Thread: Laptop upgrades

Laptops have made a place in our daily lives and become an important part of it. Today these are no longer considered to be a luxury. They also seem to be keeping good pace with the growing processor technologies, new-and-improved graphics, and higher hard disk capacities. Of course there's much more to it than
just that, there's better and faster chipsets, enhanced features and future-proof indices. Looking at all the advancement, what does one do with an old laptop?
Of course, upgrade it, simple! Since the architecture of a laptop isn't as simple as that of a desktop, opening it can be really dicey. This workshop will give the 'step-by step' guide.

Upgrading
Laptops differ from each other in design and configurations. Hence, having a generic workshop explaining the upgrading procedure wouldn't be possible. In this workshop, we have used an old laptop and a new one, so you will have a fair idea about what to do in both situations.

We will be showing you how to open up a laptop to replace or upgrade the internal core components such as processor, RAM and hard drive.
OE' Before attempting to open the laptop, make sure that there is no supply of power to the laptop. It's best to unplug the laptop adaptor, if connected to a wall socket.

STEP 1: OPENING THE LAPTOP
Most of the latest laptops open up from the base. If yours does too, it will be easier for you to upgrade. Simply open the back flap and jump to Step 2. For those who have a laptop that opens, from under the
keyboard, do not bother looking at the back. Look closely at the edge of the keyboard, there are latches on the chassis that secure the keyboard from all sides. Use a flat screw driver, push the latches down and pull the keyboard out. But be careful, it is not entirely detached; the data ribbon is still inside the port on the motherboard. To release the data ribbon use your fingers to carefully pull the lever from both sides. Pull the ribbon gently till it is out of the slot.

STEP 2; REMOVING THE HEATSINK
After the keyboard, it's time to remove the heatsink to expose the processor underneath. So, unscrew the heatsink from the chassis and keep the screws in a safe place. If you lose them, finding replacements can be difficult. The heat sink has fans that are connected to the motherboard. so make sure you remove
the connections before pulling the heat
sink out. Once that is done, you may now take the heatsink out of the chassis. If your laptop hasn't been serviced in a while,
don't be alarmed by the dirt.
STEP 3: ClEANING THE LAPTOP
This is perhaps the best chance you may ever get, to clean your laptop. Really, opening up a laptop takes a good amount of precision and patience. So let's make the most of it; so before we upgrade the laptop, let's clean it first. Use a normal l-inch or 1.5-inch brush to brush off the dust accumulated on the motherboard and the chassis. Then use a hand blower to blow the remaining dust away. Clean
it away from the chassis or the residue will merely fall back in and the purpose
of cleaning is defeated. Once you see no more dust coming out of the computer, keep everything aside to prepare for upgrading the processor.
TIP: You can also use the brush to clean the heat sink. You can wipe off the heatsink compound (thermal paste). But make sure you have some of it handy, you'll need it while installing the new processor.

STEP 4: UPGRADING THE PROCESSOR
Lift the lever of the CPU socket to release the processor's pins, now you can pick up the processor and keep it aside, be gentle or you may bend the pins. Then take the new processor and locate the triangular mark at one of its corners. You need to match this to the triangular notch on the CPU socket. Once you find it, carefully insert the processor into the socket and check if all the pins are inserted properly. Now lower the lever and ensure that it is secured back in its place. Now apply some heatsink compound on surface of the processor, not too much and not too little. There you go, the processor has been upgraded. (We'll, put the heatsink back in place toward the end, along with the other open parts).
TIP: A processor needs to be handled with care. Use a small plastic container and store it in a cool and dry place.



STEP 5: UPGRADING THE HARD DRIVE
Some extra room for storage is always welcomed. In the latest laptops (see the picture below, to the left), the 2.5-inch hard drive is simply slid into the slot that houses the SATA power and data connectors.

Just slide the hard drive out from the slot and replace it with the new one, it's that simple. Not with all laptops however, we say this because in older notebooks there's a casing that houses the 2.5-inch hard drive. This casing is fastened into
the chassis. You need to unscrew the casing, making sure that you do not snap the connectors. Release the hard drive from the connectors, open the casing and replace the old hard drive. That's that when it comes to upgrading hard drives.

STEP 6: UPGRADING MEMORY MODULES
This one's really easy. If you notice, latest laptops open from the base and the RAM modules can be accessed from here. The old one in the picture below (to the right), opens from the base but only for the RAM modules, other upgrades had to be done by opening the keyboard. Nonetheless, the method of upgrading RAM remains the same for all laptops.

First hold the clamps with one finger on either side and gently pull them apart. The
RAM module should automatically pop out. Take it out of the slot and slide the new module into the slot. Make sure that you press the module all the way down till the clamp clicks and secures the module in place. Now, wasn't that simple?

Reassembly
Firstly, bring all the screws, the heatsink and the back-panel of the laptop; back to one place. First, you will need to connect the keyboard's data ribbon. Pull the lever upwards, insert the ribbon and push the lever back in place to secure the ribbon. Now, place the heatsink on top of the processor, slide it a little to spread the heat sink compound and fasten the screws back in place. Now, for the power cables of the fan, insert them into their respective slots (this is important, don't forget to reconnect the fans). Finally, screw the back panel
into its place and you're done; you just upgraded your laptop on your own!

Maintenance
If dust seeps into a laptop then it's operation becomes unstable: it could hang, become sluggish and restart automatically. Blame it on the excess heat within the laptop. Dust finds a way in and blocks the ventilation system through which heat is normally dissipated. You now have the expertise to open your laptop and clean it, so under no circumstance should you let the laptop die on you because of neglect, right? Dust, water and/or moisture as well as heat are a computer's biggest enemies. Service your laptop often, at least periodically cleaning them is a must.