This Omnibook's a pain in the ass to take apart...

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Sean
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This Omnibook's a pain in the ass to take apart...

Post by Sean »

It's an HP Omnibook XE2. Has a 450 PIII in it. A good 3-4 years old, I think.

I got all the screws I can see apart, even all of the screws under the fancy rubber inserts. I'm thinking I need to get the cover off the LCD? But, the plastic seems like its sticking to something. I don't wanna rip my dad's laptop to shreds... :p

Why am I taking it apart? It is in dire need of a new CMOS battery, whenever unplugged, everything resets..

Did I backup any data?!? OF COURSE!! :p I backed up his whole 6gb hdd. :D

So, should I pry this plastic of the LCD screen??

Thanks,
Sean
- Sean
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Sean
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Post by Sean »

Wow, everyone must be in a line trying to help me... :p :rolleyes:

Anyways, I got it mostly disassembled. Dang, it looks like I may need to remove all this metal above the processor, oh well. :)

So, now I can't get the plastic top outlining off, it seems to be stuck on one corner. The screws have all already been removed.

Thanks!
- Sean
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FlyingPenguin
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Post by FlyingPenguin »

CMOS battery on a lappy is USUALLY accessible without a major teardown. You try downloading the service manual from HP's site?
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NascarFool
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Post by NascarFool »

Originally posted by FlyingPenguin
You try downloading the service manual from HP's site?


HP/Compaq rarely offer a service manual.

Don't know if this will help any. http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/Te ... ook+xe2-dd
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Sean
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Post by Sean »

I did download a manual. The seriel number on my dads laptop is all worn off, go figure.. :(

Anyways, I'll download all of those, and see what I come up with.

I finally got off that corner, there was a screw under the rubber foot.

Could you guys possibly tell me what I'm lookin for? I took out the cd drive and floppy drive, and didn't see anything that could possibly be a battery. THe big huge slab of metal covering the processor cover almost everything else. I don't really feel like taking that off. :p

I'll download that stuff and see what I can dig up.

Thanks guys! :D
- Sean
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NascarFool
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Post by NascarFool »

I think the battery is on the bottom side of the mobo.
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Sean
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Post by Sean »

I was beginning to think that, to be honest. How would I get to it, is the question... :p
- Sean
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FlyingPenguin
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Post by FlyingPenguin »

It's usually a watch-type battery. A little smaller than the standard one they use on desktop mobos.

Usually it's accessible from one of the doors on the bottom, or by lifting up the keyboard, but it varies.
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Sean
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Post by Sean »

LOL. Not on this laptop.. :p :rolleyes:

I've gotten everything out of there. I'm trying to remove the motherboard right now, but it seems there's still something holding it down. Damn, wish I had a digital camera... :(

The only compartments in the back are for the battery, HDD, and memory. Nothin else.

It seems to be stuck right around the VGA connector. The screw next to this little dinky PIII chip stays in. Cause that's just holding in the chip, right?

thanks! :)
- Sean
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Sean
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Post by Sean »

Holy hell...

It's not the damn battery, looks like one of the ends of the plastic battery holder has been cut right off...

This would probably be the easiet solder ever for a talented solderer (sp?) but it's a bit too tight for me. I have a hard time soldering wires together... :rolleyes: So, what could I do? use some hot glue to hold it down onto the metal piece? But, then there's a chance it could come off again...I don't wanna open this again... :p

I think I'll just put in a new battery too, to be safe. It's a Maxell ML1220 3v smaller sized watch battery. Would any watch battery of the same voltage work?

Is there some type of silicon glue I could use? If not, I could always try soldering. Digital camera would be nice, so I could show you guys. Maybe I can have my dad go pick it up. I'll ask! :)

So, what to do, what to do...

And, yes, the stupid battery was on the bottom of the PCB. Only way to get to it was to remove the whole fricken board. Man, could they make these things any more complicated?!? SOOOO many screws! LOL :p
- Sean
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dadx2mj
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Post by dadx2mj »

If it is that hard to get at I would take it to a electronics repair shop of some type and get the tiring soldered. If you glue it you are bound to be doing it again soon if it even works at all. Just my 2 cents
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Sean
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Post by Sean »

That's a good idea. Well, I'll go pick up a new battery and figure it out later. :D

Thanks for the suggestion!
- Sean
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FlyingPenguin
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Post by FlyingPenguin »

Ask around the Mom & Pop computer shops. They usually charge by the hour - around here it's $50 an hour, but you've already got it all openned for them. Maybe they'll be nice.

Otherwise find a high school electronics geek and give him $20.
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Sean
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Post by Sean »

Screw da cash, I just whipped out the solder and the iron and gave it a shot. Not too bad. I'll take a pic tomorrow and post it here, so you guys can cehck my work. :p

I'm going to some carnival with the family tonight, so I might as well wait and show you guys. :)
- Sean
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Post by Sean »

I got some pictures! :D

Here are a few pictures of my soldering job. I think it is fine, it holds and it contacts the metal, therefore transferring electricity. :)

First picture of my soldering job: http://electron-designs.com/pics/laptop/solder1.jpg
Second: http://electron-designs.com/pics/laptop/solder2.jpg
Third: http://electron-designs.com/pics/laptop/solder3.jpg

Just for fun...
Back of the dinky motherboard, the motherboard HAD TO BE removed to get to that stupid CMOS battery. :p : http://electron-designs.com/pics/laptop/back_mobo.jpg
Front of the motherboard, can easily see processor which is smaller than the nb and the PC Card slots: http://electron-designs.com/pics/laptop/front_mobo.jpg
The big mess I have.. :rolleyes: : http://electron-designs.com/pics/laptop/big_mess.jpg
All the screws and the little HDD: http://electron-designs.com/pics/laptop/screws.jpg
The little PIII 450MHz: http://electron-designs.com/pics/laptop/450_p3.jpg
The crappy pad that supposedly helps keep the PIII cool when it looks like it keeps it warm... :p : http://electron-designs.com/pics/laptop/rubber_pad.jpg

For some reason I can upload my pictures but not view them... :rolleyes: Guess we all have to wait.

come on server! :D


Server's up! Please take a look at my soldering, and let me know how I did. :)
- Sean
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