Taking Apart a Sony Vaio Laptop

Intro: Taking Apart a Sony Vaio Laptop

So, I have a Sony Vaio VGN-C240E (AKA PCG-6R3L) and I accidentally dropped it. It fell on the right rear corner where the power cord plugs in while the cord was plugged in. Of course I freaked out but it turned out the laptop was ok. A couple days later, however, I noticed that my power cord wasn't going in. It turns out the plastic pieces holding together the jack on the inside broke and the jack wasn't staying flush with the case any more.

With the help of various other tutorials on similar laptops, I was able to disassemble my Vaio with relative ease and fix the problem. I will go over these instructions in hopes that this maybe useful to someone else in the future. Opening up a Vaio is kind of an intricate process. With a laptop, you never want to tug and pull too hard as pieces are generally very small and hard to replace.

Most people who will need this will probably only need to know how to disassemble the laptop and not fix the power issue. However, I've added my fix for that problem just in case.

Last but not least, keep in mind, I'm not an œexpert. These directions are not from the manufacturer and should not be considered as such. Do this at your own risk.

This instructable originally appeared on my website at Verbal Caricature.

STEP 1: Be Carefull.

Rule number one, be gentle, ground yourself, and don' be a Neanderthal. This is a laptop, not a piece of meat. If you're not careful, your attempt to fix your laptop will become a $1100 science project because explaining how three plastic pieces, which have no business being tampered with, broke to your manufacturer will not be fun; that is if, indeed, you're still under warranty.

STEP 2: Remove the Battery

Remove your battery. You don't want any potential problems and aside from your own body (which you should've grounded) the battery is the only energy source in your system (well, okay there's the small internal battery on the motherboard as well).

STEP 3: Remove Screws, Etc.

Flip your Vaio over and remove all the screws. Remove your DVD ROM drive and Hard drive.

STEP 4: Remove Keyboard

Once you've done all that, flip the laptop back over and remove the keyboard by pressing on the little clamps at the top as shown in the pictures. I used a screw driver. I also included a picture of the clamps after the keyboard was removed so you can see it more clearly. Mine had four clamps.

STEP 5: Remove the Ribbons

Remove the keyboard ribbon and all other ribbons that you see there. For the keyboard ribbon, I had to push the little black plastic back a little and pull on the blue tab. It should come out fairly easily. For the smaller ribbons, the black latch flipped upward and the blue ribbons came out easily. There was only one more connection and it was your typical 3 wire jack. Slowly remove it, as well. I used my flathead screwdriver to pry it out gently. Again, the key here is not to be a Neanderthal. Everything has a purpose and if you tug like a savage you will break something. Take some time and figure it out. It's not worth breaking something. There are a couple more case screws you'll want to remove. There should only be two or three.

STEP 6: Remove Drive Bay Screws

Now, flip you Vaio onto its side so that you can see the underside of the DVD ROM drive bay. Inside the bay, there are three small screws. You'll need to unscrew those.

STEP 7: Remove Cover

Now you're ready to take off the cover. Slowly lift off the cover that hides all your hardware. If you do this fast, you'll likely break something. Also, if it does not come off relatively easily, you may have missed a screw. Check that you've removed all the screws if it sticks. Also be careful because you are removing your mouse pad and working around some sensitive areas. Take extreme precautions. Move away any liquids from your desk. Don't be stupid is my main advise. You don't want to ruin your laptop. If you do, there are easier and more entertaining ways (see: Office Space; re: fax machine).

STEP 8: Scope Out the Area

The plastic pieces that held the DC plug flush with the outside of my case broke and left only the metal piece that held it down, which itself is badly bent.

STEP 9: Bend Metal Back Into Place

Here is the metal piece which I've bent back into place as well as possible.

STEP 10: Adhere DC Input Back Into Place

Finally, to keep the DC input module in place, I used Titebond Wood glue. Use your strong adhesive of choice. Just give it plenty of time to dry. I placed two screwdriver tips under the DC input module so that it would lift up and stay pressed against the metal piece on which I placed the glue. I used a dictionary to keep the screwdrivers tensed up and went to bed.

STEP 11: Trace Your Step Backwards

Now trace your steps backwards and put it back together and you're done.

I hope this will have been helpful to someone. If it was, let me know. Take care.

Comments

[osminm]

thanks for these instructions, worked like a charm on a Vaio VPCF121GX with a damaged DC input!

[MinTech1]

Even though this was not for the model I was looking for it did help somewhat.

[karatedragon6]

cool!!!

check out my similar instructable how to take apart a laptop

please comment if you see it!!!

[akumar77]

hey, i have a similar problem with my Sony Vaio Model PCG-51111W but instead of it falling on its side and damaging the battery plug input , it fell on the other side and damaged the power button , Now i'm helpless cause i can't even start up my laptop as the button had sinked into its cavity and its stuck there. I'm not use to dismantling laptops but is it possible to do the exact same process up till step 4 to just push the button into place or do i need to do everything ?

[syra]

Sony VAIO VPC-EA3UFX/BJC looks and feels more expensive than it is. The bronze sculpture of black felt substantial in my hands, and the matte finish has a slight sheen that looks very good. It also resists dirt and fingerprints. A quirk of design that surprised me was the use of a bright palm rest on a machine that was otherwise covered in matte finish, it's not just a magnet for fingerprints, but it is the only part of the chassis that will hit all the time when laptop is used. http://www.thesonyworld.com

[rerat]

 Wow, it's really weird how common this is...mine is the Vaio  VGN-FW265D,
img1.classistatic.com/cps/kj/100603/953r5/52388c6_20.jpeg See that lovely sleek barrel connected housing? Well I was watching a movie running from the laptop to the TV with HDMI,  in the dark, I got up to use the bathroom, tripped over the power cable, ripped out the HDMI, sent the laptop (literally) about 12 feet across the floor, snapped that barrel clean off...luckily the wiring remained intact...and I glued it back together..the plug still feels horribly loose, but has no issues with cutting in/out etc.

[munser]

 My computer (which I think is the same one) had 3 screws under the keyboard that needed to be removed.

[munser]

I too had this exact same problem. I followed the steps, bent the metal bracket back  and the computer is perfect again!  Actually not perfect, the DVD is not working but the power isn't a problem any more!!!
Thanks for a great instructable!

[alfiec]

Brilliant! I had exactly the same problem with the power inlet. I followed your guide and found the metal bracket was bent. Previously I couldn't fathom out how to get the back off and have spent a year with the power cable sellotaped to my desk so the laptop wouldn't suddenly die.

Thanks - a great post.

Gary
Wisbech
UK

[k_man93]

 the fan on my vaio cs quit working a few months ago, because the bearings were frozen... it was still under warranty, but next time it might not be. i will keep this instuctable in mind

[tewfik]

thanks for this Instructable I'm going to take apart my sony vaio, very helpful

[soberanis]

Sony Vaio VGN-FS660P. This unit was working great, but recently it quit tunring on. This unit does not turn on. Both the battery and power supply were in fine shape when it quit working.

[soberanis]

Sony Vaio VGN-FS660P. This unit was working great, but recently it quit tunring on.. This unit does not turn on

[awang8]

Your reply does not make sense. 1. I do not own a Sony Vaio. I never said I did. 2. I was only sharing my opinion. Opinions are not something to be critisized.

[ThinkBeforeYouSpeak]

so whats the difference between a sony vaio and a compaq with the same processor and same amount of ram and video card?

[bavalova]

A few hundred dollars?

[ThinkBeforeYouSpeak]

ok, thanks i didnt think there was any difference besides the name

[bavalova]

Well, to be clear, Sony is GENERALLY a better system. For example, I use my system every single day vigorously. I take it to school, work, home, etc. I use it for movies and for work. I really beat the heck out of it but I've yet to have a problem with it that I didn't somehow cause. For example, I've owned a COMPAQ before and so have 2 of my friends and I noticed on each of them that the joints that allow the screen to flip open really loosen on the Compaqs after a very short while. It's quite annoying and you either gotta get in there and fix it yourself or send it for repair. Honestly, I'm glad I went with the Viao for this and similar reasons.

[awang8]

I think Dells are the best because I have a Dell Latitude and for normal laptops I probably would have killed it but this Latitute is very tough. It absolutely refuses to break under normal circumstances, even though it's 2nd hand.

[dabinp29327]

why would you take a laptop apart? Vaios are expensive