ILXO/workshops/Disassembly

Workshop #2 - Disassembly and Repairs.

Thursday, June 3

Intro

Hi! This is [Name], broadcasting on behalf of ILXO in Chicago -

Today, we'll be demonstrating disassembly and repair of an XO. As rugged as these devices are, inevitably, parts break. However, they’re designed so that their parts are all easy to get to… (unlike many of our own standard devices! (hee, tangent about trying to fix my camera)).

We'll be covering the following topics: - Safety! There are a few precautions to take to ensure that neither you nor your XO get hurt - Tools needed - Getting to the screen - [to motherboard. Backlight] - Getting to the Keyboard - Running the hardware diagnostic

Yay!

Safety

1 Make sure the XO is not powered! Remove the battery and make sure it’s unplugged before you begin disassembly. This ensures that you will not accidently short circuit the board with your tools. The clock battery remains, but its impact should be negligible.

2 Be careful with the motherboard! This is the most essential part to the function of your XO. Please don’t drop anything on it, as the components are small enough that even dropping a screwdriver on it might knock off vital components. Take care not to short circuit anything on the board as it might not work once repowered.

3 We have to consider the possibility of static discharge. Electronic components could be damaged if you and the XO are not at the same potential. This can be remedied by touching a hinge screw before you begin work.

4 Finally, small pieces of metal or plastic can potentially break as you work due to force stored during manufacturing or structural stress. While this is a pretty unlikely event given the XOs design, we are still dealing with small parts so we err on the side of caution by protecting our eyes.

Tools Needed

Now that all the necessary precautions have been taken, we can begin our disassembly! All you need is a #1 Phillips head screwdriver and an XO.

The other items, while not essential, make your job a little easier. Pliers are useful to remove the less cooperative screw, and realign the hinge when you’re doing bottom disassembly. A small container is excellent for holding screws, though the small side green panels of t he XO, once removed, suffice as a temporary rig.

If you don’t have any lying around, no worries! You can still easily make do without.

Screen Removal

Now, let’s begin.

Open up the XO and rotate the screen 90 degrees. This gives you access to the four screws that secure the casing.

Here’s a nifty trick – you can magnetize your screwdriver using the XO. With the XO facing you (as if you were going to type on it), place your screwdriver on its lower left hand corner. There is a magnet there because it acts as the hall effect sensor. [explain this?] Move your screwdriver up and down along this region several times until you can feel the magnetic pull.

[Camera work approaches these]

Note that for two of the screws, you have to work through the handle of the XO. Remove the four screws (you’re going to have to rotate the screen again to reach the other half), and set them aside carefully so that they won’t get lost.

Now you can take the small green side panels on the side of the screen. As we mentioned earlier, these can serve as impromptu screw holders while you work.

Next, pull off the front panel. Start from the bottom, near the hinge. You can then gently slide it out – you may have to tug a bit, as the plastic is tabbed at the top and sides.

[video, yay]

This reveals four larger screws holding the screen in place. Make a note of the appearance of these screws, as they are different from the ones you removed earlier. Remove these. We recommend that you rotate the screen and lie it down flat as you work so that the screen doesn’t shift as you remove the screws.

This next part is a little trickier – gently lift up the screen --- but don’t tug as it’s still hooked up to two ribbon cables! We have to unhook these. See the black bar where the cables are connected to the board? Gently get a fingernail under the bottom of one of these and pull up. (Video clearly) This snaps easily in and out of place. Disconnect both cables, and you’ve successfully removed the screen!

One thing to note is that it’s easy to lose the shock absorbers (the black squishy things the screws sat in. Keep these with your screen!)

If you had a broken screen , you would now swap a new screen in.

[here, mention getting to motherboard and point out backlight. No need to walk through this. Plug Wiki?]

Replacing the Screen

Now, we are going to replace the screen. First, we’ll have to reconnect the ribbon cables. We recommend putting the thin one in first. Hold it near the tip so you have more control, and tuck it in under the clip. Hold it steady. Using your free hand, push the black bar back down to clip it in place. Tug gently to make sure the cable is set. Do the same with the other cable.

Next, replace the four large screws that held the screen in place. Slide the front panel back in. Note the tabs at the top of that plastic piece – those go in first. Next, gently snap down the sides, and the bottom should fit into place nicely. You can then slide the small green panels back into place (after ensuring that they aren’t holding any of your screws, of course).

Tilt the screen up and rotate it again so you can access the screw holes. Replace the four screws, and you’re all set!

Bottom Disassembly

While you don’t actually need to replace the top half before doing bottom disassembly, we recommend you keep as much intact as possible when you work as to minimize loss or damage of parts.

Now, we’re going to show you how to replace the touchpad and keyboard. If we turn the XO over, we can see that there are 5 screws in the place where the battery is kept. Remove these. This allows you to take off the panel covering the handle. One way to remove it is to push the white piece that can be found above your XO serial number (ordinarily hidden by the battery). This pops out a plastic piece on the other side, which you can then remove easily.

This reveals yet more screws for removal! However, before we continue, note the existence of extra screws that are hidden inside your computer. Just because manufacturers so kindly included extras doesn’t mean we can be careless with our own materials, but it’s nice to have the extra security.

Remove the four screws holding the top green bar of the handle. Pull this piece out and set it aside. Tug the side green pieces out a bit. As you’re doing so, push down on the bottom of the laptop (VIDEO IS SUPER GOOD), and it should come out as one piece.

Next, let’s look at the hinge. We’re going to separate the two halves of the XO. Unplug the connection as shown (be careful, the plastic is fragile!) and remove the four screws holding the hinge in place. Notice that these are a bit longer than your standard ones. Keep these separate so you can find them easily later. Turn the XO over and unclip the black cable running along here. Set the top half aside. Now, we want to work with the board facing us.

Removing the Touchpad

There are three more ribbon cables we want to disconnect before we continue. The one in the upper center of the board is clipped in place the same way as the screen. Lift up the black bar and pull the cable out.

The other two, placed in the lower corners of the board, can simply be tugged out. Be careful! I like to wiggle them out gently.

Next, remove the four screws holding the bottom green bar in place. Take this piece out, and place the small rubber feet aside.

Now, we want to remove the board. Remove the two screws at its upper corners. Notice that these are shorter than the other ones we’ve removed. Keep these separate so you can easily find them again! Remove the two screws just above and to the side of the earlier ones. These are also shorter, so keep these four screws together. Now look near the bottom of the board, where the plastic green bar was. Lift up the silver tape. Take the board off, and set it aside.

If you’re dealing with a broken board, you would get a new one and put it back in at this point. We’re going to keep on and show you how to remove the keyboard.

There are two more screws near at the top corner of the metal plate. Remove these. Gently pull the green side panels apart and pull the keyboard (the metal plate) upwards and out as you do so. The keyboard is now removed. Yay!

Putting it back together again

Take your new keyboard and tuck it back into place. Take care to make sure that all the tabs are set and that it lies flat. Replace the two screws near the handle (top corners).

(Here, we video super duper carefully to make sure we show/capture al l the tabbed parts. )

Put the board back in place. Make sure the ribbon cables are still reachable, as we’ll have to plug these back in. Put the four screws near the upper corners of the board back in. Pick the right screws! Remember, these are the shorter ones.

Next, plug your board back in. The cables at the bottom corners can gently be pushed back into place. Some wiggling may aid this process. The cable in the upper center needs to be slid in and held still. Using your other free hand, push the black bar down to clip it in place.

Put the green bottom bar back into place and replace its four screws. Don’t forget to put the rubber feet back in, too.

Next, plug the black connection cable back in to reconnect the two halves of your XO.

Next, we’re putting the back panel back in place. This can be a bit tricky – watch out for all the tabbing, and make sure everything lies flat when you’re done.

Things to watch out for here: • Make sure the small white tabs at the upper center of the board are in place • Start from the bottom, and slide these tabs in. • Gently push the sides in. If things aren’t fitting, pull out the panel and examine the tabs in the side to make sure they’re not bent. If one is, use pliers to gently reshape it and try again.

Once it’s in place, you can push the green side panels back into place to secure everything. Turn your XO back over (keyboard up). Plug your connection cable back in, and put the hinge screws back into place. Make sure you pick the right screws! These are the longer ones.

Next, replace the top green bar. Secure it with four screws.

Push the handle cover back into place. Turn your XO over and replace the five screws under the battery.

You’re all set!

Moment of Truth

Now, let’s make sure everything went successfully. Replace your battery, and plug in your XO.

We are going to run the Hardware Diagnostic.

Hold down the left rocker and power on your XO. Keep holding the rocker key until the boot screen comes up and tells you to release the game key. Doing so initiates the hardware diagnostic. It will test your camera, your microphone, your USB ports, and so on. The keyboard test is particularly handy.

When you’ve decided everything is up and running, power down your XO.

Congratulations! :)