How to Take Apart a Compaq Laptop
If you wish to clean the inside of your laptop or replace the motherboard or other internal components, you may need to take your Compaq laptop apart. However, be aware that this is not something you should do on a regular basis, since laptops aren't built to be especially hardy. Also know that if you disassemble your laptop, even if you put it back together again properly, you could be violating the terms of the manufacturer's warranty.
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Instructions
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Instructions
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1
Wash and dry your hands thoroughly and touch a piece of metal to eliminate any static electricity that could affect the workings of your laptop when you put your hands inside it.
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Turn off and unplug your laptop. Then set it on its lid (the side with the large Compaq logo). Look for the screws that have raised arrows next to them, along with small icons. These icons will tell you what each screw is for. Find the one for the CD drive. (It will have a CD icon next to it.) Remove the screw and switch off the slide lock. Then pull out the drive through the side of the machine.
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Repeat the process you used to remove the CD drive to take out the hard drive and the memory. The hard drive's icon will be three circles in a row, and the memory's icon will be a rectangle.
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4
Find the screw with the icon of a keyboard and remove it. Put your laptop right-side up and open it. Look for the clips at each corner of your keyboard and pull each clip toward you. Gently lift the keyboard out of your machine and place it to the side, being careful not to damage the ribbon.
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Look at the inner workings of your laptop to get your bearings. At this point, you will see the CPU, or central processing unit, the video card and any extra memory you couldn't remove through the bottom. You should have access to everything you need to to complete your cleaning or replace parts.
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Tips & Warnings
Take a picture of your laptop during each stage of disassembly so you will know what to do to put it back together. Call Compaq's customer service line at (800) OK-COMPAQ if you encounter any problems. Just remember that they may charge you if you need them to fix something.
Keep track of your screws. They are small and easy to lose, and they aren't the type that you can just pick up at any hardware store.
