Repairing laptop hardware

I have a p3-500 Dell Latitude LS notebook. Its like 3-4 yrs old and has only one USB port. That one USB port has started causing problems (it powers on and off on random) and after many tests i have come to the conclusion that some of its internal connections have gone loose and need to be resoldered. Therefore i need to open this puppy up and get some heat on.

Now the problem is even after unscrewing ALL visible screws on the laptop i still cant get it to open up. It seems some part of it is clipped on and i cant seem to figure out which one.

So i was wondering if any of you have any experience with dell laptops and if anybody knows where i can find some documentation regarding dell laptop repair and maintenance. Or any other info that can help my cause. Thanks in advance.

Re: Repairing laptop hardware

thalay rakh kay itt maar, aapay ee khul jaye gaa

:d

Re: Repairing laptop hardware

Its my only computer kulfi walay.

Fir te sirf ohi nahi, saadi vi khul jaavay gi :-/

Re: Repairing laptop hardware

Cheegz,. can you post a few pics of the khulla hua lappy?

then I can point out where its clipped or where It should be unscrewed.

Re: Repairing laptop hardware

Oh and did you manage to take out the keyboard? Once you have done that, then its fairly eay to dismantle the rest of the components.

Re: Repairing laptop hardware

Take out all the other components like the battery and drives etc.

What's the model # on that thing?

Google search: "site:dell.com model number LS notebook"

Re: Repairing laptop hardware

Thanks gizzy and tofi.

Gizzy ill take some pics of the laptop.. problem is the USB aint working so i cant transfer any pics to it. :p Ill try still. And i havent been able to take the keyboard out.. will try that today.

Tofi i took out everything possible still no luck. :(

Re: Repairing laptop hardware

most laptops require the keyboard to be detached before you can completely access the internal components (HDD)

Re: Repairing laptop hardware

nos in my laptop the HDD can be removed by unscrewing just two screws and without even disturbing any other component at all.

Re: Repairing laptop hardware

dunno if you have this already Cheegs… but here’s the Service Manual:

Re: Repairing laptop hardware

UT thanks man! This pdf is the shiznit!! I'll get on it asap.

Re: Repairing laptop hardware

I am glad to announce that my assumption about the USB's contacts getting loose was right and with the help of the service manual above i was able to get to the root of the problem and even though i havent properly fixed it (resoldering the contacts) i have found a temporary solution and will be fixing the thing properly in a few days.

Thanks Umar Talib, you just saved me $75! :D

Re: Repairing laptop hardware

glad to be of service... resources from the ole systems tech days come in handy sometimes.
Good Luck mate.