How To Disassemble A Computer

Do you have a computer and you are so curious

that you want to take it apart and see what’s
inside it? Well before you can do that, we must
first consider few things. Computer safety and of
course a knowledge on how to disassemble a
computer. And since you are going to
disassemble a computer, then it should be logical
to learn how to assemble it.
Before proceeding with the procedure, there are
tools to prepare. Since we are going to take each
part of the computer, it is also a good idea to
clean the insides of your computer. So here are
the tools and other things that you should
prepare.

• Philip Screwdriver (about 8″)

• Rubber Eraser
• Clean Wide-Bristle Paintbrush
• Thermal Paste
• A Can Of Compressed Air
• Mini Vacuum Cleaner
• Wide Empty Non-conducting Table
 Steps On How To Disassemble Your
Computer

1. First, turn off your system unit and also

the AVR. Unplug the AVR from the AC
outlet. Be sure that your hands are not wet.
2. Take all plugged cables off from your
system unit. Remove first the power cable
which connects your system unit to the
AVR. Upon removing the cable that runs to
your system unit to the LCD screen,
unscrew it. Remove both the keyboard and
mouse from the system unit. If you got
other peripherals connected like audio and
usb cables, remove them. Please take note
of their placements and corresponding
ports.
3. Once all cables are removed, put your
system unit on a clean and empty non-
conducting table. We are now prepared to
take off the side cover but first, we must
drain off any ESD’s in our body by touching
the uninsulated area of the system unit.
Usually, the area where the power supply is
suited isn’t painted and it is the best place
to drain off the ESD.
4. Next is to remove the side cover. Use
your screwdriver for this. Be sure to open
the side cover that is opposite to the side
where the ports are located. Once you’ll get
the side cover off, put the screws back on
the screw holes of the chassis.
5. With the side cover already open, put
the system unit laying on the side with the
open area facing up. This is will make
removing of the peripherals easier.
6. Once it is laid in the correct position,
remove all the connectors from the power
supply. All power cables (the ones with the
yellow, black, red, and orange wires) and
data cables should be disconnected of
removed.
7. Having all cables disconnected, we can
now remove the power supply. Again, put
the screws back on the screw holes of the
power supply.
8. With the power supply removed, the
next components to clear are the hard
drives, DVD drives, and the floppy drive (if
your system unit still comes with it). Hard
drives can easily be removed via a clip or
screw locking system. DVD drives can be
removed by pushing it out of the system
unit drive bay.
9. Once the power supply and the rest of
the drives are cleared, we will now start
removing the peripheral cards starting with
the RAM, video card, sound card, and
other card peripherals. Take note that these
cards are either screw or clip locked.
10. You should see now that only the CPU
fan remains. Under the CPU fan lies the CPU
which we will also take out. To be able to
remove the CPU, the fan assembly on opt of it
should first be removed. Some CPU fan
assembly can easily be removed with a clip
lock system or via screws. Clip locked CPU
fan assemblies are much easier to wrestle.
Just lift the lever or levers and the fan
assembly and twist it left and right to break the
thermal paste that is between the surface of
the processor and the heatsink then the
heatsink and fan assembly should be free.
11. Having the fan assembly already
removed, you can easily get the CPU by
lifting the lever up and hold the processor
by its sides then pull it up slowly. Be careful
not to bend any pin either on the processor
or from the processor socket. There are
two main types of processor sockets. One
is the PGA or the Pin Grid Array and the
other is LGA or Land Grid Array.
12. Having all major components removed
from the chassis, you are left with the
motherboard. Motherboards are commonly
secured with screws so a screwdriver is
necessary to remove it. When removing the
motherboard, unscrew all screws and then
carefully check if the motherboard is totally
free. Lift the motherboard on its sides and
be very careful not to scratch or heavy
apply pressure on the tiny components of
the motherboard – they are very delicate.
13. After all of the components are
removed, clean the chassis with your paint
brush and vacuum cleaner. Also clean the
rest of the peripherals with a paint brush
but the connector edges of the cards (the
gold plated sides of the cards) should be
cleaned using an eraser.
14. For cleaning the CPU socket and
peripherals slots on the motherboard, use a
compressed gas.