MacBook Pro 17" Unibody (Early 2011) Hard Drive Cable

My Problem

This is my fairly new Dell XPS 13 (9360), 7 months old. The battery stopped working so I ordered a new one to replace it.

My Fix

Disassembly / reassembly as specified in the IFIXIT article worked exactly as specified. I removed the original battery, opened up the package I had ordered with the new battery, and lo and behold, they had sent me a battery for a different machine, possibly an XPS 15. It was too big and NOT the same battery at all. So I reseated and attached the original battery, reassembled the back casing of the laptop, and voila - it worked and I didn't need to replace it after all. I'm now in the process of swapping the battery sent for the proper model.

My Advice

If I did this again, I'd try removing and reseating the old battery before bothering to order a replacement. In the old days, whether with operating with server / desktop components (which were simple to access and reseat), or checking out the old fashioned click out/in "user replaceable" batteries, this would have been a no-brainer habit. Doing it on a thin, small laptop these days, having to deal with over a dozen tiny screws and tiny sockets and connectors, makes it tempting to skip reseating, assume the component will need replacing, and thereby save at least one disassembly/reassembly cycle. This was exacerbated by this being a fairly new and expensive laptop which is still under partial warranty, so didn't want to screw anything up (no pun intended). Lesson learned ...

My Problem

No power, dead battery, etc.

My Fix

I decided to do a couple of other errands since I was going to be in the area :) .... so I replaced the Fan ( ...still good but 9 years old ! ) , Subwoofer/Right Speaker, & the Left Speaker ( BOTH speakers bad ; buzzy, garbled sound ...) , as well as the defective MagSafe DC-IN Board.

The guides were the best and were very easy to 'layer/sequence' in w/ each other to facilitate multiple installation/repairs w/o re-tracing steps or doing things twice, etc.

The whole thing took 4-hours... but entirely enjoyable... especially for a beginner!

It really helped in doing a simultaneous 'multiple repair' to 1st PRINT out a hard-copy of each separate repair guide before starting in w/ the tools! Then using a 'highliter' pen & sharpie to jot down notes... I was able to mix & match on the fly ... jumping to whichever specific repair guide I needed at the time . I maintained the MagSafe DC-IN Board guide as a 'MASTER' guide because it described the most extensive disassembly procedure. The other repairs (Fan, Left Speaker, Right Speaker) then dove-tailed in nicely since most of the disassembly required was ALREADY DONE & I could skip to the uniquely relevant features of EACH repair guide quickly as needed !!

My Advice

Read through the Repair Guides online a couple of times... scanning the 'comments' to get a picture of some of the tight spots others have run into!!

Also, hard-copy PRINT outs of the repair guide are great if you're a messy, excitable type who likes to plunge right in & have fun w/ tools scattered all over the place quickly!! ( I DIDN'T even have any ((safe, stable)) space on my worktable for a laptop to easily consult the online repair guides. )

As I juggled & threw the repair guide(s) around, pages floated to the floor more than once... but harmlessly!

Hard copy repair guides are also great for MARKING up w/ 'notes' as you go... sometimes it's nice when traveling the RETURN (re-assembly) path to see a choice 'hint' about putting the thing back together that you scrawled an hour earlier when you were happily tearing something apart... it can really help . (The re-assembly can be slightly tricky since if you're a novice like me , you're trying to go through the repair guide 'backwards' and you have to concentrate a bit more than when 'rushing' forwards through it the first time!)

My Problem

The battery died from age and repeated charges.

My Fix

I was able to remove the battery without difficulty after carefully following all the steps listed--and will all the recommended tools I purchased from ifixit. Now I'm just waiting on my new watch battery to arrive from an outside vendor, so that I can reassemble the watch again, hopefully as good as new!

My Advice

Follow the ifixit instructions methodically and don't rush it!

My Problem

My optical drive had failed sometime in the past. I rarely used it. Recently I was doing upgrades to other components and decided to replace the Superdrive.

My Fix

The repair went very well. I was surprised when the internals of my MacBook did not quite match the repair guide. I had to rely on some personal experience and skill to complete the repair.

My Advice

Always be mentally prepared for exceptions.

My Problem

Tried to remove battery to replace original that was not holding a charge very long

My Fix

The blue pry tools got the chassis opened, with a little effort to get the front/back separated

My Advice

The small locking tabs that hold circuit strips are very small and take no effort to open. Unfortunately for me, the blue pry tool was under the connector, not the lock, and I broke it off the circuit board. I now have a tablet paperweight. Rats.

My Problem

My tablet was stuck on bootloop for a few months, and after flashing every stock ROM file I could find, I found that it was the motherboard that was faulty.

My Fix

The repair was easier than I thought, and it took less time than I thought! It was my first time repairing hardware so it was really exciting to see all of the parts and be able to make sense of them.

My Advice

Take a picture before you take everything apart to use it for reference later on. Keep all your screws in one place so you don't lose them. And be extra careful with the wires and stips you disconnect!