Any advice on X61s fan replacement for beginner?

[Edward Mendelson]

I'm finally almost brave enough to attempt a fan and heat sink replacement on an X61s.

I have the correct X61s part in new condition (in what looks like the original cardboard tray), a tube of Arctic Silver 5, some high-quality German-made precision screwdrivers, and a few paper cups that I can label in order to keep the screws from getting mixed up.

Is there anything special I need to know in advance? Before this, I've only got as far as replacing wireless cards; I've never removed a motherboard. Is it in fact necessary to remove the top cover, or can I leave that in place, as some sites seem to suggest? And how likely is it that I'll need a vice grip (which I don't have) to remove the existing heat sink screws?

Apologies for bothering everyone with so many questions, and thanks in advance for any help.

(And if this fails, a forum member who drilled out some screws on this machine a few years ago will be seeing it again. You know who you are!)

[brchan]

Make sure to follow the HMM carefully and slowly. The only thing I really needed for dissasembling laptops was a standard #1 philips screwdriver, and a small flathead for gently loosening heatsinks/other parts.

As for some tips I have found useful:
1. Draw out a diagram of the screw positions on some paper and place the corresponding screws on the paper in the correct positions. This makes it visually much easier to remember which screws go where. For example, draw out a quick sketch of the base with screw hole positions and while you take the screws out of the laptop, place them in the same position as in the paper.
2. Take reference pictures of the laptop in each phase of dissasembley so you know how things should look.
3. Do not rush!

For the top cover, it would probably make handling easier if you remove it. You should not ever need a vicegrip for removing screws or for laptops in general. When you screw in the screws for the heatsink though, make sure to follow an 'X' pattern to make sure the heatsink is properly seated. For example, screw in in this order:

1. Top left
2. Bottom right
3. Top right
4. Bottom left

Also, don't screw in each screw all the way at first. Screw them in halfway at first, and just repeat the above to go all the way.

Hope this helps.

[Edward Mendelson]

That helps enormously - especially the idea of using diagrams to keep track of the screw. Thank you!

[EOMtp]

Arguably, it may be easier NOT to disconnect everything from the motherboard. On an X61[s], one can "release" the motherboard from the base, tilt it sufficiently to access the 3 or 4 screws which hold the heatsink/fan in place, and replace the heatsink/fan assembly. This is more difficult to explain than to demonstrate, but the procedure will become obvious. Analyze the "situation" once the motherboard is loose from the base, and then decide whether or not you think it is necessary to disconnect everything in order to remove the motherboard from the base.

Careful with two items as you re-assemble:
1) The wireless on/off switch position. The switch on the motherboard must align with the small slot of the switch slider on the base, and it is easy to break the switch if not aligned properly ... and it is unlikely that you will remember to look at that alignment during reassembly.

2) The LCD cable has a Hall effect sensor 1.5" from the connector, and that small piece must rest in its place on the back of the chassis as you replace the rear bezel. Easiest to hold the sensor in place and tape the LCD cable so it does not move, and then replace the rear bezel.

Tape a piece of paper/cardboard over the display panel so you don't scratch it accidentally during the surgery.

Good luck!

[Edward Mendelson]

Arguably, it may be easier NOT to disconnect everything from the motherboard. On an X61[s], one can "release" the motherboard from the base, tilt it sufficiently to access the 3 or 4 screws which hold the heatsink/fan in place, and replace the heatsink/fan assembly. This is more difficult to explain than to demonstrate, but the procedure will become obvious. Analyze the "situation" once the motherboard is loose from the base, and then decide whether or not you think it is necessary to disconnect everything in order to remove the motherboard from the base.

I was hoping something like that might be true - thanks for the confirmation. Also, thanks for those two additional warnings, which I hadn't thought of and (knowing my habits) would probably have messed up if you hadn't warned me. Thank you for the entire post.

I hope to get to this sometime this week, and will report back if I anything that might be useful for someone else. Meanwhile, any further advice will be very welcome.

[brchan]

I forgot to mention this, but make sure you reduce the chance of electrostatic discharge, which could kill components (ie. motherboard). Discharge any static you may have by touching a metal object, such as a metal doornob or faucet to get rid of any static charge. Also, do not wear socks on a carpet while working with your machine (barefoot is fine though). Normally, you would wear an anti-esd wrist wrap connected to a metal object, usually a computer frame, to be 100% safe. However, I have worked on many laptops and desktops at a volunteer program and haven't fried or seen anybody fry computer components as long as they first discharged any static by grounding themself (touching a metal object).

[Edward Mendelson]

Well, removing a ThinkPad motherboard for the first time was marginally less terrifying than the white-water canoeing I somehow got roped into doing as a teenager, but, thanks to the advice in the preceding messages, I somehow survived it. More to the point, the X61s survived it.

As suggested, I didn't need to remove the LCD. The biggest obstacle was the unlabeled screw on the base, near the VGA connector, that holds down the system board. I can't see anything in the HMM that says anything about that screw, but eventually I figured out that I wasn't going to be able to lift out the motherboard until I removed that screw. Am I missing something obvious from the HMM?

The other scary moment came when the reassembled machine wouldn't start up. Of course, what I needed to do was reseat the RAM, and then all was well.

Thanks again to everyone here, and if anyone can tell me where the HMM says anything about the screw, please let me know. (I've got the fifth edition, February 2008.)