With the case closed, place the Unibody top-side down on a flat surface. Depress the grooved side of the access door release latch enough to grab the free end. Lift the release latch until it is vertical. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4447 With the case closed, place the Unibody top-side down on a flat surface. Depress the grooved side of the access door release latch enough to grab the free end. Lift the release latch until it is vertical. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4447 The access door should now be raised enough to lift it up and out of the Unibody. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4448 Be sure the access door release latch is vertical before proceeding. Grab the translucent plastic tab and pull the battery up and out of the Unibody. If the latch is depressed it will lock the battery in place. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4449 Remove the following eight screws securing the lower case to the chassis: One 5.4 mm Phillips screw. Three 14 mm Phillips screws. Four 3.5 mm Phillips screws. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4453 Using both hands, lift and remove the lower case off the upper case. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4454 Remove the following 5 screws securing the mid wall to the upper case: Three 10.5 mm Phillips screws. Two 3.7 mm Phillips screws. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4469 Lift the mid wall out of the upper case. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4470 Remove the following six screws securing both the right fan and the left fan to the logic board: Four 3.5 mm Phillips screws. Two 3.2 mm Phillips screws. Use a spudger to pry both the right fan and left fan connectors straight up and out of their sockets on the logic board. It is useful to twist the spudger axially from beneath the fan cable wires to release the connector. The fan socket and the fan connector can be seen in the second and third pictures. Be careful not to break the plastic fan socket off the logic board as you use your spudger to lift the fan connector straight up and out of its socket. The layout of the logic board shown in the second picture may look slightly different than your machine but the fan socket is the same. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4482 Remove the following six screws securing both the right fan and the left fan to the logic board: Four 3.5 mm Phillips screws. Two 3.2 mm Phillips screws. Use a spudger to pry both the right fan and left fan connectors straight up and out of their sockets on the logic board. It is useful to twist the spudger axially from beneath the fan cable wires to release the connector. The fan socket and the fan connector can be seen in the second and third pictures. Be careful not to break the plastic fan socket off the logic board as you use your spudger to lift the fan connector straight up and out of its socket. The layout of the logic board shown in the second picture may look slightly different than your machine but the fan socket is the same. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4482 Remove the following six screws securing both the right fan and the left fan to the logic board: Four 3.5 mm Phillips screws. Two 3.2 mm Phillips screws. Use a spudger to pry both the right fan and left fan connectors straight up and out of their sockets on the logic board. It is useful to twist the spudger axially from beneath the fan cable wires to release the connector. The fan socket and the fan connector can be seen in the second and third pictures. Be careful not to break the plastic fan socket off the logic board as you use your spudger to lift the fan connector straight up and out of its socket. The layout of the logic board shown in the second picture may look slightly different than your machine but the fan socket is the same. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4482 Lift both fans out of the upper case. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4484 Lift both fans out of the upper case. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4484 Disconnect the camera cable by pulling the male end straight away from its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4487 Use a spudger to pry the optical drive connector straight up off the logic board. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4488 If necessary, peel off the foam bumper covering the subwoofer connector. Using the flat end of a spudger, pry the subwoofer connector straight up off the logic board. Be very careful. This connector is delicate, and can be easily broken off the logic board. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4491 Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the hard drive cable connector straight up off the logic board. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4492 Use a spudger to pry the trackpad connector straight up off the logic board. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4493 Using the tip of a spudger, flip up the IR/sleep LED ribbon cable retaining flap. Pull the IR/sleep LED ribbon cable straight out of its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4495 Using the tip of a spudger, flip up the IR/sleep LED ribbon cable retaining flap. Pull the IR/sleep LED ribbon cable straight out of its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4495 Using the flat end of a spudger, pry the battery indicator light connector straight up off the logic board. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4496 Using the tip of a spudger, flip up the keyboard ribbon cable retaining flap. Pull the keyboard ribbon cable straight out of its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4497 Using the tip of a spudger, flip up the keyboard ribbon cable retaining flap. Pull the keyboard ribbon cable straight out of its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4497 Using the tip of a spudger, flip up the express card cage ribbon cable retaining flap. Pull the express card cage ribbon cable straight out of its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4498 Using the tip of a spudger, flip up the express card cage ribbon cable retaining flap. Pull the express card cage ribbon cable straight out of its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4498 Using the flat end of a spudger, pry the microphone cable connector straight up off the logic board. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4505 Grab the plastic pull tab secured to the display data cable lock and rotate it toward the DC-in side of the computer. Pull the display data cable connector straight away from its socket. When disconnecting the display data cable, do not pull on the black tab secured to the cable lock. We recommend wiggling the cable while applying tension to slowly "walk" the connector out of its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4501 Grab the plastic pull tab secured to the display data cable lock and rotate it toward the DC-in side of the computer. Pull the display data cable connector straight away from its socket. When disconnecting the display data cable, do not pull on the black tab secured to the cable lock. We recommend wiggling the cable while applying tension to slowly "walk" the connector out of its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4501 Locate the keyboard backlight ribbon cable (near the left fan space). Using the tip of a spudger, flip up the keyboard backlight ribbon cable retaining flap. Pull the keyboard backlight ribbon cable straight out of its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4573 Locate the keyboard backlight ribbon cable (near the left fan space). Using the tip of a spudger, flip up the keyboard backlight ribbon cable retaining flap. Pull the keyboard backlight ribbon cable straight out of its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4573 Remove seven 3.2 mm Phillips screws securing the logic board to the upper case. Do not remove the logic board yet! There are connectors attached to the underside of the logic board that must first be disconnected. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4575 Remove two 7 mm Phillips screws securing the DC-in board to the upper case. Note: This step is not completely necessary, but it will make it easier to disconnect the cable that is connected to the DC-in board. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4502 Remove two 3.5 mm Phillips screws securing the bottom case clip to the upper case. Lift the bottom case clip out of the upper case. Some MacBook Pro Unibodies do not have a bottom case clip and do not require this step. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4503 Remove two 3.5 mm Phillips screws securing the bottom case clip to the upper case. Lift the bottom case clip out of the upper case. Some MacBook Pro Unibodies do not have a bottom case clip and do not require this step. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4503 Carefully lift the logic board assembly from the left side and work it out of the upper case, minding the port side that may get caught during removal. Do not entirely remove the logic board yet! Ensure that the logic board is free from all connections to the upper case (except the battery connector) before proceeding. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4506 Carefully lift the logic board assembly from the left side and work it out of the upper case, minding the port side that may get caught during removal. Do not entirely remove the logic board yet! Ensure that the logic board is free from all connections to the upper case (except the battery connector) before proceeding. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4506 Lift the logic board enough to grab the battery connector and pull it straight away from its socket on the logic board. Lift the logic board assembly out of the upper case. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4507 Lift the logic board enough to grab the battery connector and pull it straight away from its socket on the logic board. Lift the logic board assembly out of the upper case. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4507 Remove eight 8.4 mm Phillips screws securing the heat sink to the logic board. Don't remove the heat sink yet! There is a delicate connector that must first be disconnected. A spring is held under each of these screws. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4579 Use the tip of a spudger to pry the thermal sensor connector up off the logic board. This connector is especially delicate, so be sure to use extreme caution when removing it. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4580 Gently lift the heat sink off the logic board. If you need to mount the heat sink back into the laptop, we have a thermal paste guide that makes replacing the thermal compound easy. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4581 Remove the two 5 mm Phillips screws securing the left speaker to the logic board. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4516 If necessary, peel up the orange Kapton tape covering the left speaker connector. Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the left speaker connector up off the logic board. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4583 Lift the left speaker assembly out of the logic board. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4519 Disconnect the DC-In Board connector from the logic board by pulling it straight away from its socket. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4582 Release the tabs on each side of the RAM chip by simultaneously pushing each tab away from the chip. These tabs lock the chip in place and releasing them will cause the chip to "pop" up. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4523 After the RAM chip has popped up, pull it straight out of its socket. Repeat this process if a second RAM chip is installed. When reinstalling your logic board, don't forget to apply a new layer of thermal paste. /Guide/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Late-2008-and-Early-2009-Logic-Board-Replacement/831/all#s4524