How to Repair a Dell Inspiron 8200

Repair you Dell laptop.

You can save money on service and maintenance by repairing your Dell Inspirion 8200 laptop at home instead of having a Dell technician perform the repairs. If a component on your laptop is damaged, purchase a replacement part from Dell and remove the old component before inserting the new component in its place. There are numerous components on your Dell Inspirion laptop that may need repairs, so make sure to check the Dell support website before performing repairs to see if there are specific warnings or considerations regarding your repairs.

Things You'll Need

• Dell Inspirion 8200
• Small Philips screwdriver
• Flat head screwdriver or plastic scribe

Instructions

1. Shut down your Dell Inspirion 8200 and unplug the AC adapter from the computer. Remove any batteries and peripherals connected to the laptop. Close the display and turn the laptop upside down.

2. Unscrew the screws fastening three access panels to the bottom of the computer. Remove the access panels on the bottom of your laptop to remove and replace your computer's memory units, mini-PCI card, and wireless modem.

3. Unscrew the screws securing the optical and expansion drives from the bottom of the computer to release the drives' pull tabs. Grasp and pull the tab out from the side of the computer to remove and replace the optical and expansion drives.

4. Unscrew the fastening screw from the side of the computer to release the hard drive bay door. Pull the door up and out from the side of the computer to slide the hard drive out of its slot. Remove the hard drive from the hard drive tray by removing the fastening screws from the side of the tray and pushing the hard drive vertically out of the tray.

5. Unscrew the four screws marked "K" from the bottom of the computer to release the keyboard. Flip your laptop over and open the display. Insert a flat screwdriver beneath the blank plastic key above the "Left Arrow" and gently pry the keyboard to a vertical position. Disconnect the keyboard ribbon cable to remove the keyboard for replacement or to access the system board beneath the keyboard.

6. Close your computer's display and use a flat head screwdriver to loosen the hinge cover along the back edge of the computer. Open the display and use the screwdriver to remove the hinge cover open at the "F8" key to expose the display cable.

7. Unscrew the screw that fastens the orange display cable to the system board, then use the pull tab to unplug the display cable. Remove the two screws marked "D" from the back of the computer and lift the display vertically away from the computer to remove and replace the display unit.

8. Remove the copper processor cooling assembly by inserting the flat head screwdriver into the retaining clip mechanism at the left end of the assembly and releasing the latch. Lift the assembly vertically out of the computer to access the processor for replacement.

9. Remove the processor by unscrewing the cam screw at the top of the assembly and using a pair of microprocessor extraction tweezers to lift the processor vertically out of the computer. When handling the processor, make sure you only touch the sides of the unit; touching the top or bottom of the processor will damage it.

Tips & Warnings

• Only remove the components that need replacement on your computer. If your memory needs replacement, you do not need to remove the processor, keyboard, or display.

• Only work on your Inspirion 8200 if it is not connected to a live power source. Repairing a computer connected to a power source can cause irreparable damage to the machine.

References

• Dell Support: Removing and Replacing Parts