Toshiba Satellite A215 S4697 Fan Replacement

Close the laptop and turn it over so that the base is facing upwards and the spine is facing away from you.

Find the battery compartment.

Slide the left slider which is just beneath the battery compartment into its leftmost position.

Slide and hold the right slider into its rightmost position. Lift the battery out of the compartment.

Do not touch the gold nodes inside the compartment.

Place laptop right side up on a flat and clean surface. Open the laptop.

Find the strip just above the keyboard and locate the gaps behind the F1, F8, and Insert keys.

Remove the strip by sticking your plastic opening tool into these gaps in order, and pulling up.

Locate the two 2.3mm Phillips #1 screws at the top of the keyboard that attaches the keyboard to the frame behind it.

Remove screws.

Find the latch above the F8 key that overlaps the keyboard.

Pull the keyboard out by shifting it forward towards the screen and pulling up.

CAUTION: Do not pull it out all the way yet. It is still attached to the laptop by a cable.

Find the ribbon cable that connects the keyboard to the laptop. Look for the black tabs on both sides of cable at the laptop end of the cable.

Using a pair of tweezers, pull the black tabs on both sides of the cable connector towards the screen until the cable can be pulled out easily.

Pull out the cable and completely remove the keyboard.

Turn computer over so that the battery compartment is facing up and is at the top.

Locate and unscrew one captive Phillips #1 screw located at the center.

Use a plastic opening tool to open the motherboard access cover.

Remove one 1.5mm Phillips #1 screw located near the top left edge of the opening.

Flip your device right side up, and rotate it so that the optical drive is facing you.

Insert a paper clip into a manual release switch located to the right of the automatic release button.

Gently pull out the disk drive until you can see the metallic case of the optical drive.

Hold the metal case and continue to pull the drive out toward you.

Once you see the yellow labels on the disk drive, fully retract the disk mount until you hear a click.

Continue to pull the disk drive toward you until it is completely removed from the laptop's housing.

Close the lid and flip the laptop over so that the bottom side is facing you.

Remove nineteen 8mm Phillips #1 screws, labeled with "F8."

Locate and Remove two "f4" screws as well.

Locate the RAM compartment.

Unscrew the two Phillips #1 screws and lift the lid up.

Unscrew the two 8mm Phillips #1 screws inside the RAM compartment.

Remove the three 3mm Phillips #1 screws inside the battery compartment.

Turn computer over and open lid.

Remove the four 8mm Phillips #1 screws in the slot where the keyboard sat.

Locate the speaker cables near the top right corner.

Use tweezers to carefully disconnect the cable.

Locate the cable on the bottom left hand corner of keyboard slot.

Gently pull it out to the left.

Locate the cable at the top of the frame.

Using tweezers, pull tabs on either side, toward the screen, and pull the cable out of socket.

Locate another ribbon cable at the lower center of the keyboard slot.

Using tweezers, pull tabs out to the left, and pull cable out of socket.

Using a plastic opening tool, insert into slit around laptop and separate the silver frame from black bottom.

Lift frame away from laptop.

Locate the fan in the top left hand corner of the inside of the laptop.

Remove the following screws from the fan encasement:

Two 12 mm Phillips #1 screws

Two 2.3 mm Phillips #1 screws.

Pull away gray flat cable from the fan so that it is no longer stuck to the fan's surface.

Disconnect cable by pulling the black end to the left so that it detaches from the white plastic piece.

Using tweezers, disconnect power cable by gently pulling white end straight away from its socket.

Lift fan up out of laptop.