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MacBook 13-inch white
unibody
In this guide I explain how to disassemble a Dell Inspiron 1420 or Dell Vostro 1400 laptop.
How to replace thermal
I will completely disassemble it and show how to remove the motherboard. grease on MacBook Pro
Dell Inspiron 1420 is very similar to Dell Vostro 1400. If there are any differences, they should How to repair not clicking
be very minor. MacBook Pro trackpad
Before you start, make sure the laptop is turned off and battery removed. Replacing MacBook Air

STEP 1. keyboard after liquid

Loosen eight screws securing the hard drive, memory and heat sink covers. damage
How to access files on
Remove all three covers.
failed MacBook Air
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STEP 2.

Lift up the hard drive assembly by the black tab to disconnect it from the motherboard.

Remove the hard drive assembly.

STEP 3.

The hard drive connected to the laptop motherboard via connector.

Dell Inspiron 1420/Vostro 1400 uses a regular 2.5 SATA hard drive.

STEP 4.

Both memory modules can be accessed on the bottom.

Remove both memory modules.

Dell Inspiron 1420/Vostro 1400 can handle up to 4GB RAM. You can install up to 2GB RAM
module into each slot.

You should use PC2-5300 DDR2 or faster DDR2 memory modules.

STEP 5.

Remove one screw securing the DVD drive.

Pull the DVD drive to the left and remove it.

STEP 6.

Loosen four screws securing the CPU heat sink.

STEP 7.

Carefully lift up the heat sink and remove it from the motherboard. If the heat sink is clogged
with dust you can clean it with compressed air.

NOTE: before installing the heat sink back on the motherboard dont forget to apply new
thermal grease on the CPU.

After the heat sink is removed, you can access and remove the CPU (processor).

In the following six steps I explain how to remove the keyboard.

If you just replacing the keyboard, its not necessary to go though all previous steps.

STEP 8.

Carefully lift up the right side of the keyboard cover with a screwdriver.
Continue removing the keyboard cover with your fingers.

STEP 9.

Remove two screws securing the keyboard.

STEP 10.

Lift up the keyboard so you can access the cable connector underneath.

You can remove the keyboard only after the connector is unlocked and cable released.

STEP 11.

In order to unlock the connector lift up the right side of the blue locking tab at a 90 degree
angle.
STEP 12.

On the following picture the keyboard connector shown in the unlocked position.

Now you can pull the cable from the connector.

STEP 13.

Remove the keyboard.

In the following eight steps I explain how to remove the display

assembly.
STEP 14.

Remove two screws securing display hinges on the bottom.

STEP 15.

Remove two screws securing display hinges on the back.

STEP 16.

Lift up and remove both hinge covers.

STEP 17.

Lift up and unplug the video cable connector from the motherboard.
STEP 18.

Remove one screw securing the 7-button board and remove the board.

You do not remove the board completely, you just put it aside so you can remove the wireless
card antenna cables.

STEP 19.

Disconnect both wireless card antenna cables from the wireless card.

STEP 20.

Now you can remove one screw securing the wireless card and pull it from the slot (optional
step).
STEP 21.

Lift up and remove the display assembly.

In order to remove the LCD screen you can follow this Dell Inspiron 1520/Vostro 1500 guide.

Its a different model but LCD screen removal steps should be very similar.

By the way, the screen can be removed and replaced while the display still attached to the
laptop base.

In the next eight steps I explain how to disassemble the base and
remove the motherboard.
STEP 22.

Remove all remaining screws from the bottom.

STEP 23.
Remove three screws securing the top cover assembly.

STEP 24.

Lift up and remove the top cover assembly.

STEP 25.

In order to remove the motherboard, youll have to remove the modem card first.

Remove one screw securing the modem card, disconnect modem cable from the left side and
remove the modem.

By the way, the CMOS battery is hidden under the modem.

STEP 26.

Remove three screws securing the motherboard.

Disconnect three cables.

STEP 27.

Carefully lift up the motherboard.

There is one more cable on the bottom which has to be disconnected.

STEP 28.

Remove the motherboard.

STEP 29.

On the other side of the motherboard you can access and remove the cooling fan.

Simply remove two screws securing the fan, disconnect the cable and remove the fan.
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27 Responses

nuc May 30, 2011 |

awsome tut & guidei want to replace i3 processor in acer 4741g with i7 proc, can u give me step by step how to

disassemble acer 4741g

thanks

Brandon May 31, 2011 |

Thank you very much for this guide.

I spilled cola on the keyboard and repair shop said it will be over $100 to install a new keyboard.

I found a new keyboard on ebay for $15 and installed myself in 30 minutes.

Everything works fine.

jony June 1, 2011 |

hi !

i have disassemble my dell vostro 1400 laptop. all parts are separated but now i dont know how to re assemble. can you

help me how to re assemble?????????????

thank you..

ajwath June 14, 2011 |

pls sent me a guide for laptop repair..good and usefull of this site
Kgerson July 19, 2011 |

Thanks for this great blog folk!

fer July 22, 2011 |

Excellent guide

Mr July 26, 2011 |

Can you install a faster graphics card into the inspiron 1420?

sultan July 30, 2011 |

excellent and best picture thanku

Samdev August 29, 2011 |

Hey There,

First of all id like u say u Rock dude.gr8 tutorialmanaged to disassemble my entire inspiron 1420 and reassembled it even

though im a noob at computersthnx a ton

secondly, the reason i disassembled the laptop was coz my laptops stopped working 2 days backwhen i hit the power

button only the power light comes up for 5-6 seconds and then turns offand there is no other response from the laptop,

even the fan isnt workingive been having this problem since the past 2 months or so. before the same thing used to

happen but when i left the computer aside and tried again after a few hours it used to start working fine with no probsbut

gradually the problem increased and now its been two days since its not working.

also i thought there might be problem with the battery but i checked it in my friends computer who had similar model and it

works in him flawlesslyi cant even start the laptop using the AC adapter aloneso if u or anyone else reading this post have

any ideas regarding the problem pls do email me on samthegame AT gmail.com or post reply here

Thnx a ton again

Riyas Se pte m be r 24, 2011 |

0xc000000f Error Need HELP!!! File:\Windows\System32\Config\System

Ben O ctobe r 16, 2011 |

hi Samdev, we have the same problem sometimes it bootup then after i shut it down it wont bootup again when i presse

the power button, i can only see lights from power led and wifi/bluetooth then turns off is this a thermal problem??? please

help!

mamat Nove m be r 20, 2011 |

ive got problem when i want to turn on,just come out only light..after that,that light will turn off back..it cannot open the

window..please help..

IML Tech Nove m be r 20, 2011 |

@ mamat,

ive got problem when i want to turn on,just come out only light..after that,that
light will turn off back.

Its possible the laptop doesnt work because the AC adapter is dead and the battery doesnt have enough charge to start

the laptop.

I would test the laptop with another working AC adapter first.

JERSS De ce m be r 6, 2011 |

THANKS FROM MEX, I DIDNT KNOW HOW TO UNLOCK THE KEYBOARD

korn Fe bruary 12, 2012 |

nice dude..just want to ask,i had a prob with my inspiron 1420..when i turn on evrything is fine,fan ok,harddisk also ok cause i

already try at another laptop but my monitor not show any display just blank black lcd..bios also not display when i connect it

to external monitor also cannot use..did someone here know about my laptop problem..i dont know is mothrboad problem or

anything else and if mothrboad problem,how much for the new one or 2nd hand motherboard,.

Sorry for my broken english..thank you..

IML Tech Fe bruary 14, 2012 |

@ korn,

my monitor not show any display just blank black lcd..bios also not display when i
connect it to external monitor also cannot use..did someone here know about my
laptop problem..i dont know is mothrboad problem or anything else

First, I would check memory. Could be faulty memory module.

You have two memory modules installed, right? Try removing them one by one. Test the laptop with each module separately.

Vasanth May 22, 2012 |

Hi,

i gave my laptop for service and got it back , gave the same to other center and he diagnoised one part of heat sink is missing

in my lap top vostro 1500, i am using nvidia graphics card , but in the above description i am able to see only one part of the

heat sink. why is it so??

Every laptop will defer on the components?

can i buy generalised heat sink online and fit the same?

Avinash Parida July 21, 2012 |

Hi,

I have a DELL Vostro 1500 laptop. The warranty is expired. It came with Windows Vista which I later upgraded to Windows 7

ultimate. A few days back, the sound stopped working. Neither the in-built speaker nor headphone produced any sound. I

tried re-installing the sound drivers but in vain. Then I tried an external USB sound adapter, now the headphone or external

speakers are working fine, but not the inbuilt speakers. How do I fix this problem ? Can I replace just the sound card (if there

is any) or do I have to replace the whole mother board ?

Thanks in advance.

IML Tech July 23, 2012 |

@ Avinash Prida,

Can I replace just the sound card (if there is any) or do I have to replace the whole
mother board ?

Dell Vostro 1500 laptop doesnt have dedicated sound card. Its built into the motherboard.

If the sound card failed, youll have to replace the entire motherboard.

First, I would try reinstalling Windows OS from scratch. Its likely your problem is software related. Sometimes reinstalling

audio drivers cannot fix the problem but reinstalling the entire OS might help.

By the way, you should be able to test sound if you boot your laptop from Ubuntu OS (live Linux CD). If sound works in

Ubuntu, its definitely Windows OS related problem.

Leslie July 26, 2012 |

Great tutorial! Thanks so much for taking the time. I just fixed my own noisy fan (and learned a lot about the inside of a

laptop) thanks to you. I appreciate it!!!

Anthony Heng Se pte m be r 9, 2012 |

Can i install win 7 on my vostro 1400. Previous using windows vista.

I hv problem with the keyboard when i key in something .then the sign of this

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ appear non stop.

Can someone tell if this bcos of virus or keyboard problem.thanks you.

IML Tech Se pte m be r 10, 2012 |

@ Anthony Heng,

Can i install win 7 on my vostro 1400. Previous using windows vista.

I checked Dell website and for Dell Vostro 1400 they have drivers only for Windows XP and Vista 32-bit. Its possible that

Windows 7 has all drivers for your laptop but youll have to try.

I hv problem with the keyboard when i key in something .then the sign of this
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ appear non stop.
Can someone tell if this bcos of virus or keyboard problem

Most likely this is keyboard related failure. I think the \ key stuck.

Heres what you can try. Disconnect the laptop keyboard from the motherboard and test your laptop with an external USB

keyboard. If the laptop works properly with the external keyboard, your internal keyboard is defective. Replace it. You cannot

fix individual key.

Patrick Nove m be r 26, 2012 |

Thanks for work well done. I need a little help here. Could not locate where the bluetooth connector plugs underneath on the

motherboard. Can you help please. Thanks.

loda1110 Fe bruary 4, 2013 |

Thanks so much for the guide! I ve just cleaned my old laptop without any problems.

Pavan O ctobe r 2, 2014 |

Great tutorial! I have recently put in a T8300 processor inside my Inspiron 1420 in place of the older T5xxx, using a bit of

Deepcool Z5 thermal paste in the process for reseating the heat-sink. I have upgraded the HDD to 1TB, and the RAM to 4 GB.

The laptop runs quite cool, and is adequate for most part of my day-to-day requirements. Its cosmetics are still good after

seven years of use. Of late, I am seeing some dust accumulating inside the (1280 x 800, matte) WXGA LCD screen, i.e.,

between the outer plastic layer, and the actual LCD panel. Any tips on how to address this issue?

Dmitry March 11, 2015 |

Thanks for great guide. I could rech and clean properly the fun blocked by dust on my DELL Vostro 1400.

But after assembling speakers not working, headphones out is OK. So I suspect bad connection somewhere ore I forgot to

connect something?

Wei Xian April 18, 2016 |

Hi,my laptop wont start after assembly just like the problem stated in previous comment. When i presses the power

button,the power lights on for few seconds and thats it. I am sure it s not the ac adapter,cable or battery problem. Hopefully

someone can give me a solutionthanks

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