Computer Hardware Servicing NC II Tutorial

To disassemble a computer may be a very daunting task to anyone - at least to people with no or little knowledge or experience. Does this mean it includes you? Probably not, you found our blog and you will be learning how to do things right and easy. Yes! By reading and following the detailed instructions that we will be providing, you will be able to disassemble a computer correctly and easily.

Before we begin, allow yourself to ponder with these questions.

Is it necessary to disassemble my computer?
Am I sure I can get things right?
Will I be able to put this thing back in one piece again?

By answering the questions above, you will be able to evaluate yourself whether you are confident enough to do it (or whether your way or based on other reference like this blog)? If you aren't sure enough, just read on and learn before doing any actual application.

Here are some things you need to consider before you begin to disassemble your computer

1. Safety - Safety should be a priority specially that you are dealing with electricity, precious data, and expensive computer parts to handle. Find out more about computer troubleshooting safety here.

2. Tools - Though are are many tools a computer technician should have, we can however do the job well with fewer tools. A long philip screwdriver, a wide bristle brush, and a rubber eraser. This are the basic tools need to disassemble a computer.

3. Notes - What's a note for? If you are to disassemble a computer and unsure of which things is first to remove and how it is positioned, sometimes you get disoriented of the proper procedure and end up having the computer dumped in a bin. Note taking is essential so that it will serve as your personal guide. Believe it or not, I have been working as a computer technician for more than five years now and still maintains a notepad.

All are now set for the procedure. Again think safety, have the appropriate tools, and have a notebook alongside to take down important notes. Let's begin to to disassemble your computer or system unit.

1. Find a suitable insulated table (or wooden table) to begin with your work.

2. To avoid any accidental electrocution, be sure to unplug your computer from the AVR. And then remove the other connectors at the back panel or back side of your computer (where you can see some wires going to your mouse, keyboard, and others) leaving the computer or system unit totally detached. At this moment, you won't be needing any tool for the removal of the components.

3. We are now ready to remove the side covers. At the back side of your computer you should see some screws locking the covers, but which side cover should we remove? Can you see where the ports are located? If they are located on the left side, then you need to remove the right side cover and vice versa. Use your Philip screwdriver to do this.

4. Once the correct side cover is removed, lay down the computer on the table so that you will be seeing the insides from above. In this manner, it will be a lot easier to remove the components.

5. You may now begin to remove the computer's components. Here is a short list of which components should be first removed.

1. Power Supply Unit (PSU) - remove the molex connector or power cablings (with red,yellow,black,orange wires) from the board and drives. When you remove the connectors, try to swivel it along its length.


2. Data Cables (IDE and SATA) - carefully remove these cables by swiveling it. Removing all cables clears the space for us to work things easier.


3. Card Peripherals - this should include removing the RAMs, Video Card, Modems, Sound Cards, and other card peripherals. Be sure to remove them properly


4. Drives - DVD,Blue Ray, and hard disk drives should be removed after the card peripherals. Be sure to put back the screws back to the drives upon removing it


5. Front Panel Connectors - since every motherboard has its own configuration, we need to take down notes of the proper orientation of the pins. But if you memorize it, the better. Asus and intel board are almost having the same front panel pin configuration. Other boards like ECS and IBM boards have the same pin configuration as the latter. This is where we will be taking notes, draw the pin configuration if possible.


6. Motherboard - be very careful in removing the motherboard, avoid scratching any surface on the motherboard as there are many surface mounted components soldered on it. And after removing the motherboard, put it in an area where there is insulation on its bottom or best, put it in a anti-static bag.


7. Processor (CPU) - removing the processor requires a bit of technical skill (which it will be easy for you to learn soon) and thus we will be dealing with this in our next tutorial.

6. After all the components are taken apart, clean them with the brush that you have. Dust will accumulate heat and can destroy your computer's components.

7. Do not forget to clean the connector edges of your peripheral cards. The connector edges are those shiny gold-colored edges of your RAM, Video card, and other similar components. Use an eraser to do the cleaning but if you have a flux cleaning agent, that should do the job better. Using an eraser, just lightly scrub on the connector edges and then brush off the shredding. Remember to always clean the computer every time you take it apart.

This is how a computer should be disassembled. Again safety,proper tools, and note taking is your arsenal. Drop your fear, start learning and to disassemble a computer is just one of the many things you have to learn in troubleshooting computers. If you have any question about computer disassembly, please do not hesitate to comment and I will help you out in no time.