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Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

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Armando:
Thanks for the contributions to this discussion.

I presently own a Dell Vostro 1500 (3 y old I believe ?). I also had an Inspiron 6400 which I gave tp my girlfrend.

Both are terrible in terms of CPU/fan accessibility (not as bad as my 8 years old ECS iBuddie... but still). I mean... having to remove the LCD, keyboard, hard Drive, DVD player, etc. to access the CPU is ridiculous. It's around 40min of work to disassemble it when you're not a pro, and then the same amount of time to do whatever needs to be done and put everything back (if you're not unlucky). Not to mention the research that needs to e done beforehand + all these plastic parts that get more and more fragile as they are popped in & out every single time you take your machine apart.

The problem is that the CPU cooling system in the Vostro gathers so much dust that it's almost unavoidable to not take it apart at least once a year (once every 6 months is preferable...)

========

This morning I've seen a few pictures of incredibly easy to disassemble older Acer. A few screws and you can replace most parts all at once.

Anyway, here are a few other interesting links I found this morning :

The upgradable, recyclable Bloom laptop concept -- Yes, Interesting.... But that's about it. :)

More interresting maybe, as it compares different "styles" of laptops (business, gamer, consumer...) : Taking Apart Your Laptop... From this article, it seems like gaming laptops are the easiest and most user-friendly notebooks to upgrade/disassemble.

Finally... HP seems to get into that game...

Carol Haynes:
Strikes me the question is "which laptops have the best access to service manuals?" and only then "which models are easiest to disassemble?"

At least with a manual you get some clues how to get into things without breakages and lots of frustration!

In my experience Toshiba and Dell seem to have the best access to service manuals - almost all other makes seem reluctant to release their manuals.

The other big frustration is that whenever you search for an engineers manual you get totally blitzed by spam sites trying get you to buy something that should be free (and usually is if you persevere).

Armando:
You make a good point -- about the quality of the manuals.

Granted, Dell manuals are pretty good. However, they aren't very detailed  when it comes to access parts like the CPU. I don't know about Toshiba.

Here's what's relatively easy to access :

40hz:
Strikes me the question is "which laptops have the best access to service manuals?" and only then "which models are easiest to disassemble?"-Carol Haynes (April 23, 2011, 07:35 PM)
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Bingo! Once again Carol gets right to the heart of it ! :Thmbsup:

At least with a manual you get some clues how to get into things without breakages and lots of frustration!
--- End quote ---

If you're fortunate enough to get access to a real service manual (for techs), as opposed to the customer 'service' manual, you get a lot more than clues. The genuine service docs are a treasure trove of detailed information on every aspect of the machine they're written for. Some even go right down to the schematic level.

Unfortunately, these manuals are hard to come by unless you work for an authorized service center or know who to contact to get one. Many times they're flagged "company proprietary" and you can't get a copy for love or money unless you have some status with the manufacturer. All Apple service docs used to be like that. Not an Apple authorized service technician? Then no Apple service docs! Period.

(Note: Don't know if Apple is still doing that since my company no longer performs Apple service.)

In my experience Toshiba and Dell seem to have the best access to service manuals - almost all other makes seem reluctant to release their manuals.
--- End quote ---

Agree

The other big frustration is that whenever you search for an engineers manual you get totally blitzed by spam sites trying get you to buy something that should be free (and usually is if you persevere).

--- End quote ---

Also an excellent point!  :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:

If any of these 'aggregators' have a manual to sell you, you can be sure it's also available from somewhere else if you look hard enough. That's where they got it from  And usually it's free to download when you do find it  

Sometimes it takes a phone call or email with a politely worded request before you'll be given the weblink to the manual you need. But it's definitely preferable to paying some 3rd party $15-$50 for the PDF of a manual set when you didn't need to.
 8)

Armando:
Well, while I somewhat agree with carol too, good instructions doesn't necessarily equal "easier to disassemble". It just means that you have a good plan. However, like I said earlier, I own(ed) 2 Dells, and neither of them made it easy to access the CPU. And in one case I manage to break some plastic, even while being extremely careful.

(If I had only 4 screws holding a cover to remove, than I wouldn't event need a manual in the first place, most probably.  :))

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