Step 1: Battery
Steps 2–14: Upper Case
Steps 15–19: Hard Drive
Steps 20–22: Hard Drive Replacement
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Popular Repair Guides
Step 13
This is a diagram of the keyboard ribbon clamp connector you will disconnect in the next step.
1) With your fingernails, grasp the locking bar on either side and pull up a small amount (about 1/16" or 2 mm).
2) After disengaging the locking bar, slide the cable out of the connector.
Step 14
Loosen the keyboard ribbon clamp by pushing the thin black piece toward the screen, using the tips of your fingers.
The black piece is very fragile and easily broken. Use care when separating it from the main socket.
Slide the grey keyboard ribbon out of the loosened connector.
Remove the upper case from the computer.
Step 15
—
Hard Drive
Remove the two long silver Phillips screws from the metal bracket to the right of the hard drive, removing tape as necessary.
Be very careful! The clasps holding the black strip are extremely fragile and can snap very easily.
In fact it is possible to get to your hard drive and replace it without having to detach this ribbon at all and I would advise that if all you are doing is replacing your hard drive then skip this step.
My laptop did not have the big gray keyboard ribbon but a short white one with a blue stripe at the end. Anyone knows if this is just a different setup?
These are the 6 mm silver (not stainless) screws. Don't use the longer 9 mm silver screws (for battery compartment) by mistake and have to take everything apart again to retrieve them. Like I did of course.