How to Upgrade, Repair, Disassemble a DELL Laptop or Notebook

Do you want to repair your DELL laptop or notebook? Here is a collection of free take apart instructions, disassembly pictures or dismantling videos, upgrade and repair manuals, as well as do-it-yourself (DIY) tips and tricks for Adamo, Inspiron, Latitude, Precision, SmartStep, Vostro laptops and notebooks models made by DELL. If you have written a repairing guide yourself (or if you know of a report not linked here), please submit a new entry.

DELL 2002	Re-soldering the broken power connector on the laptop.
DELL Adamo	Take a look at the beautiful inner details of this tiny notebook.
DELL Inspiron	Slideshow showing step-by-step pictures how to remove the display.
DELL Inspiron	Upgrading RAM (includes a movie clip).
DELL Inspiron 300M / Latitude X300	This tutorial is for those who wish to fix the loose hinge problem.
DELL Inspiron 300M	How to remove 4 screws and the hinge covers to fix a loose hinge without taking apart the entire LCD.
DELL Inspiron 630M	How to attach an internal BlueTooth(tm) adapter.
DELL Inspiron 600M	How to take apart the laptop display completely, with many detailed pictures.
DELL Inspiron 700M	How to add internal BlueTooth(tm) support.
DELL Inspiron 700M	These laptop computers have an occasional problem with the internal speakers going dead. The drivers and audio control panels will all be working fine, and the headphone jack will work, but the speakers along the bottom edge of the screen will simply not output sound. This can be the result of the speaker wires fatiguing and breaking where they pass through the hinge from the base to the screen.
DELL Inspiron 1100	Fixing overheating problems, some pry apart pictures.
DELL Inspiron 1100	"Captain Disassemble" to the rescue: how to replace the keyboard.
DELL Inspiron 1100/1150/5100/5150	Keyboard removal instructions.
DELL Inspiron 1100	A step-by-step painting tutorial: take apart documentation, wet sanding, priming, coating.
DELL Inspiron 1300/B120/B130	The power jack started failing intermittently. The laptop started switching from AC to battery power on its own. In order to switch it back to the AC power you have to fiddle with the adapter plug and find the right position. If the laptop failes exactly the same way with another adapter, the conclusion is that the DC power jack is not making good contact with the motherboard and has to be repaired. Inside this laptop the DC power jack is soldered to the motherboard. If the jack is broken, you'll have to unsolder it and replace with a new jack.
DELL Inspiron 1525	Remove two screws in the battery compartment, which are securing the keyboard bezel. Now you can lift up one side of the keyboard bezel with a screwdriver. Remove the keyboard bezel with your fingers. But be careful, there is a thin ribbon cable connecting the button board to the motherboard.
DELL Inspiron 1720/1721 (DELL Vostro 1700)	Here are instructions for taking apart the laptop completely.
DELL Inspiron 1720, 1721 (Vostro 1720)	Hard disk drive installation guide for the second HDD slot. This is definitely an-easy-to-do DIY project. To begin, you will need a SATA 2.5" hard drive and a "DELL 1720 caddy".
DELL Inspiron 3x00, 4x00, 8x00	Modifying your Inspiron to work in a Latitude C/Port or C/Dock.
DELL Inspiron 3000	How to resurrect an old laptop as a digital picture frame.
DELL Inspiron 3700/3800	Keyboard replacement tutorial.
DELL Inspiron 4100	A New Lease Of Life For Laptop, replacing the display hinges.
DELL Inspiron 4100	A motherboard replacement, with instructions and some pictures.
DELL Inspiron 5100	How to clean and replace the heatsink to fix a thermal problem which caused unexpected shutoffs.
DELL Inspiron 5150/1100	How to repair a bad power jack on for under 20.00USD.
DELL Inspiron 5150/110	This slideshow provides good quality pictures of the power jack repair process. The cause which broke the power cord is too much wiggling.
DELL Inspiron 5160	How to take apart the case and replace a dead heat sink / fan (cooling unit).
DELL Inspiron 6000	Overclocking instructions.
DELL Inspiron 6000	How to install RAM and hard drive in a notebook.
DELL Inspiron 6000	How to exchange a broken or lost laptop keyboard key.
DELL Inspiron 6000	How to fix a wobbly display hinge.
DELL Inspiron 6000	To get the screen replaced start by removing the six screw covers from the screen bezel.
DELL Inspiron 6000 (1505, 1525)	This guide shows the start and cure of typical hinge problems, the plastic seperates because the hinge is loose inside.
DELL Inspiron 6400/E1505	This guide is made just to show you a step by step tutorial on how to disassemble this laptop completely. Advices taken there are taken at your own risk. We take no responsibility if you break any of the hardware and lose your warranty.
DELL Inspiron 7500	How To Change the LCD Screen.
DELL Inspiron 8000	Disassembly picture gallery.
DELL Inspiron 8100	Install the GeForce4 440 graphics card.
DELL Inspiron 8100	Project OxCart: How to replace a broken TSB41AB1 FireWire chip.
DELL Inspiron 8100	Upgrading a laptop: RAM and hard disk change explained.
DELL Inspiron 8200	A little tour around the inside of the laptop.
DELL Inspiron 8200	ALPS to Synaptics mod guide explaining a touchpad and trackstick conversion.
DELL Inspiron 8500	Upgrading of the video card.
DELL Inspiron 8500	An illustrated autopsy.
DELL Inspiron 8500/8600	Adding an extra USB port.
DELL Inspiron 8500/8600	Mod To Prevent Video Card From Over Heating.
DELL Inspiron 9100/8600/8500/D800/M60/XPS	This is an easy to follow tutorial to fix the "flex" in the keyboard.
DELL Inspiron 8600	How to install LEDs into your laptop.
DELL Inspiron 8600	How to paint a laptop.
DELL Inspiron 8600	Replacing LCD Backlight Inverter: an illustrated step-by-step take apart and repair assistance [PDF].
DELL Inspiron 8600	How to fix a loose power flex cable connector, which prevents the notebook to power on.
DELL Inspiron 9100	Overclocking manual with take apart pictures.
DELL Inspiron 9300	How to replace your existing 533FSB CPU with a 400FSB CPU. A hands on guide with pictures for doing the pinmod and applying thermal compound to the GPU.
DELL Inspiron 9300	Notebook overclocking guide explaining the 400MHz to 533MHz Front-Side-Bus - FSB pin modification trick.
DELL Inspiron 9300	This guide show in detail how to upgrade memory (RAM) in this laptop. This model has two memory slots available for upgrades and both slots are accessible from the bottom of the laptop. Even inexperienced users can upgrade memory, let's do it step-by-step.
DELL Inspiron 9300 (E1705)	How to repair the laptop hinges for less than $10. This guide shows the start of typical hinge problems, the plastic seperates because the hinge is loose inside. The problem actually stems from the fact that the hinge is steel, the screws are steel, however the mount with the threaded holes is aluminum. So, as you open and close the lid, you wobble the screws and stress the aluminum and the screws get loose.
DELL Inspiron 9400	GeForce Go 7900GS graphics chip overclock and GSX mod (in Italian).
DELL Inspiron 9400	How to exchange the LCD screen and inverter board from the laptop.
DELL Inspiron 9400/E1705	Would you like to replace a damaged keyboard in your laptop? This is relatively easy even for inexperienced users.
DELL Inspiron XPS2	Benefits of upgrading notebook memory from 512MB to 2GB.
DELL Inspiron XPS M170 Gen2	Logic board repair to cure these symptoms: The laptop would say an incorrect AC Adapter was installed. The laptop would charge the battery but not boot from AC. The remedy: the cracked solder joints on PL2 and PC3 were refitted and the damaged Maxim MAX1987 Power Supply controller was replaced.
DELL Inspiron XPS M1210	This guide will explain how to take this laptop apart and clean its dirty guts.
DELL Inspiron XPS M1330	Take the innards out from this laptop for a complete cleaning.
DELL Inspiron XPS M1530	A complete step-by-step take apart and maintenance manual.
DELL Inspiron XPS M1710	If you want upgrade or replace your laptop LCD screen, you must know the original manufacturer (OEM) part number. How to know the laptop LCD screen part Number? For the most part, laptops are constructed quite similarly and therefore have a similar process for screen removal.
DELL Inspiron B120	This article tells about keyboard key replacement.
DELL Inspiron B130	Replacing and Upgrading a Notebook LCD Screen.
DELL Inspiron B130, 15.4''	Step-by-step LCD screen replacement manual with pictures.
DELL Inspiron E1505	Want better performance from your laptop? The conventional wisdom has long held that you should simply buy a new one. You can put such conventional wisdom aside: upgrading a laptop may not be for the timid or the impatient, but if you're handy with a screwdriver, and the sight of a circuit board doesn't scare you, an upgrade can be a far more affordable solution. Upgrades covered: RAM from 1GB to 2GB, HDD from a 5400RPM, 120GB drive to a 7200RPM, 200GB model, miniPCI wireless card from 802.11b to 802.11a/b/g, BlueTooth card added, optical drive, LCD screen with better resolution or matte instead of glossy, CPU from a 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo to a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7200, graphics card nVidia 7300 with a more powerful ATI X1400.
DELL Inspiron E1705	How to upgrade the graphics card, includes a step-by-step take apart tutorial.
DELL Inspiron N.N.	Cracking open a laptop hard drive: here is a complete disassembly of the Hitachi Travelstar mobile hard disk. This model sported a 5400rpm motor, ATA interface and 40GB of data storage.
DELL Inspiron Mini 9	Unscrew the two small screws holding down the STEC SSD in place. Without the screws it should pop up at a 45 degree angle. Now pull it out and replace it with 32GB RunCore SSD and screw it into place. To get the RAM upgraded flip out the tabs on the side of the memory stick to remove the DDR2 512MB stick and replace it with the DDR2 2GB stick.
DELL Latitude	A complete illustrated overhaul.
DELL Latitude 300	Take apart and re-use an old laptop as a digital picture frame.
DELL Latitude 2100	Here are some pictures of all the touchscreen notebook internals.
DELL Latitude C540/C640	How to remove and replace broken laptop display hinges.
DELL Latitude C6xx	Take apart instructions to get the LCD screen removed.
DELL Latitude C600	Legnatile: how to make a wooden laptop.
DELL Latitude C600	Fixing mouse drift with a sledgehammer.
DELL Latitude C640	Dual Dragon Mod: How to replace the manufacturer logo with two dremeled dragons.
DELL Latitude C810/840	How to fix the black backlight by adding a capacitor before the input of the MP1010 Monolithic Power Systems MPS circuit (in German).
DELL Latitude C840	Improving wireless reception by replacing the Dell 1150 miniPCI card with an aftermarket model (Netgate 5354MP) and the addition of a 2nd antenna.
DELL Latitude C840	How to add an external antenna SMA connector.
DELL Latitude C840	How to install an internal wireless miniPCI card into an older laptop.
DELL Latitude C840	How to upgrade the DVD/CD-RW with a DVD Super Multi Drive.
DELL Latitude C840	The keyboard removal and replacement procedure is pretty much straightforward and shouldn't take more than 15 minutes.
DELL Latitude CPi	How to add memory: an illustrated walkthrough manual.
DELL CPi	How to Swap the Drives in Dell Latitude Laptops: This information on how to swap the drives in Dell Latitude Laptops covers the method by which to change the Modular CDROM drive and the Modular Floppy drive in the Modular Bay.
DELL Latitude CPx	Adding internal USB BlueTooth.
DELL Latitude CPx	The Ultimate DELL 8IK Keyboard Fix: how to replace the original laptop keyboard with a small USB keyboard.
DELL Latitude CPx	Keyboard replacement guide.
DELL Latitude CPx	There is a problem with some of Dell's notebook/laptop computers periodically or permanently a diagonal row of keys 8 i k , will stop functioning. Here is a simple but unofficial method of repairing a laptop that had the dreaded 8ik keyboard flaw.
DELL Latitude CPx J650GT	Complete disassembly instructions with pictures.
DELL Latitude CSx	Building a WallTop: How to put a laptop inside a regular frame and hang it on the wall.
DELL Latitude CSx	Poor wine into your laptop and get away with it. This tech-savvy guide will show you all you need to know to recovery from spilled beverages.
DELL Latitude CSxH 500MHz	Funny and very detailed digital picture frame creation "tour". Frame gets pictures wirelessly from the web. Frame hangs on the wall and looks awesome!
DELL Latitude (unknown model)	Take apart and password recovery instructions.
DELL Latitude XPi 133ST	How to replace your backlight tube or LCD.
DELL Latitude	Nightvision: Adding two blue LED headlights.
DELL Latitude	Illustrated how to replace a notebook backlight and LCD.
DELL Latitude D500	In a this laptop the power jack is soldered to the motherboard. If the laptop looses power intermittently when you wiggle the power plug, most likely the power jack is damaged and has to be repaired. In order to repair the power jack you will have to remove the motherboard.
DELL Latitude D500	This guide explains how to remove and replace the motherboard in this laptop. Also, you will see how to access and replace all other internal parts in this laptop.
DELL Latitude D500	How to open the sealed main battery of this laptop with a guitar pick. It had to be taken apart because the locking mechanism on the battery was broken. You can fix it by using the locking mechanism from another similar dead battery.
DELL Latitude D600	The case of an overheated laptop: this guide explains how to fix a sudden shutdown and overheating problem by taking apart the laptop and removing the dust from the heatsink and fan.
DELL Latitude D600	The cooling fan in this model is buried deep inside the laptop under the top cover. You can use this guide for cleaning the cooling module and removing dust from the heat sink and fan. If your laptops shuts down on its own without any warning, most likely it happens because of overheating. Make sure the cooling fan works and the heat sink is not clogged with dust. Replace the fan if it failed or clean the heat sink if it is clogged.
DELL Latitude D610	Taking apart and repairing instructions to fix a notebook LCD screen with water damage.
DELL Latitude D610	This guide explains how to access both memory modules and upgrade the laptop to 2GB.
DELL Latitude D610	This guide will give a detailed step by step sequence on how to dismantle and clean the laptop.
DELL Latitude D620	This guide will explain a detailed step by step way on how to dismantle the notebook and clean it from the inside.
DELL Latitude D620	This set of instructions will help you to remove and replace the laptop keyboard. After you have removed the keyboard, you will be able to access the memory module installed into the internal slot. And you will be able to clean the cooling fan and heatsink, too.
DELL Latitude D620	These LCD screen removal steps will be very similar for many other laptops from this manufacturer.
DELL Latitude D630	The RAM slots are in two places, under the keyboard and under the laptop. This guide gives assistance to upgrade both slots.
DELL Latitude D830	How to replace or upgrade memory (aka RAM) in the notebook.
DELL Latitude L400	Illustrated memory upgrade guide (in Japanese).
DELL Latitude	A quick fix to run a laptop from a DC-DC convertor. The only trouble is, the laptop has an odd square plug and the convertor only has round plugs. An in-line adaptor made from a pen barrel solves the problem.
DELL Latitude X300	This page will visually guide you through completely disassembling the laptop. If one wants to take apart this machine, this is what you need.
DELL Latitude N.N.	The first challenge for getting into this notebook and checking connections replacing the screen or backlight is to find the screws. This machine has four screws hidden under rubber pads at the corners of the screen. Once the screws securing the plastic bezel are removed, you still have to unsnap it from the body of the lid. Once the screws are removed, put the LCD assembly on the keyboard while removing the connectors. The first connector to remove is a simple ribbon cable which delivers the digital video signals (addressing for the LCD matrix) to the screen.
DELL Precision M75	How to upgrade the notebook's CPU, replacing the Yonah T2400 Core Duo processor with a Merom T7600 Core 2 Duo. The general description of the upgrade should also apply to the DELL Latitude D820, a notebook almost identical to the M65, aside for the GPU. The upgrade itself was really no trouble at all, thanks to the service manual and the helpful numbering of screws, especially for the heatsink.
DELL SpeedStep 250N	Solving laptop random shut downs. Scrape off all the crappy thermal strip material from the CPU fan and then clean it thoroughly so no sticky residue remained. Now cover the area on the CPU fan where it meets the CPU with thermal conductive paste from the local Radio Shack.
DELL Vostro 1000	A complete disassembly guide, which explains how to clean the laptop fan from dust to fix overheating.
DELL Vostro 1200	This guide will explain step-by-step how to dismantle and clean laptop.
DELL Vostro 1510	You can use this tutorial for removing almost all internal parts from the notebook base.
DELL Vostro 1520/1521	This guide explains how to replace a damaged LCD screen from the laptop, the LCD screen was cracked and it could not be repaired.
DELL misc. models	How do I install a TrueMobile miniPCI card into a laptop?
DELL N.N.	Touchpad mouse mod: making a PS/2 PC interface.
DELL N.N.	Spooky's Computer painting guide: how to use a spray paint pistol to achieve a professional looking paint job.
DELL N.N.	Desert Camouflage Paintjob on old Laptop. The stencil/color pattern idea is from a military website which used it to pain some of their rifles.
DELL N.N.	A take apart and video card replacement HOWTO.
DELL N.N.	This guide explains how you can remove and replace LCD screen, video cable and inverter board on DELL laptops. These instructions should work for most DELL laptops and will be very similar for many other laptop brands.
DELL N.N.	How to remove and replace the laptop keyboard? Just put the bezel aside and you will see the laptop keyboard screws.
DELL N.N.	Wall mounted DIY digital photo frame: want to display your favorite pictures on the walls of your home? Framing costs and available wall space limit the number of photos that you can display at any given time, however, and inertia limits the number of times you change display prints. Digital frames are a possible solution to the problem.

Dell laptop reviews

Accessories and Peripherals

DELL-2SBSATA Media Bay Drive

Assembly and disassembly Guide: remove the stainless steel top cover and insert the SATA hard drive into the SATA connector.

Manufacturer Information, Customer Service

Hardware Maintenance Manual, User Guide, Service Manual

DELL itself offers official Service Manuals for their laptops and notebooks. Note the manuals are available in different languages, therefore this is no deep link. On the right side of the screen under Additional Resources and under the title Technical Support by Model click on Research and find the latest solutions and help for your Dell product.

Each of the DELL laptops and notebooks has a service tag attached, which is a unique identifying number that allows you to lookup the computer on the DELL website, and find specifications, information, manuals, drivers and BIOS upgrades for your particular system.

• FCC ID: E2K (Dell), QDS (BroadCom)