This laptop is almost exactly 10 years old. Originally came with Windows 7, now running Windows 10. The CMOS battery finally gave up the ghost, so I merely needed to replace it, but in this stupid model that entails disassembling the entire kit & caboodle. I broke two of the connectors for the keyboard my first go round, and the power connector on my second try. So a $10 repair turned into a $150 repair, since I then had to get a new motherboard, keyboard, and palmrest assembly.
Here’s the final tear down and parts replacement.
Replacing the keyboard, palm rest, motherboard & CMOS battery.
Gotta keep track of a lot of screws. Each step gets its own little box.
Gotta make sure to follow instructions carefully. Thanks Parts People – The Dell Laptop Experts.
First things first, taking off the back. That’s the first 6 of 51 screws.
Out with the battery, RAM, and SSD. Starting to look naked already.
Stacking up the parts to the side, the ones too big to fit in the little boxes.
Take out the keyboard. Be extra careful unplugging those ribbon cables.
Then off with the trackpad and palm rest. It’s a surprisingly big part, a big assembly actually.
Disconnecting the 15.6-inch screen. This is scary in theory, kinda easy in practice.
And, finally, out with the motherboard. Why is the CMOS battery this hard to get to?
Replacing the motherboard, actually. With a new, albeit slower, model.
Now to reverse all the steps, put her back together. Will it really work?
It works! It’s alive!