Re: how to replace laptop fan?
- From: Allan Adler <ara@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 11 Jun 2007 11:30:17 -0400
Allan Adler <ara@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
I talked to the guy at the computer repair place today and brought my
laptop. He didn't go into a lot of detail, but he explained briefly what
I have to do, pointing to specific parts of the laptop. He says there are
no hidden latches in general. He says to unscrew all the screws on the
bottom, remove the battery and the various drives and, when all that is
out, turn it over and use a flat head screwdriver to lift up the part that
is between the keyboard and the bottom of the screen. I should be careful
not to force anything (e.g. a little effort might reveal another screw to
unscrew).Once that part is lifted, it will be possible to remove the keyboard.
The fan will be located below the keyboard.
Someone here told me I have to remove the keyboard. The computer shop's
explanation is consistent with that, but sheds more light on how it is done.
I waited until this morning to try to open up the laptop. Following Jasen's
advice, I make little slips of paper and numbered them 1-20 or so and attached
them to the bottom of the laptop with scotch tape. Then I made duplicate labels
to attach to the screws as they came out. I was pretty sure that, contrary
to the advice of the guy at the computer place, I didn't really have to remove
all the screws and all devices plugged into the various bays, so I focused
on the ones that seemed to be located in the relevant area. I tried with a
flat head screwdriver to lift up the part between the keyboard and the bottom
of the screen from time to time (call it Part A) and it kept getting easier
as more screws were removed. Finally, it just came out. Then I tried to
remove the keyboard. It is fairly flexible and I tried pulling on it from
the top, which had just been exposed with the removal Part A. It was possible
to get a couple of clips at the bottom of the keyboard to come out, but the
space key seemed to be firmly attached. I removed another screw and it came
out easily.
I examined Part A and noticed that there were two threaded metal spacers
that were the only things that attached Part A to the bottom of the laptop.
I examined the corresponding places on the bottom and noticed that each of
them had an arrow on the case pointing to the screw. So, in retrospect,
it is now OBVIOUS which screws have to be removed to remove Part A: there
are only two and they are the ones with the arrows next to them. I also
examined the last screw I had to remove to take out the keyboard and saw
that it had a symbol next to it. I had noticed both the arrows and this
symbol when I was removing screws but didn't know what significance to
attach to them. In particular, I thought that the symbol next to the
screw I removed for the keyboard was a symbol for the motherboard, but
actually, the rectangular symbol is a picture of the keyboard.
In short, there are 3 screws that had to be removed and their locations were
clearly indicated, two by arrows and one by a picture of a keyboard. I won't
know whether this conclusion is completely correct until I have put the
thing back together and can try again to take it apart by removing just
those three screws. At the moment, there are several screws out.
There is some dirt I might like to clean out on the underside of the keyboard
and elsewhere. I'm not sure what to use. Maybe alcohol on a cotton swab or
paper towel. But the main problem that remains is to remove the fan. It
is mostly below Part A but it was still necessary to remove the keyboard
because part of the fan casing is below the keyboard. The fan assembly
has some screws of its own. Removing Part A exposed a picture containing
instructions on how to remove the fan assembly: it clearly shows 4 screws
to remove and then a particular metal tab to lift. Symmetry in the construction
suggested that there ought to be a 5th screw to remove, but located under
some electrical tape. I lifted the electrical tape and there was indeed
another screw.
So, I think I know what I have to do to remove the fan. I'm hungry now
and will work on it later, but I first wanted to post details of this
recent progress. All the screws I removed are attached to labels and
have been placed in a sandwich bag, along with the unused labels,
so I don't think I'll have any trouble picking up where I left off.
The unexpected side effect of this progress is that now I would like to
get my hands on some more laptops and try to open them up. I often see
PC's thrown away on the street, but never laptops.
--
Ignorantly,
Allan Adler <ara@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL. My actions and
* comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere near Boston.
.
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