opening up / disassembling a Dell Latitude D531 laptop (and putting it back together)

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neurotrash1982

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Greetings PCreviewers,

We recently had an insect infestation problem over at a building where I stayed for long periods at a time. Theyre a type of roach, I know they may infest electronics including computer hardware. Now I would like to make sure that my old laptop is completely clean. I have never actually cleaned a laptop on the inside, so I wouldnt really know how to go about it. I am buying a new one and using a desktop elsewhere at this time so it shouldnt be too much of a drama if something goes awry when I try to open it. It's partly out of experimental interest that I'm trying to do this; it's basically something I feel I should probably have tried a long time ago anyways.

Simply put: how do I open my laptop and take it apart from the inside with some chance of reassembling a somewhat working computer? I have found a pretty thorough guide on how to take out both memory sticks and the keyboard. Where can I find information on how to do the rest? Any references guides tips guidelines tales of experience etc... are more than welcome.

Further greetings,

neuro
 
Just a few tips:

Every laptop is different, albeit it often in subtle ways, in the way it's constructed.

Taking apart a laptop and reassembling it can be fraught with risks if the person doing the work is inexperienced.

You will need a set of security tools, those ones similar to screwdrivers but with star or torq shapes.

Finding every single screw and bolt holding the laptop together can be quite frustrating, they're hidden under feet, labels, covers and probably other unlikely places.

Usually a great deal of the laptop's interior can be accessed simply by removing the battery, hard disk and memory. This may help if you want to use compressed air and/or a vacum cleaner.

It may be worth buying a keyboard button extractor tool, removing the keys and giving a good clean to the area beneath them.

You will always have at least two screws left over when the laptop is reassembled, this is one of the irreversible facts of life.

Proceed with caution and good luck, common sense and a mechanical aptitude will prevail ;)
 
I have been playing with computers for 20 yrs so far and taking apart a laptop still gets to me sometimes. Think of it as Legos, with electricity.

My advice for someone who is inexperienced with laptop (or electronics in general) is to document.

Start with a large open surface. A dining room table for example. Try not to cover the table with a fabric. This may cause static electricity to build and then you could fry internals. The screws are small, so be sure to have some way that they cannot get lost. I like to use blue tape sometimes when I am at home doing this. My work bench has holders for screws to organize the assembly. From there, start to disassemble the unit in a "logical" manner. As Flops said, there will be screws in odd places. So don't get frustrated. If you have to do so, take a picture before you remove a set of screws. That way, you have an image of how it is supposed to look. If you don't have a hi resolution camera, this may be tricky.

In the end, lay the parts out in an organized grouped fashion so that you have all the boards and screws and what wiring comes out together. This will help to ensure that you put the right screws in the right place and help keep it logical. You know if you reach for the next nearest part, that part goes in....somewhere. It should be fairly obvious where it goes and if not, use your pictures.

Have fun!
 
Get a copy of Scott Muellers - Upgrading & Repairing Laptops from your local library. It may well help you to take it apart & more importantly put it back together!:thumb:
 
Thanks for the feedback, although I haven't really got to it yet. I kinda look forward to exploring the insides of a computer I have been using for three years though. I'll look for those tools Floppy mentioned. Maybe I will post some of those pics I will make to help me reassemble it, but I'm not making any promises!
 
try looking at the Dell support site. I haven't taken any computer apart completely but it did show my how to change the keyboard in my old Inspiron 1300, I found it well written and easy to follow and I know very little about computers.
 
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