W7J/F Disassembly Instructions?

Does anyone have instructions to go about taking off the keyboard and possibily locating the intel wireless card? My only gripe right now is the card and I would appreciate some help in locating and replacing it. I think it will benifit this community as a whole. Thanks!

 

I'm still not about to give you these..... pulling the card isn't going to be done easily..... When I was putting the system back together I noticed it would be just out of reach, which means no swapping it unless you pull the motherboard out.

... sorry I forgot about you, but don't push it too much to say it'll benefit the community as a whole, because every bit of information should do that, but you're the only one interested in it.... so don't try to blow it out of proportion because there aren't many people who swap their cards to begin with

 

what did you want to swap it with anyways? Justin i kind of agree with you but if he wants to take his card out thats his risk. most people wont try and the ones that will try will do it reguardless. so if you have the assembly guide you might as well post it.

 

Anyways, got the keyboard off and the network card is not under there. It is under the palm rest then and that is beyond me to take apart at this moment. Cheers!

 

Right... On the W7 / Z35 / W5 / M5 / S5, the network card is out of reach.... it has to do with sizes the construction of the chassis is what Asus has mentioned in the past. Before anyone goes and says that doesn't make sense, I've taken the bottom chassis of an S5 and cut out the extra little bit that would be needed to access the network card and putting the system back together with the larger hole just makes it lose enough rigidity to make it feel cheap.... so I'm guessing that's where it comes in.

GS - taking the entire system apart isn't "hard", but it's time consuming and without new pieces to replace anything you break, it becomes a metal pain in the rear because you just want to will yourself not to screw up.... but it can be done if you really, really want to.

 

If he wants to do this it is his option. Posting a "how to" would benefit others
Sure there will be some who destroy their notebooks, they will just do it faster this way. To hold back information smacks of elistism and I do not support that. It is a lot of work to do this correctly and if that is the reason not to develop a series of screen shots then it is understandable.

 

I for one can't promote in instructional form, anything that will void Asus' warranty...... that's a disservice to end-users who want to mod their systems perhaps, but between the time it would take to show the baby steps for someone who can't do it themselves.... it's not like there is some pre-done step by step form that Asus makes that would help in a situation like this. So back off your "elistism" comment because I don't see you helping out any and it's comments like that which make me think this forum is starting to get filled up with people who expect others to do things for them, rather than it being a true community effort..........

 

I've had my share of completely taking apart a dell 8200, ibook, etc. The asus is just so nice, I can't imagine breaking anything!

Does that mean you have access to spare chasis parts? My palm rest and touch pad is starting to get shiny =p

 

@ Justin Proportable, Actually it was your comment that implied folks can not do things for themselves:

QUOTE=PROPortable]I'm still not about to give you these..... pulling the card isn't going to be done easily..... When I was putting the system back together I noticed it would be just out of reach, which means no swapping it unless you pull the motherboard out.

... sorry I forgot about you, but don't push it too much to say it'll benefit the community as a whole, because every bit of information should do that, but you're the only one interested in it.... so don't try to blow it out of proportion because there aren't many people who swap their cards to begin with [/QUOTE

If you did not mean it that way then I apologize otherwise, my comment stands. You have considerable experience inside the w7j, I thought that anyone whose primary motivation for posting in this forum is to help others would want to do this, to enable as many as possible to help themselves.

 

We have received a assemble instruction manual from Asus. We will post the link and let your guys to share this soon.
Cheers

 

Thank you. Cheers!

 

Danny.... that's not what they're looking for here..... those guides number one shouldn't be posted on line and you should know that already..... but those guides wouldn't help a single person doing this for the first time figure out what they're supposed to do. Pointing out where a card is located is about all that guide will tell you and that isn't the hard part....

 

Of course, i strongly recommend that the users must be careful to do it yourself without any error mistake. If they don't have any confidence to do it, just bring it to service center to take care of it. We also will not take any responsbility when an user make any defective parts. Information can be shared in positive way as long as they can help them each other.
Cheers,
Joseph

 

I also want my company to continue to sell Asus' systems in the future and pushing people to rip them apart can be much more hurtful to a novice than it may appear to be good. I see your point, but you need to see mine as well. Someone who needs the help on how to get into the system has a much better chance of screwing something up than someone who can look at the system and remove the screws and find the connection points and just understand how it all went together before trying to take it apart.......

Yes, I've taken every Asus apart down to individual pieces and the knowledge I've gained came from experience and the willigness to accept failure. If someone screws up their system, there are three things they can do... 1.. they can put it back together and tell asus it doesn't work and try to get them to fix it..... 2.. they can call asus and tell them what happened and tell them I told them what to do..... or 3.. they could accept responsibility and realize they could be spending a ton to fix whatever they broke.

In all honesty, I don't trust anyone I don't know and the reality of the matter is, when it comes down to a lot of money, the honorable people who may say they'd pick option 3, probably won't..... it's a fact of a life... just wait till it happens to you..... I see it often... and if I'm an anonymous character online telling them how to do it, that's fine.... my company can't take the brunt of Asus' wrath.. however, I'm not and that's what I need to worry about along with the obvious....... It's a trial and error thing even if I documented EVERYTHING (which I don't have the time for), but my job is to information end users and make them understand their products....... by I have a responsibilty to act as a parent figure almost to warn them of things they probably don't want to do because I've done them and so on and so forth... We all know that doesn't work and kids make the same mistakes their parents made and that's life... but sometimes you have to get the kids to figure that out for themselves. The biggest problem with a full motherboard removal is that you just voided your warranty even thinking about it, regardless of what you could break. Static can and will kill your motherboard and anything attached to it.. So, there is a chance that when you're done, even if you manage to get all of the dozens of parts back in the right spot, that you'll be left with an lcd screen that technically works, but nothing to power it...... Is it worth a 3/4 of the cost of the system? That's not my job to figure out, but because I have this experience, I can certainly suggest it's not a good idea and not provide help in going any further.....

... I feel bad at the littest thing.... I'm a sensitive guy and anything I could do to help someone out (customer of ours or not), I'd do..... and sometimes to a fault. If someone screwed up their system because of something I directly suggested to them, although the rest of the company might hate me for it, I'd do whatever I could to help fix it for them, whether it be a motherboard replacement, new system... something... anything.... .So, if I don't suggest something, or better yet, suggest against something, it doesn't help me not feel bad in the end if something goes wrong, but it does help me feel not responsible.

 

goldserve, just unscrew everything and take it appart on your own accord.

 

@ Justin Pro Portable

I see your point and it is a valid one at that. How do you help someone when others may use the same information to destroy their notebook and then ask your company to pay to fix it. A difficult position to be in and one that I am not in. Overtime one would almost certainly have to adopt a degree of reticence to offer up inside the box help.

Regards,

 

Well, that's just it...... See, Asus doesn't care if a customer voids their warranty because that just means there's money in their pocket and a system they'll never need to worry about fixing........ but it's not something they want prominent dealers going around and suggesting as it would make them look bad and legally there may even be some recourse to them or even us as a sort of representative of their products.... I'm not sure on that one, but I've seen dumber suits.....

Asus' own "assembly guides" are really for their techs just to know where a certain chip is on the motherboard and simple installation and removal..... the hard part is actually taking the system apart which is not just a bunch of screws like most may assume...... there are also clip points all around the system which are really meant for a one way build..... that's where people get in trouble and even though I could explain it to someone, I don't want to give anyone false hope that it's "easy". It's easy for me and I could do it in my sleep and even know which screw goes in which hole simply based on the material it's going in..... devirginizing your system is going to be messy and not a whole lot of fun....... do it a couple more times and you'll really get to enjoy it.

I can get parts from Asus for the type of projects I do, but I can't get those same parts and sell them to customers because Asus has had a rash of people who dropped or damaged their system, bought parts from us. installed them theirselves and then call asus and just say their system doesn't work..... So Asus said we can still get the parts for our own word, but can't sell them..... I think Asus will sell them to you, but for a new or under warranty item, they keep your name on file if not your serial and if it ever comes back to them, they look back and see you bought a new motherboard or palmrest or whatever and they know to start looking under the surface.

I always welcome emails for things like this... to give a little bit more personal advice...... I just don't want it put down in a forum that lives for ever. You'd be surprised at how many emails I've gotten in just the last couple months in reference to posts I made 14-16 months ago.... so people do search the forum I don't want someone to void their warranty just because they saw someone post something and decided to do it themselves.....

... I guess I could do it with a disclaimer, right?

 

I totally understand your position and everyone's position. I will always evaluate the feasibility of doing something and the consequences. I got the extended two year warranty for a piece of mind because i've never had an asus before so it doesn't seem like i'll be doing anything STUPID to my notebook anytime soon. Cheers!

 

Not responsible, nuh-uh!

In my opinion, the guides should be freely given out, as it is information that could be well used. Of course, a disclaimer must be mentioned, as the user themselves in the end, has the final say, whether with a complete pictorial guide or not.

It's kinda like in this thread, GS starts the thread, Justin declines the guide, then GS mentions after he's halfway there?

Mind as well post it up, since I have a feeling GS will open it up, whether or not he has the guide

 

Well.. here's the thing...... taking out the cpu, ram, hard drive, wireless card.. easy things. In this case the wifi card isn't easily accessible, but regardless...... they're usually things that 1-2 screws will reveal and a monkey could figure out how to remove them if given a few minutes..... access panels are there for you to freely upgrade your system.... they're not there to start ripping things out a week after you get it, but nevertheless.... it's not rocket science. In fact, it's my opinion that Asus' own guides make things look more difficult and to be honest, since they're made for their techs, if their techs anywhere in the world are dense enough to need what's presented in the way it's presented..... I wouldn't want them working on my system....... so it's a little weird. Information is helpful, but only up to a certain point.

 

I've done my share of modding including drilling a hole to attach an external antenna for stumbling, etc. I don't think i'll do it to this W7J though....HEHE

 

Seriously though... give it six months and then consider it... the newness will have worn off and you might get the guts to do it.

 

Justin,

I'm sure there are people here who appreciate your service, but YOU are the one who posted that you were taking apart your W7, and that you would be providing pictures of it. Did you expect not to get specific questions regarding some of the system components?

BTW, it was me that asked you to look into it initially... and there are a great many people who prefer to use Atheros' cards, or who upgraded to the 3945 Intel cards because the 2915 was such a complete and utter piece of junk. Please don't dismiss or belittle people just because you are content with what you have.

When the N standard gets finalized and new cards supporting it arrive, there will more than likely be a good number more (as uninformed as they may be about its benefits).

Play nice.

 

I would like a copy of the disassembly guide. I can do without it, but it wouldn't hurt to have it . I prefer the Atheros card over the Intel. I bet if you hosted it on a site with a download counter, you would get more then "1" download.

 

Pure and simple..... After I posted that I was called out to the west coast on business and the last few weeks have been hectic. As I recall, I was asked for a photo of how thin the screen was since I made a big deal about it.... and I recall someone asking about where the card was, but I don't recall saying I'd take a picture of it, but regardless, a picture it's going to help, especially if it's an a spot where you'd need to take the system apart to get it..... ie: it's not under an access panel. I can show you a picture of a close up of any motherboard with a 3945 card in it and say... there it is... good luck getting to it. The point is, the chassis doesn't like to come apart and if someone wants to screw with it, fine.... but it's a lot of work and a lot of risk. If the card was accessible, I'd tell them to do whatever they wanted, but when it's not, is it really worth voiding the warranty over? Not my decision, but if you're willing to void the warranty, you should have the guts to pry the system apart for yourself........ a **** video showing you a system like this coming apart isn't going to give you enough information to make it smooth sailing the first time you try to do the same thing......

 

Hey Justin, no need to be angry. You have the guide and you have no obligation to release it. Milestonepc already stated in this thread they will make the guide available. If it guide helps, it helps. If not then I just got my daily dose of reading, no biggie. Let the person reading the guide decide if it's helpful or not

 

First off, that's not the issue... I don't care what others think is helpful, all I'm saying is that the guide for the W7 is no different than anything other one they have and if you look at those, they're not assembly guides in terms of from scratch. So although I'm not going to say what one person might find as helpful, I can certainly say as a fact that in order to physically remove the chassis, the guide isn't going to help you or anyone else in the least.......

Let's put it this way..... since the guide isn't going to help you remove the chassis, by time to do that and get down tot he motherboard, if you can't read the removable module that says "intel pro/set 3945 on it which has two antenna wires coming off of it..... you've got other problems. Does that make sense? Basically those guides are for simple installations and fixes.... not something like this.... but when you get the motherboard out, it's all cake, no matter what system you're looking at. The guide doesn't give you the important information like which screws went where and what clips are where and which direction you need to pry to remove them.

Does that help you make you understand where I'm coming from? I just don't think we're on the same page because this isn't about me not wanting to do something, the part about the guide is all about it not helping a drop for someone who wants to try to do what the thread is all about...

 

First off, there is no issue, except you seem to be quite upset about something, and you're trying to make a big deal out of something stupid.

If you don't want to share the information you have, fine, that's your right. But don't talk down to people here by chastising them for wanting to gain access to the information you have openly advertised yourself as having. A simple "its much more involved than removing the keyboard" would have sufficed... not a condescending discertation about the evils of voiding your warranty.

Lets just try to be pleasant and try to respect one another here. The information will supposedly be made available by another poster, so you no longer need to address the content of this thread.

 

I offered to let you know where the card was..... I did do that. Other than that you're right... I'm the one making a big deal out of nothing....

 

Geared2play provides the links for assembly guides, please go there:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=69841

 

Link is not working....

 

Having a W7S which is built on the same chassis as the W7J and W7F, I can confirm that the wireless card is located under the palm rest (I just upgraded to an wireless Intel 4965AGN). To be specific it is located to the right hand side of the touch pad.

I basically did a full disassembly and just tell me if you need more pics and information


ps. I did not need to pull the motherboard out for this upgrade.

 

Yeees please !

 

Of course not. You have just resurrected a year old thread.

 

This is not a full scale tutorial and should be taken as a basic guide for dismantling the W7S. Please bear in mind that some procedures (heatsink removal) may void your warranty and could potentially damage your laptop if done uncorrectly; which is why I wrote this review and share my knowledge and to help others. This guide should be representative to previous versions of the W7 like the W7J as they are built on the same chassis, however I've never worked with a W7J so there might be little variances between the layout of the W7S I have reviewed.

Disclaimer: Use this guide at your own risk. This is intended for experienced users who accept full responsibility, and are aware that dismantling laptops can damage and void the warranty.

1. Disconnect power from mains and remove the battery pack
Pull the plug out and let it cool down before attempting to disassemble.

2. Close the lid and flip the laptop upside down.
The internals can be accessed by removing the screws underneth.

3. Take off the removable panels
The red circles mark the screws that hold the panels in place. Very easy.



At this point you can do all sorts of domestic upgrades such as a new CPU, AS5 application on CPU, more RAM, bigger HDD... easy stuff really.
Note: Removing the heatsink to upgrade the CPU or apply some AS5 will definitely void your warranty as the warranty sticker covers one of the CPU screws.


This picture is only for CPU/AS5 upgrade

4. Remove the keyboard
The keyboard is held onto the chassis by 4 screws which are indicated in red. Once the screws are removed, turn the laptop upright so that the keyboard faces upwards. At the top of the keyboard, there are small locking tabs which hold the keyboard in place. Now push the keyboard locking tabs in with a credit card; there are three locking tabs that need to be pushed in so that you can remove the keyboard. Now grab the top corner of the keyboard and lift it off. If the keyboard doesn't lift off it could either be because:
1. One of the four screws attaching the keyboard haven't been removed
2. Try lifting it off harder because the thermal pads that are stuck on the underside of the keyboard might be sticking stronger than usual.



5. Remove remaining components
It is a good idea to remove the ODD (DVD drive) and the HDD at this point to prevent damage and to make it easier to work inside the chassis. The ODD is held by two screws found on the underside and you can gently slide it out of the laptop. The HDD can simply be pulled out of the laptop.



6. Remove remaining screws
Now that the keyboard is off, you can now remove the remaining screws that are holding the chassis together. So turn the laptop upside down and unscrew. Don't worry though, the chassis wont fall apart as they are still clipped together at this point.
Note: There is one screw that is a pain in the arse to access. This screw is located just underneath the heatpipe and is very hard to get to unless you remove the entire heatsink but this will void the warranty. So if you have some sort of a pen knife or thin blade which can remove this hidden screw you do not have to remove the entire heatsink and thus, you can save your warranty.



After you have removed all the screws from the bottom, you wont be able to open the chassis yet as there is still another screw on the other side that needs to be taken care of. So flip the laptop to its upright position, open the lid and remove this last screw as indicated below:



Now that you have removed all the screws, it would be helpful to use a credit card to slip it in between the gap in the chassis (I started with the left hand side) and gently pry it open to unhook it from the internal clip. Slide the credit card along the gap to pry open the front and sides until the top layer of the chassis has fully detached.
Note: you don't need to use too much force to pry the chassis open as it should be loose at this point.



Here you can see the pci-e slot where you can disconnect it to do your wireless card upgrade. Do not open the chassis too much at this point because you could rip apart several wires that are attached to the top and bottom halves of the chassis.



This is with the new Intel 4965AGN installed and with the third antenna routed around the chassis.

7. Reassemble the laptop


Secure these connections before reassemble

Before you put the keyboard back on make sure all the plugs, switches and wires are all connected to the motherboard correctly (indicated in the picture above) and give the internals a bit of dusting as well. Put all the screws back in and you should now have a completely reassembled laptop. Now pray to God and press the power button. Once everything is working fine and the upgrade is a success, congratulations!

 

Thank You verry much for the guide. I have tryed once before but I got scary. Now, with yours guide it will be easy... God help me !
Thanks again !

 

I'm glad I could help, it was a bit scary for me cause it was my first time as well but to be honest nothing much can go wrong and the trickiest bit is remembering where the screws are... should be easier with all the pictures now

PS. Is it okay if someone can change the thread title to include W7S please

 

Thanks very very much for your detailed instructions. I opened it up and put an atheros ABGN card and it is much better than the intel crap. Thanks again!

 

Wow, thanks for the guide! I've tried before but never knew where to go once I needed to remove the warranty sticker. I'm trying to replace the wireless card also. The only question I have... what types of CPU upgrades are compatible? I have the 1.66 core 2 duo. What is the highest cpu that the motherboard can handle?

 

Just checked on the Asus website and the W7S bios version 303 supports the T9300 Penryn CPUs. I'm not sure if the previous versions of the W7 can support the new Penryns but I would imagine you would at least be able to upgrade to a high end Merom.

 

If you have the J that's either Yonah or Merom; you can upgrade to I think any FSB 667 Merom, that is (I believe) T7200, 7400, 7600.

If you have an S then you can upgrade to Penryn.

But it'll void your warranty in all cases. The performance jump from Yonah to Merom is significant (20-30%). Not so from Santa Rosa to Penryn, it seems.