REPAIR GUIDE MacBook Pro MacBook Pro 15-inch Repair Guide Get the most out of your Mac. Visit Powerbookmedic.com today. TAKE-APART REPAIR REASSEMBLE Our guide will show you step by step how to take apart your Mac. Each step will be given in great detail and aided with high quality pictures of each step. It will also show you what needs to be done for each ailment your Mac may be having. It will explain why it is doing it and where to find the parts to fix it.
TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE Disclaimer 3 Introduction 4 Opening up the MacBook 5 Replacing the Memory 6 Removing the Top Case 6 Replacing the Hard Drive 8 Replacing the Bluetooth 10 Replacing the Superdrive 11 Replacing the Airport 12 Replacing the Keyboard 13 Removing the Speaker Assembly 14 Removing the MagSafe Board 15 Removing the Logic Board 16 Removing the Display 17 Opening the Display 18 Replacing the Inverter Board 19 Replacing the LCD 20 Replacing the Display
Disclaimer Any portion of this manual may not be copied, reproduced, or distributed without the written consent of Powerbookmedic.com. Violators will be prosecuted. This manual is presented as a guide in order to help you repair problems with your MacBook Pro. Working on a MacBook can As of the writing of this manual, Apple’s warranty policy denotes that opening up your Apple product will void the warranty.
Introduction: MACBOOK PRO 15-INCH General information about the MacBook and what you should be prepared for when attempting a repair. Welcome to the MacBook Repair Guide provided by Powerbookmedic.com YOUR FIRST LOOK AT YOUR MACBOOK PRO... It all starts with the first look. There are several things that can go wrong with your MacBook Pro, and hopefully this guide will be able to shed some light on issues you may have, are having, and how to alleviate them.
Opening up the MacBook Pro... The first step to opening the MacBook Pro as with most Apple laptops is flipping it over and removing the battery. It is always wise to remove the battery during any repair. It is best to remove any possible electricity that could damage the components inside. If you have an antistatic wristband, that will reduce your chances of accidentally damaging your MacBook Pro. To remove the battery, you should notice two switches near the middle of the bottom case.
Removing / Replacing Memory... SIDE SCREWS Underneath the battery cover, you will get your first look at the main logic board (MLB for short). There will be two RAM slots. press down on the module until it pops in place around the clasps. If this is all that you needed to replace on your MacBook Pro, you can screw back in the memory bay cover.
LOOKING UNDER THE HOOD Enlarge Enlarge You now have all of the screws needed to remove the top case out but with some MacBook Pros, it can get stuck a little on the front side. and organized to the side. You are now ready to pull off the top case. Be There are some clasps holding it in.
front left corner of the main body of the STEP BY STEP Previous steps required... Opening the MacBook Pro Removing the Top Case Removing the Hard Drive... Enlarge below with the Toshiba sticker on it. (Your hard drive might not be a Toshiba) The main interface connection is going to be at the top. As seen in the top picture to the left, the first step is to disconnect the hard drive cable The first step in replacing and upgrading that connects to the main logic board.
You can lift out the hard drive by prying up drive and the main logic board. If it is, click on from the top left corner of the hard drive as it, and make sure it is reporting the correct size. shown in the first image over to the right.. Once You will then need to go to the “Erase” tab in it is safely out, you can disconnect the main interface cable shown in the second image on the right.
THE BLUETOOTH MODULE Enlarge Needle-nose pliers recommended. Enlarge Enlarge Replacing the Bluetooth Module... the maximum signal strength possible with the antenna. This antenna Previous steps required... cable is much like a coaxial cable for the television. It has one small straight pin on the cable that needs to go into the hole on the bluetooth Opening the MacBook Pro module. It doesn’t screw in, however, and needs to be removed by pull- Removing the Top Case ing up as straight as possible.
Removing / Replacing Superdrive CLOSE UP Previous steps required... corner of the MacBook Pro. The first step in removing the Superdrive is to unhook the ribbon cable attached to the main logic board. This connector is usually covered by tape, so you Opening the MacBook Pro may need to pull the tape off. Afterwards you Removing the Top Case can remove the three screws holding the drive in. There is a TORX T6 screw in the back an- All MacBooks are equipped with a Superdrive.
Airport Extreme AIRPORT EXPRESS This is Airport’s successor to the Airport Express. It uses the new 802.11n protocol and offers incredible improvements over the 802.11g protocol. Most MacBooks are going to have this disabled. Read below for more details. Enlarge Enlarge Removing / Replacing the Airport Card The Airport card is located on the left side of the MacBook just this off from one side. The card should now be free to pop up. Once it is above where the hard drive normally sits.
Replacing / Removing the Keyboard Previous steps required... Opening the MacBook Pro Removing the Top Case If you accidentally tear the backing, don’t cable is the backlight cable. It is a very small on there even if it is a little torn. orange cable coming out just above and to the left of the data cable. This is a similar style connector. The bar needs to be flipped up and the Free the Keyboard After getting the black backing off, you should see several screws holding the keyboard in.
Removing the Speaker Assembly Previous steps required... The left speaker assembly is a little trickier. It is held on by several screws. One screw is pointed out in the first picture to the right. It is located in a slight hole in the assembly. A sec- Opening the MacBook Pro ond screw actually fastens the assembly to the Removing the Top Case left fan. This will need to be removed as well. Removing the Airport Card Also pictured to the right is the sound cable.
Removing the MagSafe Board CLOSE LOOK bles that are routed around the left fan. There is one more screw that needs to be removed in order to free the MagSafe board. It is a hex cap Previous steps required... screw along the left side of the board. It looks silver and has a hole in it. The easiest way to Opening the MacBook Pro remove it is to stick a Torx T6 screwdriver in the Removing the Top Case hole and turn it.
Removing the Logic Board STEP BY STEP around the board holding it in place. There are also two long T6 screws holding the right fan to the logic board. There is one Philips black Previous steps required... Opening the MacBook Pro screw near the battery bay and one black T6 screw near the left fan. After those screws are removed you should Removing the Top Case be able to remove the board.
end. This cable con- Removing the Display trols the picture on the screen. It can just be pulled out of the con- Previous steps required... nector. Opening the MacBook Pro Removing the Top Case Unscrewing the Hinges Once all of the Disconnecting the Cables Enlarge cable are disconnected we can proceed with removing the display. The display is held on by 4 screws that are screwed into the hinges. There are two types of screws but both use a Torx T6 screwdriver.
Normal vs. Glossy OPENING THE DISPLAY Apple has two types of LCDs for the MacBook. There are the older normal style and the new glossy style. It is completely personal preference, but the glossy seems to work better in low-level lighted areas and the normal otherwise. Previous Steps Required: Opening the MacBook Pro, Removing the Top Case Screen size is determined diagonally. The display has two screws in the two bottom corners on the front bezel. There are both Philips head screws with polished heads.
REPLACING THE INVERTER BOARD The inverter board controls the backlight on the LCD. If you are only able to make out faint images on the screen like the brightness is turned all the way down, then most likely you need a new inverter board. on the opposite side. They are very susceptible to any water damage that trickles into the LCD, so be extra careful when cleaning your display. To remove the inverter board, you simply just have to pull up on the side connected to the LCD.
Removing / Replacing the LCD image to the right. There may be some tape covering the connection that needs to be peeled off. If not, you can just pull the cable Previous steps required... Opening the MacBook Pro Removing the Top Case Removing the Display Opening the Display out of the connector. As pictured in the second image, the CLOSE UP iSight sits at the top of the LCD and has a small ribbon cable attached to the small circuit board for the iSight.
Replacing Display Cables CLOSE UP metal piece that goes over the hinges and covers all the cables going up into the display. There are several Torx T6 screws holding Previous steps required... Opening the MacBook Pro Removing the Top Case Removing the Display Opening the Display the clutch cover to the front bezel. Depending on what cables you are needing to replace, it is not necessary to completely remove the clutch cover.
Replacing the Bottom Pan replaced. It requires almost a complete disassembly to get to bottom pan so make sure you are up for it as it is a daunting repair. There are still a couple of steps required in order to get your old bottom pan out of the way. The heat-sink and fan assembly will need Previous steps required... to be removed. As long as you removed all of the screws pointed out Opening the MacBook Pro earlier, this should just lift out.
