Dell Vostro 3450 Hard Drive Replacement

Geschrieben von: Johnathan Hammond

Kommentare: 21

Schwierigkeitsgrad

Moderate

Schritte

Zeitaufwand

1 - 2 Stunden

Einleitung

Werkzeuge

Ersatzteile

Schritt 1

Slide the left and the right battery release latches to the unlock position.

Schritt 2

Slide the battery and remove it from the computer.

Schritt 3

Press the ExpressCard to release it from the computer.

Schritt 4

Slide the ExpressCard out of the computer.
If this is all you are doing Follow Step In Reverse if not Go to Next Step.

Schritt 5

Press the keyboard down. Pry the keyboard with the use of a flat-head screwdriver towards the display to reveal the first keyboard retainer.

Schritt 9

Pull up the keyboard from the palm rest.

Schritt 10

Release the latch on the system board connector, then disconnect the keyboard cable.
If this is all you are doing Follow Step In Reverse if not Go to Next Step.

It is also required to loose the screw just beside the latch mentioned in this step.

fernandolordao - 29/11/18

These (and Dell’s) instructions don’t mention that you have to disconnect a second keyboard cable. It’s a 4 pin ZIF connector, you can see it in the picture above, already disconnected.

BorpoIT - 28/05/20

Schritt 11

Loosen the screw that secures the memory door.

Schritt 12

Pry up the memory door near the screw hole, lift and remove it.
If this is all you are doing Follow Step In Reverse if not Go to Next Step.

Schritt 13

Remove the screw that secures the optical drive to the computer.

Schritt 14

Gently pry the optical drive out of the computer.

Make sure you have loosen the screw beside the keyboard cable latch, mentioned in the comments of Step 8.

fernandolordao - 29/11/18

Schritt 15

Remove the screws that secure the optical drive bracket.

You can skip this step when replacing the HDD, it isn’t necessary at all.

BorpoIT - 28/05/20

Schritt 16

Remove the optical drive bracket from the optical drive module.

You can skip this step when replacing the HDD, it isn’t necessary at all.

BorpoIT - 28/05/20

Schritt 17

Remove the screws in the battery compartment.

Schritt 18

Remove the screws in the optical drive compartment.

Schritt 19

Remove the rubber from the bottom base on the right side.

Schritt 20

Remove the rubber from the bottom base on the left side.

Schritt 21

Remove all the screws from the bottom base.

Schritt 22

Flip the computer around and remove the screws that secures the palm rest.

Schritt 23

Release the latches on the system board connector, then disconnect the touch pad cable and the finger printer cable.

Schritt 24

Release the latch on the system board connector and then disconnect the power button cable.

Schritt 25

Release the latch on the system board connector and then disconnect the hot key cable.

There are a couple of latches on the front of the palm rest which should be released before you move on to the sides. I think one of those latches is released in the picture above. The iFixit opening tool was helpful here, and I used some of the iFixit opening picks to stop the corner latches from closing while I worked on others.

BorpoIT - 28/05/20

Schritt 27

Pry up the left side of the palm rest.

Schritt 28

Pry up the sides of the palm rest and remove it from the computer.
If this is all you are doing Follow Step In Reverse if not Go to Next Step.

Schritt 29

Remove the screws that secure the hinge cover.

You can skip this step, and others related to removing the display, because removing the display isn’t strictly necessary.

Con of removing the display:

o It takes time

Pros of removing the display:

o It makes it a little easier to remove the VGA card

o The computer will tip with the weight of the display when you remove other components.

BorpoIT - 17/10/19

Schritt 30

Press down on the hooks highlighted in the image.

Schritt 31

Flip the computer around and remove the hinge cover from the side.
If this is all you are doing Follow Step In Reverse if not Go to Next Step.

Schritt 32

Remove the screws that secure the display hinge.

Schritt 33

Loosen the screw that secures the low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) cable.

Schritt 34

Disconnect the LVDS cable from the system board.

By pulling it upwards?

jeffreychc - 19/05/20

Indeed, pull straight up using the integrated handle on the connector. It required more force than I expected, and popped off suddenly once I pulled hard enough.

BorpoIT - 28/05/20

Schritt 35

Disconnect the wireless local area network (WLAN) antenna cable.

You can skip this step if you decide not to remove the display.

BorpoIT - 17/10/19

Schritt 36

Remove the screws that secure the left hinge.

Schritt 37

Remove the screws that secure the right hinge.

Schritt 38

Lift the display assembly and remove it from the computer.
If this is all you are doing Follow Step In Reverse if not Go to Next Step.

Schritt 39

Remove the screw that secures the WLAN card.

You can skip this step if you decide not to remove the display.

BorpoIT - 17/10/19

Schritt 40

Pull the WLAN card straight out of its socket and remove it.
If this is all you are doing Follow Step In Reverse if not Go to Next Step.

You can skip this step, it isn’t strictly necessary.

Cons of removing the WLAN card:

o I found the screw in the last step very stubborn, worried about stripping it.

o Takes time.

Pros of removing the WLAN card:

o Might make disconnecting the system board a little easier later. I had no trouble with the WLAN card in place though.

BorpoIT - 17/10/19

Schritt 41

Release the latch on the system board and then disconnect the VGA cable.

Schritt 42

Remove the screw that secures the VGA board.

Schritt 43

Remove the VGA board from the chassis.
If this is all you are doing Follow Step In Reverse if not Go to Next Step.

If you decided to leave the display in place, you can just loosen the screw on the VGA board, and leave the board itself where it is. The board blocks access to a screw securing the system fan, but once you’ve removed the screw from the VGA board you can just push the VGA board out of the way and remove the system fan screw. Of course, this means the VGA board can move around while you’re working on the rest of the computer, but I didn’t find that was a big problem. You could temporarily reinstall the VGA board screw after you’ve removed the system fan.

BorpoIT - 28/05/20

Schritt 44

Disconnect the system fan cable from the system board.

Schritt 45

Remove the screw that secures the system fan.

Schritt 46

Remove the system fan from the bottom base module.
If this is all you are doing Follow Step In Reverse if not Go to Next Step.

I found this a good time to clean out dust that had accumulated around the fan.

BorpoIT - 28/05/20

Schritt 47

Disconnect the DC-in cable connector from the system board.

This connector is on the underside of the computer, close to the battery compartment.

BorpoIT - 17/10/19

Schritt 48

Disconnect the speaker cable from the system board.

Schritt 49

Remove the screws that secures the system board.

This picture shows 6 screws to be removed, but I couldn’t find 2 of them. The holes for the 4 I found were labelled B1, B2, B3, and B4.

BorpoIT - 28/05/20

Schritt 50

Disconnect the system board from the Input/Output panel.

This required a fair bit of force, and I wasn’t able to do it just using my fingers. I used an iFixit Opening Tool as a lever, alternating between the two ends of the connector until it released.

BorpoIT - 28/05/20

Schritt 51

Lift and remove system board from the chassis.
If this is all you are doing Follow Step In Reverse if not Go to Next Step.

Schritt 52

Remove the screws that secures the hard drive bracket

Schritt 53

Slide the hard-drive module to release it from the system board

Schritt 54

Remove the hard drive module from the system board.

Schritt 55

Remove the screws that secures the hard-drive bracket on one side.

Schritt 56

Remove the screws that secures the hard-drive bracket on the other side

Schritt 57

Slide the hard drive from the hard-drive bracket.
If this is all you are doing Follow Step In Reverse if not Go to Next Step.

Abschluss

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Tinte & Feder

Johnathan Hammond

Mitglied seit: 28/02/18

44352 Reputation

4 Kommentare

Stupidest HDD location EVER! You have to fully disassemble your device for the simple operation.

vytookas - 18/04/18

Who the !&&* designs a hard drive location that requires complete disassembly of the motherboard and the laptop to replace. Horrible, horrible design.

garbage911garbage - 05/05/19

It’s possible to skip removing the display and the WLAN card, which saves a bit of time and trouble. I think I understand why this guide and Dell’s user guide recommend removing these parts, it makes other steps a _little_ easier, but I didn’t find it was worthwhile.

BorpoIT - 17/10/19

I’ve done this upgrade twice now, and I think the iFixit Opening Tool (along with the spudger) makes this job easier. Besides releasing latches for the palm rest and the memory door, it was very helpful to pry up the System Board from the Input/Output Panel.

BorpoIT - 28/05/20