Even if you feel like a pro in disassembling your laptop, the prerequisites are just as important as the incisive operation itself. It’s like a medical doctor making sure that all the surgical tools are in the right order and ready to be handed out by his medical staff every time he calls out for them. Before you begin, make sure you have organized in your head the steps you are about to do. Take heed of the following tips before you start disassembling your laptop.
INITIAL SAFETY
Protect your eyes. If you have glasses or eye goggles, wear them. You don’t want a piece of metal or plastic going into your eyes. Better safe than sorry, right? Unplugging your laptop’s power supply and removing the battery before disassembling your laptop unit is also important to avoid the risk of electric shock.
DON’T FIX IT IF IT AIN’T BROKE
As the clich goes, “curiosity killed the cat”. The laptop has many parts that have been tightly packed inside a small vessel, and doing some tweaks can put everything in disarray however minor they are. So don’t treat your laptop like a science project if there’s nothing to fix in the first place.
USE THE CORRECT TOOLS
Don’t bother taking your laptop apart if your toolbox doesn’t have the necessary tools for the job. Forcing the issue with a screwdriver that doesn’t fit the screw could result to accidents that might damage your laptop, or worse, cause injury to you.
SET UP THE CORRECT ENVIRONMENT
Preventive measures can be undertaken to keep you and your laptop safe while you are disassembling, assembling or simply using your laptop. You will need to use a clear workspace in order for you to see what you are doing and avoid stimuli that could deter you from what you are about to do. There are three things that you have to be wary of while you are working.
1. Static Electricity. Static electricity can fry your laptop’s circuit boards. That’s why removing the casing can be dangerous when your laptop is exposed to other electronic devices. Don’t disassemble your laptop in a room where a lot of electronic devices are hanging around.
2. Dust contamination. Dust can clog vents and result to overheating and eventually lead to hardware failures. Moisture sticks to dust as well, which can cause short circuits. So clear away any dust from the room where you’re taking your laptop apart, or work in a place where no wind can blow dust inside your laptop. Even better, go to a workplace that is completely dust-free.
USE LABELED CONTAINERS
Removing screws and bolts and placing them haphazardly about could cause confusion when you are about to put them back again. Use small containers with labels on them for you to know which goes where. This won’t prove difficult since labels are appointed for each figure in regards to the screw size.
Perform the necessary troubleshooting and diagnostic tests before replacing any Field Replaceable Units (motherboard, microprocessors, RAM, Bus devices). FRU’s isolate the laptop’s functions and components, so it probably won’t be wise putting extraneous devices at risk.
