Need help disassembling a Gateway Solo 9500 laptop

I’m working on a Gateway Solo 9500 that seems to have heat issues. I notice that it “freezes up” frequently, after being in use for a while. When it freezes, the bottom of the laptop is very hot & the fan on the bottom (CPU fan?) is not spinning. On one occasion I “flicked” the bottom of the case in the area of the fan & it started up.

I obtained a CPU & case fan, now I need to install them.

http://members.arstechnica.com/x/tan..._Solo_9500.jpg

Have any of you worked on this model Gateway Solo laptop (9500)? How difficult is it to disassemble? Any "gotchas"?

Any links to a service manual for this laptop? I was unable to find a service manual or even directions to get into the case on the Gateway site. The closest I came was instructions for replacing the keyboard.

~Dave

Well, I tackled it & it wasn't TOO bad, I went in from the top, removing the keyboard. Replacing the CPU fan assembly wasn't bad at all, just a LOT of little screws. The small case fan in the rear of the case required the removal of the display, which made me a little nervous, bit after I reassembled everything, it booted right up.

~Dave

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TangleWeb

Well, I tackled it & it wasn't TOO bad, I went in from the top, removing the keyboard. Replacing the CPU fan assembly wasn't bad at all, just a LOT of little screws. The small case fan in the rear of the case required the removal of the display, which made me a little nervous, bit after I reassembled everything, it booted right up.

~Dave

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EXCELLENT JOB WEB SLINGER!!
I would not have attempted it my self Fearing that I would break some
itty bitty part that would render it useless. :)

I didn't notice the Bluffton thing.I am in Rincon outside Savannah.I
Don't do laptops but,I could have watched.Congratulations!!!

The only support I found on line was also just for keyboard replacement.


:thumbs2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xpuser357

EXCELLENT JOB WEB SLINGER!!
I would not have attempted it my self Fearing that I would break some
itty bitty part that would render it useless. :)

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I had the same fear. That’s why I posted looking for help. I wasn’t even sure how to get into the thing. A service manual with disassembly instructions & diagrams would have helped a lot. The keyboard replacement guide did help get me started though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by street1

I didn't notice the Bluffton thing.I am in Rincon outside Savannah.I
Don't do laptops but,I could have watched.Congratulations!!!

The only support I found on line was also just for keyboard replacement.


:thumbs2:

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Rincon, GA… Yep, we’re practically neighbors :) Savannah is actually a shorter drive than Hilton head because of traffic. One of my co-workers commutes from Rincon to HH every day.

~Dave

Most laptops like that only have those manuals available to authorized repair personal..... don't know if gateway does that or not but I know toshiba does...

Congratulations on the repair.... I work on Toshi's all the time and have dabled a little with other brands it's just a matter of going slow and carefull... it also helps to make notes as to what you unplugged and what you unscrewed so you can put it back together...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shard92

Most laptops like that only have those manuals available to authorized repair personal..... don't know if gateway does that or not but I know toshiba does...

Congratulations on the repair.... I work on Toshi's all the time and have dabled a little with other brands it's just a matter of going slow and carefull... it also helps to make notes as to what you unplugged and what you unscrewed so you can put it back together...

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I sort of figured it might be like that about the manual. The instructions describing how to remove the keyboard helped.

I have found it useful to use a digital camera to document the disassembly, but did not use it in this case. Another trick I have used is to take a piece of printer paper & tape the screws to roughly the same place from which they were removed, using the paper as a template. This is especially useful if there are screws of various lengths used in different places. In the case of this Gateway, there were basically 2 types of screws & it was obvious which went where.

~Dave

Glad you were able to get it taken care of. If you need laptop manuals, check here.

http://computerdoc.homestead.com/DRSILaptopManuals.html

I found the manual for my Presario R4000. It cost me $9.95 and was downloadable within 5 min in .pdf format.

Icouldgo41, that link you referenced sounded great. But it didn't have his Solo 9500 listed; only the Solo 1450.

So, it doesn't really belong in this thread. But what the hey?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DonJ

Icouldgo41, that link you referenced sounded great. But it didn't have his Solo 9500 listed; only the Solo 1450.

So, it doesn't really belong in this thread. But what the hey?

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that's true but anyone else looking to do something like this might find it helpfull.



Tangleweb : The toshiba's I work on not only have a diassembly guide ( not always correct by the way ) but most if not all the screws are labeled with a code by the hole they came out of... The label is by type and length so with them I just put all the ones of the same number in bin or spot with the labeled number.... i use to use the technique you mentioned ( taping in general location ) then realized for the most part they are all labeled somewhere....