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 Âexpert. 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.