crwdns2915892:0crwdne2915892:0
Screen have no backlight? Replace the inverter.
crwdns2860944:0crwdne2860944:0
crwdns2860947:0crwdne2860947:0
-
-
Use a coin or spudger to rotate the battery-locking screw 90 degrees clockwise.
-
-
-
Lift the battery out of the computer.
-
-
-
Unscrew the three evenly-spaced Phillips screws from along the rear wall of the battery compartment.
-
-
-
Rotate the L-shaped memory cover so it clears the battery compartment opening and lift it up and out of the computer.
-
-
-
Remove the following 3 screws:
-
One 11 mm Phillips#00 in the middle of the case. (Head: 5mm dia. x .75mm thick)
-
Two 14.5 mm Phillips #00 (Head: 5mm dia. x .75mm thick)
-
-
-
Remove the following 3 screws from the rear wall of the battery compartment:
-
One 3 mm Phillips #0. (Head: 2.75 mm. dia.)
-
Two 4 mm Phillips #0 on the either side. (Head: 2.75mm dia.)
-
-
-
Remove the two Phillips screws from either side of the right wall of the battery compartment (not the ones closest to the battery connector).
-
Two 6.25 mm Phillips #000. (Head: 4 mm. dia. x .5mm thick)
-
-
-
Remove the four indicated Phillips screws from the front wall of the battery compartment. When working from the left, remove the 2nd, 4th, 7th and 9th screw.
-
Four 3.25 mm Phillips #000. (Head: 4 mm. dia. x 4mm thick)
-
-
-
Remove the following 4 screws from the back of the computer:
-
The longer screws go on the inside, shorter screws on the outside.
-
Two 11 mm Phillips #00, with Shank (2.2mm dia. x 2 mm len.) (Head: 3.2 mm. dia. x .5mm thick)
-
Two 7.25 mm Phillips #00, with Shank (2mm dia. x 3.75 mm len.) (Head: 3.2 mm. dia. x .5mm thick)
-
-
-
Remove the two Phillips screws from the optical drive side of the computer.
-
Two 5.2 mm Phillips #00, with Shank (2.3mm dia. x 3.5 mm len.) (Head: 3.2 mm. dia. x .5mm thick)
-
-
-
Starting near the display and working around to the front of the computer, pry up on the upper case. A plastic opening tool or a medium hard guitar pick may help you to do this.
-
-
-
While holding up the upper case, pull up the black tab of the silver cable away from its connector.
-
While you have the upper case removed, you may want to take the opportunity to remove dust, hair, etc. It's best to use a can of compressed air, though if you use a brush, make sure that its bristles are made of a material (usually animal hair) that doesn't generate static electricity, which can destroy electronics.
-
-
-
Grasp the white plastic tab attached to the hard drive and pull it to the left, removing the hard drive from the computer.
-
-
-
Remove the two Phillips screws from the front edge of the optical drive.
-
Two 3.25 mm Phillips #000, (Head: 4 mm. dia. x .3 mm thick)
-
-
-
Disconnect the orange optical drive ribbon cable from the logic board. This cable can also be disconnected by prying straight up using a spudger.
-
-
-
Disconnect the newly revealed display data cable. If there is no pull-tab on the top of the connector, it may be helpful to use a spudger to disconnect this connector.
-
-
-
-
Disconnect the (once again) newly-revealed hard drive cable.
-
-
-
Peel up the foil tape between the fan and the optical drive. Lift the foil tape from the fan side, leaving it attached to the optical drive.
-
During reassembly, be sure to route the cables beneath the tape before reattaching it.
-
-
-
Pull up the display data cable from along the edge of the optical drive to reveal a silver Phillips screw.
-
-
-
Remove the 2 mm Phillips #00 screw securing the optical drive.
-
The Bluetooth cable may be covering the screw. If so, carefully push it aside. You may need to unscrew the cable clip to free the cable enough.
-
-
-
Lift the Bluetooth antenna board from the right side of the optical drive.
-
-
-
Deroute the hard drive cable from along the front of the optical drive.
-
-
-
Lift the front edge of the optical drive and slide it up and out of the computer.
-
-
-
Remove the following 3 screws:
-
Two 3 mm Phillips near the right speaker.
-
One 6 mm Phillips threaded through a hole in a plastic finger above the subwoofer.
-
-
-
Lift the right speaker out of its housing and set it to the side.
-
-
-
Using a spudger, gently pry up the white plastic slot and slide the metal c-channel to the right and away from the display.
-
-
-
Use a spudger to carefully disconnect the microphone cable from the logic board. You'll want to work from side to side, and slowly wiggle the connector out of its socket.
-
-
-
Lift up on the black right speaker cable with one hand, and deroute the microphone cable from the silver metal clip just above the right RAM slot.
-
-
-
If you didn't remove the ground loop screw in step 20 above, remove it now. It's a 7 mm (may be 4.2 mm in Santa Rosa/Penryn models) Phillips screw securing the ground loop in the right speaker cable and microphone cable to the metal framework.
-
-
-
Deroute the microphone cable and the black display data cable from the tabs at the bottom of the subwoofer.
-
-
-
Remove the single 3 mm Phillips screw securing the ground loop in the display data cable located just above the Bluetooth board.
-
-
-
Disconnect the three antenna cables from the Airport card. There may be a square foam piece over the logic board connector.
-
-
-
Remove the following 2 screws from the right hinge mount:
-
One 6 mm Phillips on the left side of the hinge mount.
-
One 10 mm Phillips on the right side of the hinge mount.
-
For Santa Rosa/Penryn models, see second picture and remove:
-
One 3 mm smalller diameter Phillips on the far left.
-
One 5.2 mm larger diameter 4.2 mm head Phillips in the middle.
-
One 10 mm Phillips from the far right.
-
Lift the right hinge mount with the small plastic piece out of the computer.
-
-
-
Hold the display with one hand while removing the screws from the left hinge mount.
-
Remove the following 3 screws from the left hinge mount:
-
One 7.2 mm smaller diameter Phillips from the right side.
-
One 5.2 mm larger diameter Phillips from the middle.
-
One 10 mm Phillips from the left side.
-
Lift the left hinge mount with plastic piece out of the computer.
-
Check that the cables on the right are not trapped under other cables.
-
-
-
Grasp the display assembly on either side, and lift it up and out of the computer.
-
-
-
Use a thin plastic card to release the tabs holding the front display bezel to the display assembly. There are five tabs along the left side of the display bezel.
-
-
-
Continue to free the tabs along the the top edge of the display assembly.
-
-
-
Next, free the five tabs securing the display bezel on the right side.
-
-
-
Lift up the front display bezel from the top and use your plastic card to free the tabs along the bottom edge of the display bezel.
-
After freeing all holding tabs, lift the front display bezel away from the display assembly.
-
-
-
Use a metal spudger or another thin tool to carefully pry the gray plastic clips off the tabs molded into the front display bezel. A 0.8mm flat screwdriver may be useful for this step.
-
-
-
Insert the longer end of the retaining clip beneath the edge of its recess cut into the LCD bracket.
-
Use the edge of a metal spudger to push the shorter tab on the other side of the retaining clip into the recess cut into the LCD bracket.
-
-
-
Remove the three 4.2 mm Phillips screws securing the clutch cover.
-
-
-
While holding the display down with one hand, use your other hand to lift the clutch cover off the clutch hinges.
-
-
-
Lift up the right side of the clutch cover and guide the display data and iSight cables through the gap in the clutch cover.
-
Lift the clutch cover out of the display assembly.
-
-
-
Slightly lift the newly-revealed inverter board out of its housing and disconnect the black inverter cable from the left end of the board.
-
-
-
Disconnect the white inverter cable from the right end of the inverter board.
-
-
-
Remove the inverter board from the display.
-
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
crwdns2869486:0crwdne2869486:0
crwdns2878426:0151crwdne2878426:0
crwdns2917036:08crwdne2917036:0
Awesome site and awesome guide. This exteneded the life of my MacBook. I can't thank you enough!!!!
For about 3 years I had been dealing with my screen backlight shuting off. I would then dim the screen up and down until I could get it to stay. Sometimes it would work the first time other times I would be doing it for 10 minutes and other times I would give up for a few hours and come back and the screen would be on again. It would also do this sometimes when I opened the laptop at a certain angle or bumped the computer.
Well after these years very annoying behavior, my screen wont turn back on. I can see my desktop when I shine a light on the screen and hear the fan running so I know the computer works fine.
I've tried unpluging the inverter board to see if it was a loose connection, but that didn't work. I tried wiggling it around until the screen turned on and nothing.... Please help!
Is this a problem with my inverter or the inverter cable? Or the backlight cable?
What parts should I buy?
Hi, I've had the same trouble. Today I solved with a spray electronic cleaner :)
19fra71 -
Hi everybody! Last year bought a new inverter, new cable and other stuff and replaced. Problem not solved, screen still turning black. Thinking to get a new display, but today bought spray electronic cleaner, sprayed over the display data cable (https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/ig...). Problem &&^&^$^ solved! :) Time: 15 mins, money: 5$. Good tutorial tho! :P
These are a very comprehensive set of instructions and give a really good grand tour of the innards of a MacBook 8. They are also useful for replacing the hard drive or the optical drive.
Couple of hints:
1. Have on hand some canned compressed air - the inside of a laptop is generally quite full of dust and fluff.
2. Also have on hand some contact cleaner spray (do NOT use degreasers/lubricants/anti rust sprays such as RP 7 or WD 50). Contact cleaner sprays generally only contact isopropyl alchohol. It's good to give exposed contacts a bit of a clean - even grease from fingertips can affect conductivity and hence performance. (If possible, use powder free surgical gloves).
3. Make sure you have the right tools (don't skimp - buy the tools set from iFixit). Not using the right spudger on a plug could be the cause of irreparable damage to the circuit board.
(continued next posting)