crwdns2942213:0crwdne2942213:0
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Slide the left and the right battery release latches to the unlock position.
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Slide the battery and remove it from the computer.
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Press the ExpressCard to release it from the computer.
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Slide the ExpressCard out of the computer.
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Press the keyboard down. Pry the keyboard with the use of a flat-head screwdriver towards the display to reveal the first keyboard retainer.
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Pry up the second keyboard retainer.
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Pry up the third keyboard retainer.
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Pry up the fourth keyboard retainer.
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Pull up the keyboard from the palm rest.
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Release the latch on the system board connector, then disconnect the keyboard cable.
It is also required to loose the screw just beside the latch mentioned in this step.
These (and Dell’s) instructions don’t mention that you have to disconnect a second keyboard cable. It’s a 4 pin ZIF connector, you can see it in the picture above, already disconnected.
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Loosen the screw that secures the memory door.
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Pry up the memory door near the screw hole, lift and remove it.
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Remove the screw that secures the optical drive to the computer.
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Gently pry the optical drive out of the computer.
Make sure you have loosen the screw beside the keyboard cable latch, mentioned in the comments of Step 8.
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Remove the screws that secure the optical drive bracket.
You can skip this step when replacing the HDD, it isn’t necessary at all.
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Remove the optical drive bracket from the optical drive module.
You can skip this step when replacing the HDD, it isn’t necessary at all.
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Remove the screws in the battery compartment.
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Remove the screws in the optical drive compartment.
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Remove the rubber from the bottom base on the right side.
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Remove the rubber from the bottom base on the left side.
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Remove all the screws from the bottom base.
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Flip the computer around and remove the screws that secures the palm rest.
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Release the latches on the system board connector, then disconnect the touch pad cable and the finger printer cable.
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Release the latch on the system board connector and then disconnect the power button cable.
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Release the latch on the system board connector and then disconnect the hot key cable.
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Pry up the right side of the palm rest.
There are a couple of latches on the front of the palm rest which should be released before you move on to the sides. I think one of those latches is released in the picture above. The iFixit opening tool was helpful here, and I used some of the iFixit opening picks to stop the corner latches from closing while I worked on others.
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Pry up the left side of the palm rest.
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Pry up the sides of the palm rest and remove it from the computer.
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Remove the screws that secure the hinge cover.
You can skip this step, and others related to removing the display, because removing the display isn’t strictly necessary.
Con of removing the display:
o It takes time
Pros of removing the display:
o It makes it a little easier to remove the VGA card
o The computer will tip with the weight of the display when you remove other components.
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Press down on the hooks highlighted in the image.
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Flip the computer around and remove the hinge cover from the side.
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Remove the screws that secure the display hinge.
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Loosen the screw that secures the low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) cable.
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Disconnect the LVDS cable from the system board.
By pulling it upwards?
Indeed, pull straight up using the integrated handle on the connector. It required more force than I expected, and popped off suddenly once I pulled hard enough.
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Disconnect the wireless local area network (WLAN) antenna cable.
You can skip this step if you decide not to remove the display.
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Remove the screws that secure the left hinge.
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Remove the screws that secure the right hinge.
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Lift the display assembly and remove it from the computer.
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Remove the screw that secures the WLAN card.
You can skip this step if you decide not to remove the display.
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Pull the WLAN card straight out of its socket and remove it.
You can skip this step, it isn’t strictly necessary.
Cons of removing the WLAN card:
o I found the screw in the last step very stubborn, worried about stripping it.
o Takes time.
Pros of removing the WLAN card:
o Might make disconnecting the system board a little easier later. I had no trouble with the WLAN card in place though.
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Release the latch on the system board and then disconnect the VGA cable.
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Remove the screw that secures the VGA board.
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Remove the VGA board from the chassis.
If you decided to leave the display in place, you can just loosen the screw on the VGA board, and leave the board itself where it is. The board blocks access to a screw securing the system fan, but once you’ve removed the screw from the VGA board you can just push the VGA board out of the way and remove the system fan screw. Of course, this means the VGA board can move around while you’re working on the rest of the computer, but I didn’t find that was a big problem. You could temporarily reinstall the VGA board screw after you’ve removed the system fan.
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Disconnect the system fan cable from the system board.
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Remove the screw that secures the system fan.
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Remove the system fan from the bottom base module.
I found this a good time to clean out dust that had accumulated around the fan.
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Disconnect the DC-in cable connector from the system board.
This connector is on the underside of the computer, close to the battery compartment.
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Disconnect the speaker cable from the system board.
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Remove the screws that secures the system board.
This picture shows 6 screws to be removed, but I couldn’t find 2 of them. The holes for the 4 I found were labelled B1, B2, B3, and B4.
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Disconnect the system board from the Input/Output panel.
This required a fair bit of force, and I wasn’t able to do it just using my fingers. I used an iFixit Opening Tool as a lever, alternating between the two ends of the connector until it released.
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Lift and remove system board from the chassis.
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Remove the screws that secures the hard drive bracket
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Slide the hard-drive module to release it from the system board
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Remove the hard drive module from the system board.
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Remove the screws that secures the hard-drive bracket on one side.
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Remove the screws that secures the hard-drive bracket on the other side
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Slide the hard drive from the hard-drive bracket.
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
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RampUP America, Inc. crwdns2935289:0RampUP America, Inc.crwdne2935289:0
Community
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crwdns2947412:04crwdne2947412:0
Stupidest HDD location EVER! You have to fully disassemble your device for the simple operation.
Who the !&&* designs a hard drive location that requires complete disassembly of the motherboard and the laptop to replace. Horrible, horrible design.
It’s possible to skip removing the display and the WLAN card, which saves a bit of time and trouble. I think I understand why this guide and Dell’s user guide recommend removing these parts, it makes other steps a _little_ easier, but I didn’t find it was worthwhile.
I’ve done this upgrade twice now, and I think the iFixit Opening Tool (along with the spudger) makes this job easier. Besides releasing latches for the palm rest and the memory door, it was very helpful to pry up the System Board from the Input/Output Panel.
