The cheapest laptop screw management system that works great!

[phaZed]

Hello Everyone!

I thought it would be nice to share the steps I take when disassembling a laptop. This is mostly in response to the thread "Laptop Screw Symbol Tricks" http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18494. I have tried different screw management techniques and nothing has been as cheap, fast, and perfect as this. I have never had extra screws or mix-ups during re-assembly. In this example this HP laptop has a broken DC power jack which will require the laptop to be taken apart completely.

First, you will need a plain sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper, a towel (microfiber prefered, or other soft top as not to scratch laptop lid), a pen, screwdriver, and a small Awe.

Next, we need to remove all of the covers and hardware from the bottom of the laptop. This will expose all screws that may be hidden. Be sure to place all of your parts into or on an anti-static bag of some sort.

Now we can see all of the screws that need to be removed. Start by taking your blank piece of paper and drawing a rough outline of the bottom of the laptop. I like to draw basic features such as the battery bay, cover locations, as to give a orientation reference as we move along.

Now punch holes into the paper where you have screws drawn. It is important to punch the holes with an Awe or something similar. Not punching a small hole, and then inserting the screw will rip the paper, and the paper will not hold the screws tightly.. which means you will probably lose one. To make punching real easy: place the rough outline paper on a towel, then punch. We don't need any bloody fingers.

Next, remove all of the screws and punch them into the oppropriate spots on the paper.

Here, you can see the paper is upside down, and all of the screws are held securely in place.

Now we flip the laptop over, right-side-up, and remove the keyboard and keyboard trim ring to reveal some more screws. So I draw another simple sketch and punch some more holes. I also punch holes for the LCD hinge screws as well.

Now we can remove the top cover of the laptop to reveal the motherboard and some more cabling. Now is a good time to draw a diagram of the motherboard, punch, and remove and place the screws in the paper.

Now that the motherboard is removed, I can replace the DC power jack. In this case the DC power jack has a set of wires that connects to the motherboard, rather than a DC jack that is soldered directly to the PCB board. Yay!

Now it is easy to reassemble the laptop and place the screws into the correct positions... another job well done! It works!

I hope this helps some of you out there using pill bottles and other methods that "lump" together a bunch of screws that may be slightly longer/shorter or fat/skinny. If your repairs didn't go as planned, you still have your paper so you can disassemble the laptop again if needed.

Sincerely,

 

[Knightsman]

I took one of these:

I labeled the spots, back cover, top cover, motherboard, wifi, cd rom, lcd, etc.

the 2nd thing I do is on complicated areas, I take a picture with my phone, to use as reference later.

These two methods work great and are cheap

 

[phaZed]

I took one of these:

I labeled the spots, back cover, top cover, motherboard, wifi, cd rom, lcd, etc.

the 2nd thing I do is on complicated areas, I take a picture with my phone, to use as reference later.

These two methods work great and are cheap

I used to use a little organizer like you have there, but no longer do. The reason for this is because simply having "bottom cover, keyboard, etc." isn't good enough. I have had laptops that have 3-4 different lengths of screws, and different thicknesses on one section. Putting all of those different screws into the "Bottom cover" tray mixes them up, and then your guessing as to which one goes where. This can be a DISASTER! Once upon a time I broke a laptop when the screw I was using was 1/4" too long, hit the motherboard, and broke some traces! It was a while ago, and the laptop was old/poorly designed.

 

[jvcomputerservice]

thanks

Thank Aaron for sharing this.

I have seen like tree different methods but I found yours to be near to perfect.
Thanks again

 

[Robert]

So just dumping all the screws into one big tub isn't the best practice then?

 

[desert_gold_hound]

So just dumping all the screws into one big tub isn't the best practice then?

I hate to admit it but I am the worst at doing just that. I have spent hours looking up what screw goes where....

OK so the screw I need is M4 1.5 ok time to measure the length....UH I need to use your method would be a lot easier.

 

[Don W.]

Slick! I just did a lap top repair requiring complete dis-assembly, this woulda saved some time, gnashing of teeth, and crossing of fingers.

Thanks.

 

[Knightsman]

I used to use a little organizer like you have there, but no longer do. The reason for this is because simply having "bottom cover, keyboard, etc." isn't good enough. I have had laptops that have 3-4 different lengths of screws, and different thicknesses on one section. Putting all of those different screws into the "Bottom cover" tray mixes them up, and then your guessing as to which one goes where. This can be a DISASTER! Once upon a time I broke a laptop when the screw I was using was 1/4" too long, hit the motherboard, and broke some traces! It was a while ago, and the laptop was old/poorly designed.

I haven't had a problem. I don't keep a laptop apart even if its not fixed yet. If I have to order a part, I put it back together, that way I can take it back apart and remember the screw issues you talk off. Ive never had an issue with the screw length problem. But I do a lot, so I the experience probably helps a lot with this.

 

[Jory]

I use a similar method, but I don't bother drawing diagrams or punching the holes. I just use 2-3 sheets of paper for top, bottom, and whatever. I'll make a mark so I know which orientation it goes if I think there may be confusion. If the paper tears when I'm pushing a screw in I'll take throw a piece of tap over it to hold it in place. Sometimes I'll add notes in appropriate places if I think it's possible I could miss a step.

It adds very little time to disassembling and probably saves me a bit when reassembling since I'm not hunting down screws. If I have to spend an extra minute or two to be certain I'll have no problems putting it back together it's worth it.

I've tried separating them by type like others have, but I like this system the best. I use it when I take apart anything that has a lot of screws.

 

[wimwauters]

So just dumping all the screws into one big tub isn't the best practice then?

I get away with it, thanks to my scary visual memory, but I do have to re-assemble within 5 days, or I forget anyway

I like Aaron's method a lot, thanks for a great post!

 

[ZenMike]

That's a nice tip. Seems like an almost perfect solution.

 

[techfiend4]

awesome, wish i had this a month ago. i was puttin my laptop together after new thermal paste and cleaning the heatsink. i put one screw that was just a tad bit longer in the wrong place and it went through the cable to the keyboard. i was upset i made such a small mistake after ive dissembled/reassembled so many laptops and mine many times thanks again for the tip

Sent from my SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

 

[CompGeek]

This is how I do it. No more extra screws

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[Don W.]

Having done more laptops than desktops lately this will definitely be given a try. Like wim said it's that darn delay between take apart and put together.

 

[Tech bud]

Nice! We were trouble shooting laptops in class today. Just some real basic stuff got done with the first computer pretty easy. So the teacher threw me something a little more challenging. Someone had forgot there bios password on the computer. I know from my reading that you can clear that with jumpers in the computer. So I had to take the Laptop apart for the first time. which we were not supposed to do till are next class meeting. She said go ahead and give it a whirl anyways. I found a nice tutorial on it and got it apart. But remembering were all them screws went was a pain. I didn't think ahead on that because I was excited. But think I might post this to the classes file sharing. If you don't mind that is. I never did find the jumper though. Don't think its the same size as the desktops.

 

[phaZed]

Please, feel free to share this with your class

In many cases, jumpers are going bye-bye... now it is just unhooking the CMOS battery that clears it out.

 

[quickfixcity]

Thanks 4 sharing mate

 

[Jaxon]

This method is simply genius. I have just used it for the first time on a laptop repair and it makes screw management soooo much easier. Thanks for sharing!

 

[AlexSno]

very useful 10x. Always find a few components after finishing rebuilding my old age laptop...

 

[mraikes]

I used this system last night working on an Asus laptop. Usually I just locate a service manual and get to work, but it's often difficult to find manuals for Asus'.

But instead of making a drawing, I take a couple pictures and print them on letter size heavy paper (like card stock). My drawing skills stink and clicking & printing is fast.

And, since a picture shows the screw locations, I can pre-punch all the holes with an awl and quickly proceed to the disassembly. As mentioned previously, keep your paper/card on top of a towel or other soft surface to make it easier to punch and insert screws. Easy as pie and twice as quick.

By using heavier paper I also get more than one use out of them. I just pop them in a folder and I'm all set the next time another of that model comes in the door.