the palm rest and the base of the laptop.

Step 7 : Remove The Fan

Finally, the fan.

1. Disconnect the fan’s power cable.
2. Remove two screws securing the fan.
3. Lift the fan from its compartment.
   

Be amazed at how dirty your fan can be.

Extra: How To Replace Dell Precision M65′s RAMs

How to replace DIMM A

The DIMM A of this Dell Precision M65 is located right beneath the keyboard. To reach it you have to follow steps 1 – 3 in order to reach it.

How to replace DIMM B

If you think removing DIMM A is much of a hassle, DIMM B can be reached from the bottom of the laptop.

1. Locate the cover located at the center (bottom view).
2. Remove the cover by loosening the captive screw.
3. DIMM B is located right there.

All Dell built RAMs follow one standard method of removing the RAM

1. Spread the metal clips outward
2. The RAM will pop up ready to be removed
   

That is all for how to disassemble Dell Precision M65. Happy disassembling.

More laptop disassembly guides at the Laptop Disassembly Archive.

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.
   
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
   

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.
   

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.
   

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.

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.
   

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.

   

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.
   
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.
   
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.
   

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).
   

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
   

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
   

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.
   
4. Remove four M2.5 x 5-mm screws as shown below.
5. Gently and slowly lift the motherboard out from the laptop.
   

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.

Let’s step a generation back for laptop computers, where we will see these not-so-stylish (I’m just being honest here) Dell Latitude D610. Unstylishly as it looks, the performance of the laptop should not be disregarded as it is built to strike a balance between performance, size and battery life. I have to give thanks to my friend, Thomas and HQ who allowed me to disassemble this D610.

This guide will explain detailed step by step sequence on how to dismantle a Dell Latitude D610 laptop.

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.

Contents

1. Before You Start
2. Step by Steps
3. Remove RAMs

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 wide would do it)

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.

Before You Start

Here are a few things you’ll need to do before you start disassembling your Dell Latitude D610.

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. Disconnect all the Cables & Components
   It’s wise to disconnect all usb cables, pendrives, power and HDMI cables.
3. Put Some Cloth or Thin Sponge Under the Laptop
   To make sure that the rough table surface would not scratch your laptop.
4. Remove the Battery
   To remove the battery from your Dell Latitude D610, unscrew 1 screw and pull the battery latch outwards. The battery will automatically be lifted up.
   
5. Ground the Motherboard
   When the battery is removed, simply ground the motherboard by pressing on the power button for a few seconds.
6. Ground your Hands
   Ground your hands by wearing a wrist grounding strap or touching an unpainted metal surface from time to time.

All preparations done. Unfortunately, this laptop is designed by dirty people who doesn’t clean their laptops. So we’ll have to disassemble all the way to split the laptop into half in order to reach the fan (which contains the most dust).

Step 1 : Remove The Harddisk

This step is unnecessary. However, for the sake of your business data stored inside the laptop, I strongly suggest the harddisk to be removed and placed somewhere safe. Preferrably inside an antistatic bag.

1. Locate the harddisk that is just beside your battery.
2. Unscrew two M3 x 3-mm screws.
3. Pull the Harddisk handle and remove the harddisk.
   

Step 2 : Remove The Hinge Cover

For starters disassembling the hinge cover would always be a challenge. But as you get used to disassembling your laptop, this becomes as easy as eating peanuts.

1. Open your LCD screen as far as possible, all the way to 180 degrees.
2. Use your flat blade screwdriver (or testpen) to pry open the hinge cover from the right side.
3. Carefully unsnap the hinge cover starting from the right side.
   You will hear a few popping noises indicating that the hinge cover is disconnected from the base.
   

Step 3 : Remove The Keyboard

After your hinge cover is off, you will have access to the screws securing the keyboard.

1. Remove two M2.5 x 5-mm screws located at the top of the laptop.
2. Slowly lift up the keyboard (make sure you don’t snap the cable beneath).
3. Make sure you have enough room for your hand to go below the keyboard, then disconnect the cable by pulling the blue tag.
   

Step 4 : Remove The LCD Screen

Great job! You’ve disassembled 50% of your Dell Latitude D610. I know the lcd screen is heavier than the laptop base now. It’s irritating, let’s remove it.

Remove the Mini PCI Card

1. The Mini PCI Card is located bottom of the fan and left side of the RAM (DIMM A).
2. Unplug the antennas labeled “MAIN” and “AUX” and unroute them from their routings.
3. Pull the tabs located at the sides of the PCI Card, the card will pop up and ready for removal.
   

Remove the LCD Screen

1. Disconnect the display cable by pulling the blue pull-tab.
2. There’s also a captive screw right beside the display cable, unscrew it.
3. Remove four M2.5 x 5-mm screws located at each side of the lcd screen support.
4. Life the LCD screen out from the laptop base.
   

Step 6 : Remove The Palm Rest

This is the real challenge in disassembling laptops usually. During my first laptop disassembly I spent couple of hours only on this step, maybe because there isn’t a guide to help me out.

NOTE: If you have a CD/DVD ROM installed, just push it out like this.

Now let’s continue our Palm Rest disassembly.

1. At the top side up of the laptop, note 1 touchpad cable and two M2.5 x 5-mm screws.
   
2. Disconnect the cable and remove the two screws.
3. Turn the laptop upside down, remove thirteen more M2.5 x 8-mm screws.
   Pain in the ass I know, but not the hard part yet
4. Make sure all the screws are removed.
5. If everything is clear, separate the palm rest from the laptop base starting from the back. This is the hard part for every laptop, keep an eye on the force you exert here.
   

Just be careful not to break any components or hooks.

Step 7 : Remove & Clean The Dirty Fan

Removed the Palm Rest already? Cool, how long did it take you to do that? Anyhow, it’s time to clean the fan.

1. Unscrew two M2.5 x 8-mm screws.
2. Pull out the power cable.
3. Lift the fan off the base.
   

Cleaning Tips

Here’s a few places you need to pay more attention when cleaning your laptop.

1. The Fan
   Where most dusts are collected.
2. The Air Vents
   To improve air flow of the laptop. Would also collect a lot of dust. View here for example.
3. Motherboard
   Gently brush the dust away with a paint brush, not too hard unless you wanna break those little chips. You could also use a blower to blow all the dust out.
4. Covered part of the palm rest
   
5. Keyboard
   You will be amazed with how many things that was hid under the keys.

Extra: How To Remove The Latitude D610 RAMs

In your Dell Latitude D610, the RAMs are located at 2 parts of the laptop. DIMM A is located right beneath the keyboard and DIMM B is located at the bottom of the laptop.

Remove DIMM A

Follow the step by step instructions until Step 3 : Remove the keyboard. After Step 3, you can clearly see DIMM A. So what you do is pull the pins located at both sides of the RAM to remove it.

Remove DIMM B

This can be reached from the bottom of the laptop.

1. Locate the cover with a “M” label for Memory.
2. Open it and DIMM B is inside.
3. Pull the pins at both sides of the RAM to remove it.

I guess this is all for How to Disassemble your Dell Latitude D610. Have fun disassembling.

More laptop disassembly guides at the Laptop Disassembly Archive.

Updates

It has been confirmed the Latitude D610 is prone to the DC power jack problem.

Thanks to Ken, who provided us a link to the problem which is located here.

This laptop disassembly is special to me as the owner is one of the first person to say “yes” when I asked to clean his Dell Vostro 1200. It’s so special that the owner did not hesitate at all when making decision, he also entrusted and believed in me 100% when I first disassemble his Dell Vostro 1200. This is the second laptop I disassemble (mine was first) and I am extremely thankful to Balloon.

This guide will explain detailed step by step sequence on how to dismantle a Dell Vostro 1200 laptop.

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 wide would do it)

I usually have 2 Philips screwdrivers, one for disassembling (big), one for reassembling (small), paired with a test pen and a brush for cleaning.

Before You Start

Here are a few things you’ll need to do before you start disassembling your Dell Vostro 1200.

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. Disconnect all the Cables & Components
   It’s wise to disconnect all usb cables, pendrives, power and HDMI cables.
3. Put Some Cloth or Thin Sponge Under the Laptop
   To make sure that the rough table surface would not scratch your laptop.
4. Remove the Battery
   To remove the battery from your Dell Vostro 1200, slide the left battery latch to the left, right latch to the left, then ease the battery out from the compartment.
   
5. Ground the Motherboard
   When the battery is removed, simply ground the motherboard by pressing on the power button for a few seconds.
6. Ground your Hands
   Ground your hands by wearing a wrist grounding strap or touching an unpainted metal surface from time to time.

All preps done. Like the Dell XPS M1530 and Dell XPS M1330, Dell Vostro 1200 is also a very cleaning-friendly laptop. It’s extremely easy to clean laptops like these.

Cleaning Step 1: Remove The Harddisk

Even though it’s not necessary to remove the harddisk prior to cleaning the fan, but I highly suggest you to remove it and place it at a very safe place. In case anything happens, your files are still intact.

Fortunately for Vostro 1200 users, everything is under one roof cover. Fan, heatsink, RAM, WLAN and the harddisk.

1. At the bottom of the laptop, there’s a large L-shaped cover.
2. Remove one M2.5×5-mm screw and nine M2.5×8-mm screws.
3. Use the testpen to pry open from the top. The indentation is where you start prying.
4. Here’s how it looks inside …
   
5. Note the harddisk is at the bottom of the fan.
6. Unscrew two M2.5×3-mm screws then remove the harddisk by pulling the plastic tab.
   

Cleaning Step 2: Remove The Fan

Now I assume you have already removed the L-shaped cover as described at “Cleaning Step 1: Steps 1 – 3)” and you can see the fan clearly at the left side.

1. Remove one M2.5×5-mm screws that connects the fan to the motherboard.
2. Disconnect the fan cable.
   
3. Ease the fan out of it’s bay.

If your laptop has not been cleaned for a long time, dust will definitely collect in between your fan and the heatsink (orange color). Use the brush to clean the fan and the heatsink thoroughly

Now the disassembling process like I promised in the title. I presume that Cleaning step 1 and 2 has been done.

Disassembling Step 1: Remove RAM and WLAN Card

Under the same L-shaped cover, you can spot the RAM at the right side of the fan and WLAN card at the right side of the harddisk.

Removing the RAM

1. Pull the tabs located at both sides of the RAM outwards.
2. RAM pops up and ready to be taken out.
   

Removing the WLAN Card

1. Disconnect the antennas (black, grey and white).
2. Remove the 2 screws securing the card.
3. WLAN card pops up automatically, just slide it out from the compartment.
   

Disassembling Step 2: Remove The Hinge Cover

1. Note the screws around the battery compartment.
2. Remove three screws in the battery compartment and the M2.5×8-mm screw outside it. These are the screws which tightens the hinge cover to the palm rest.
3. Turn the computer around (top side up) and open the display screen as far as possible
4. Use the testpen to pry the hinge cover from the indentation located at the left side of the laptop.
5. To help this disassembling process, it is advisable to lift the hinge cover at the back of the laptop. What you are doing here is loosen the clip at the back, which will loosen the hinge cover (a lot).
   
6. Don’t pull the hinge cover directly out! Disconnect the cable first, then remove it.

Disassembling Step 3: Remove The Keyboard

I don’t know why but there are no screws securing the keyboard in the Dell Vostro 1200. So …

1. All you do is slide it upwards and lift it up
2. Remember there’s a very fragile keyboard cable right beneath the keyboard.
3. Make room for your hand to reach in and disconnect the cable by pulling two little tabs out.
   

Disassembling Step 4: Remove The LCD Screen

Now that your keyboard is removed already, you can see lots of cables right?

1. Unroute all the antennas, disconnect the display cable and 2 microphone cables.
2. After all the cables are disconnected and unrouted, take note of the LCD screen support to the base of the laptop.
3. Each side there is a M2.5×5-mm screws and a M2.5×10-mm screws.
4. Remove them. So in total you remove two M2.5×5-mm screws and the two M2.5×10-mm screws.
5. Slowly lift your LCD screen out of the laptop base.
   

Disassembling Step 4: Remove The Optical Drive

1. At the bottom of the laptop, note the M2.5×5-mm security screw with the “lock” label.
2. Remove the security screw.
3. Use the testpen to push the metal tab (bottom of the security screw) outwards.
4. Slide the optical drive out from it’s compartment.
   

Disassembling Step 5: Remove The Palm Rest

Well, for first timers, this is usually the hardest part to do. Don’t give up, because eventually it will open. Believe in yourself.

1. At the bottom of the laptop, remove five M2.5×8-mm screws and two M2.5×3-mm screws.
2. Turn the laptop over (top side up), there’s one M2.5×5-mm screw at the middle of the palm rest.
3. Disconnect the touch pad cable.
4. Gently (don’t break anything) lift the palm rest starting from the front of the laptop.
   

There you go … Dell Vostro 1200 disassembled. It’s not that hard isn’t it? It gets easier the more you disassemble, so do clean your laptop every year so that the maximum performance of your laptop can be maintained.

NOTE: I did not go all the way to disassemble the motherboard because I think it’s extremely risky (in a way) that you would accidentally bump any of the Integrated Chip and risk spoiling your motherboard.

More laptop disassembly guides at the Laptop Disassembly Archive.

I can’t describe how lucky and thankful I was during my last trip to KL before my flight back to Australia. A friend of mine, Cxlim who previously said “no” to my cleaning offer asked me to disassemble and clean his laptop. I replied casually, “What choice do I have?” deep in my heart, the drum was beating and all I could say to myself is “hell yeah!” because it’s the popular XPS series, The Dell XPS M1530.

This guide will explain detailed step by step sequence on how to dismantle a Dell XPS M1530 laptop.

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 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 (around 2.5 mm will do)
2. Flat Blade Screwdriver (usually a test pen)
3. A brush (about 1 inch would do it)

I usually have 2 Philips screwdrivers, one for disassembling (big), one for reassembling (small), paired with a test pen and a brush for cleaning.

Before You Start

Here are a few things you’ll need to do before you start disassembling your Dell XPS M1530.

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 dropping off the table.
2. Disconnect all the Cables & Components
   It’s wise to disconnect all usb cables, pendrives, power cables and HDMI cable.
3. Put Some Cloth or Thin Sponge Under the Laptop
   To make sure that the rough table surface would not scratch your laptop.
4. Remove the Battery
   To remove the battery from your Dell XPS M1530, slide the battery latch until it clicks. Then lift it up from its battery bay.
   
5. Ground the Motherboard
   When the battery is removed, simply ground the motherboard by pressing on the power button for a few seconds.
6. Ground your Hands
   Ground your hands by wearing a wrist grounding strap or touching an unpainted metal surface from time to time.

Now you’re good to go. The Dell XPS M1530 is very cleaning-friendly laptop akin to the its smaller version, the Dell XPS M1330.

Cleaning Step 1: Remove The Harddisk

Even though disassembling to clean the XPS M1530 is just one cover away from the most crucial area, the fan. However I still suggest removing the harddisk for data protection.

1. At the base of the laptop, note the container label.
2. Unscrew four M3 x 3-mm screws.
3. Just ease the harddisk out from it’s compartment.

Cleaning Step 2: Remove The Heatsink & Fan

1. At the base of the laptop, note the “Reversed L” shaped cover labeled “M” in the middle.
2. Unscrew the M2.5 x 5-mm “M” labeled screw and four other captive screws.
3. Lift the weirdly designed cover up. Man I hate how they design the cover.
4. You’ll be able to see the fan, RAM, heatsink and lots of chips (including the processor) underneath.
5. There are 6 captive screws and one M2.5 x 5-mm to unscrew as shown below. Don’t forget to unplug the fan cable.
6. Lift the heatsink slightly and remove it from the air vent. Illustrations below.

90% of the laptop dust will collect in between the air vent and the fan. All you need to do is clean them and your laptop will be dust free for another year (or two). You’re done!

However, if you’re a bit more adventurous or if there’s a big ant lying under the palm rest … dead, then you’ll need to continue reading.

Disassembling Step 1: Remove WLAN Card and RAM

Some components not necessary to be removed but it makes life easier if these little things are removed.

How to remove WLAN Card

1. Right beside the harddisk (left side), there’s a cover as big as a women’s palm.
2. Loosen the captive screws and lift the cover up.
3. Unplug the antennas connected to the WLAN card.
4. Unscrew a M2 x 3-mm screw.
   
5. The WLAN card will automatically pop up ready to be removed.

How to remove RAMs

1. Right beside the heatsink we talked about earlier is where all the RAMs are located.
2. Simply push the securing tabs sideways.
3. The RAM will pop up ready to be removed.

There are only 2 RAM slots and they both located at the same place.

Disassembling Step 2: Remove The Hinge Cover

This part is the toughest part. After disassembling laptops for more than 10 times, I even broke a very minor thing here. Maybe it’s my friend that’s giving me all the pressure that’s why I broke it *laughes*.

Back to reality, just be extremely careful when you remove the hinge cover.

1. Unscrew three M2 x 2-mm screws that is located under the battery bay that looks very different.
   
2. Open the LCD screen as far as possible.
3. Remove the hinge cover caps from each side of the hinge cover.
4. Lift the hinge cover from the front. Hopefully you don’t damage the plastic.
   This step is the hardest, I’d actually sweat while trying to open the hinge cover.
5. Take extreme caution here because there’s a very fragile cable located under the hinge cover. Rest the hinge cover on the LCD screen.

Disassembling Step 3: Remove The Keyboard

1. Unscrew the two M2.5 x 5-mm screws located at the top of the keyboard.
2. Instead of pushing it up, try to pry up the sides.
3. Then lift it up starting from the top part slowly.
4. There is the keyboard cable located right beneath the keyboard. Reach your hands over to disconnect it.

   

After this you’ll see the connector to the hinge cover. Disconnect the cable and put aside the hinge cover.

Disassembling Step 4: Remove The Bluetooth Card

1. Note the small Bluetooth card located upper left hand side (below the speaker) of the palm rest.
2. Remove the card from the black plastic cover.
3. Disconnect the cable.

Disassembling Step 5: Remove The LCD Screen

1. Remember the antenna cables you unplug when you were removing the WLAN Card?
2. Dislodge them from the routing guides and through the hole.
   Tips #1: Take a picture so you can remember how to place them back when you reassemble the laptop.
3. Disconnect the Display Cable and Webcam Cable.
4. Follow tips #1 and dislodge them all from the routing guides.
   
5. Unscrew two M2.5 x 5-mm screws labeled “D” located at the computer base.
6. Unscrew two M2.5 x 8-mm screws that supports the LCD screen to the laptop.
   
7. Lift the LCD screen up and put it somewhere it wouldn’t drop.

Disassembling Step 6: Remove The Palm Rest

This part is surprisingly easy compared to other notebooks. I don’t know why …

1. At the base of the laptop, unscrew eleven M2.5 x 5-mm screws (ten if you have already taken out the processor heatsink).
2. On the palm rest, remove only 1 screw and three cables (Bluetooth cable, Touch Pad cable and Biometric cable)
3. Ease up the palm rest starting from the back of the laptop (very carefully).
4. There’s a hidden cable right beneath the palm rest. Just lift the palm rest until you see the cable, then disconnect it.

That’s all for disassembling your Dell XPS M1530. I wouldn’t recommend going any further unless your motherboard failed or something. Because you might spoil the motherboard by taking it out. Happy disassembling and good luck.

More laptop disassembly guides at the Laptop Disassembly Archive.