HCHTech
Well-Known Member
- Reaction score
- 3,860
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA - USA
I just spent way too long taking the back panel off a brand new Latitude E5550 to install additional RAM. To hopefully save someone else from this misery, I'll post a few photos with comments.
.1 This laptop has a captive battery, and the entire bottom is a removable panel with only 5 screws holding it in place. This should be a 5-minute job. Right.
2. First is how to get the panel started after the screws are out. The gap is razor thin all the way around, except for this little indentation right by the docking port. Neither a plastic or metal spudger could get a hold of it, so I finally took a very small flat blade to pry it loose, risking plastic damage. I got it up a bit and inserted a guitar pick while I examined it further to find the clips
3. I could see a couple of clips along the bottom edge, but could NOT get them to release. I've been doing this a long time and thought I knew all the tricks, but no dice. I couldn't even get to the edges because it felt like there were screws coming down from the keyboard side holding the thing in place. Surely you wouldn't do that, would you Dell?
4. 20 minutes (!) later, one of the clips finally pops. Of course, it's broken now. Great. Studying it, I can see why I had trouble - the clip is ANGLED towards the left edge of the laptop, and there is no way the panel can have any sideways movement because it basically sits in an indented channel. I don't know how it would have ever released the clip without braking it.
5. Moving on, now that one clip is out (and broken), I do manage to get the next one further towards the edge. As you can see in the picture above, BOTH of these clips have a camber to them.
6. Now, I think I get how this thing is put together, so I move to the right half of the bottom edge. Still struggling. Several minutes of careful nudging and trying to move the panel a bit to release the clip and it finally pops - but breaks just like the first one. Arrgh.
7. The clips on the right side of the bottom edge also have a camber to them, BUT THEY GO THE OTHER WAY!. Given how the plate fits, sideways movement one way or the other is all but impossible. How in the heck would you EVER get this thing apart WITHOUT breaking it? Use a heat gun? Finally, the last clip on the bottom edge comes loose and I'm 1/4 of the way there. Moving on.
8.. Now, I move to the left edge. Suspecting the worst, I nudge, cajole, pry & pray. The first clip comes loose. It is cambered toward the front of the laptop.
9. Sensing victory, or at least progress, I move to the right edge. Now that I know the first clip must be cambered towards the front, I target my efforts and the clip comes loose. On to the last two clips, one on each side. Incredibly, these will not give. There is no movement at all, it acts like there are still screws holding the plate down. Finally, I get down there with a brighter light and some magnification, and I can just barely see the edge of the clip. This one is angled outward, towards the left edge. 90 degrees off from the other clip on the same damned side of the panel. Dell: WTF? One clip left and it STILL feels like there is another screw. Finally, it gives, same deal. Cambered towards the outer right edge, 90 degrees off from the other clip on the right side.
10. Now that the clips are all loose or broken, the panel lifts up and I can disengage the four fingers on the top edge where they fit into little slots.
I have never seen anything like this. Here is a bad Paint rendition in case my description sucked:
I hope this helps someone have a better time of this than I did. Thanks, Dell - I can't wait to see what you think up next.
.1 This laptop has a captive battery, and the entire bottom is a removable panel with only 5 screws holding it in place. This should be a 5-minute job. Right.
2. First is how to get the panel started after the screws are out. The gap is razor thin all the way around, except for this little indentation right by the docking port. Neither a plastic or metal spudger could get a hold of it, so I finally took a very small flat blade to pry it loose, risking plastic damage. I got it up a bit and inserted a guitar pick while I examined it further to find the clips
3. I could see a couple of clips along the bottom edge, but could NOT get them to release. I've been doing this a long time and thought I knew all the tricks, but no dice. I couldn't even get to the edges because it felt like there were screws coming down from the keyboard side holding the thing in place. Surely you wouldn't do that, would you Dell?
4. 20 minutes (!) later, one of the clips finally pops. Of course, it's broken now. Great. Studying it, I can see why I had trouble - the clip is ANGLED towards the left edge of the laptop, and there is no way the panel can have any sideways movement because it basically sits in an indented channel. I don't know how it would have ever released the clip without braking it.
5. Moving on, now that one clip is out (and broken), I do manage to get the next one further towards the edge. As you can see in the picture above, BOTH of these clips have a camber to them.
6. Now, I think I get how this thing is put together, so I move to the right half of the bottom edge. Still struggling. Several minutes of careful nudging and trying to move the panel a bit to release the clip and it finally pops - but breaks just like the first one. Arrgh.
7. The clips on the right side of the bottom edge also have a camber to them, BUT THEY GO THE OTHER WAY!. Given how the plate fits, sideways movement one way or the other is all but impossible. How in the heck would you EVER get this thing apart WITHOUT breaking it? Use a heat gun? Finally, the last clip on the bottom edge comes loose and I'm 1/4 of the way there. Moving on.
8.. Now, I move to the left edge. Suspecting the worst, I nudge, cajole, pry & pray. The first clip comes loose. It is cambered toward the front of the laptop.
9. Sensing victory, or at least progress, I move to the right edge. Now that I know the first clip must be cambered towards the front, I target my efforts and the clip comes loose. On to the last two clips, one on each side. Incredibly, these will not give. There is no movement at all, it acts like there are still screws holding the plate down. Finally, I get down there with a brighter light and some magnification, and I can just barely see the edge of the clip. This one is angled outward, towards the left edge. 90 degrees off from the other clip on the same damned side of the panel. Dell: WTF? One clip left and it STILL feels like there is another screw. Finally, it gives, same deal. Cambered towards the outer right edge, 90 degrees off from the other clip on the right side.
10. Now that the clips are all loose or broken, the panel lifts up and I can disengage the four fingers on the top edge where they fit into little slots.
I have never seen anything like this. Here is a bad Paint rendition in case my description sucked:
I hope this helps someone have a better time of this than I did. Thanks, Dell - I can't wait to see what you think up next.
